Page 70 of Wicked Games

Or worse…. were they somehow linked to these crazy games, and I simply hadn’t noticed their suspicious behavior until now? Had either of them said or done anything strange recently?Dropped any information that could point to one of them being the Game Master?

I rubbed my temples, straining to recall every interaction I’d had with either of the girls over the last few days. I came up blank, and the myriad questions on my mind remained unanswered.

Fuck.It was so hard to think right now.

Part of it was due to the constant dread that stemmed from being in this place. The rest was because of Carey. I knew I should be thinking of ways to unmask the Game Master and escape this fucking hellhole, but no matter how hard I tried, my mind always floated right back to her. Her face, her body, her kisses. Her moans. That look on her face when she came…Jesus.I needed more. Needed her so fucking badly.

I went to my bedroom and hung out by the door until I heard Carey and her friends return to the hall and enter their respective rooms. I waited a few minutes to be safe. Then I quietly stepped out and made my way to Carey’s room.

She answered on my third tap. “Hey,” she said, eyes widening. “Shouldn’t you be in your room?”

I raised a brow. “Not happy to see me?”

“Of course I am.” Her cheeks were rapidly turning pink. “I just meant… the curfew. I don’t want you to g—”

I smirked and pressed a finger to her lips. “I know. I was kidding. But I don’t think the curfew matters tonight. Not after the Game Master broke it by dragging us all out at midnight for that fucked up game.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” Carey replied. Her shoulders sagged, and she slowly shook her head. “God, I still can’t believe three of us are gone now.”

“Yeah, it’s crazy. Almost doesn’t feel real.” I dipped my chin toward the room behind her. “You gonna invite me in?”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” She stepped aside. “Did anyone see you come down here?”

“Nope. I was careful.”

“Good,” she said. A wry smile played on her lips as she perched on the end of the bed. “The last thing we need is everyone thinking we’re working together as co-Game Masters, even though we both know we’re not.”

I grinned as I sat next to her. “You said that so easily.”

“Said what?”

“That we both know we’re not the Game Masters,” I said. I reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly. “What you’re really saying is that you totally trust me.”

“Yeah, I guess I do,” she said softly. Her cheeks had turned a deeper shade of pink. “Maybe that makes me the biggest idiot on the planet, after everything that’s happened between us, but… it’s true. I really trust you.”

“You won’t regret it.” I squeezed her hand again. “And for the record, I trust you too. I’m gonna do everything I can to figure out who’s behind this shit and keep you safe.”

“I know.” She leaned over and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. “Thank you.”

“Speaking of figuring this shit out, I have a new theory about the Game Master,” I said.

“I have one to tell you too. But you can go first,” she replied, tilting her head.

“Well, I’ve been wondering if there’s more than one Game Master. I’m also wondering if it’s Jasmine and Kiara working together.”

Carey frowned. “Really? Both of them?”

“Yeah. I keep seeing them whispering to each other, and they totally iced me out tonight. It made me wonder if they’re up to something.” I rubbed my chin and shook my head. “I don’tknow. Maybe I’m imagining shit. Maybe they just wanted some girl time, or whatever.”

“I don’t think it’s your imagination. April, Brooke, Zach, and I were actually talking about Kiara earlier,” Carey said. “She’s our main suspect right now.”

“Why?”

She briefly ran me through the theory that her group had devised about Kiara’s possible involvement in the nightmarish games; an attention-grabbing scheme she could’ve cooked up with a ruthless social media team to cement her status as the world’s most famous influencer.

“We didn’t suspect Jasmine,” she said, shaking her head. “But I guess it’s possible that Kiara’s been getting help from her.”

“Maybe she’s planning to betray her at some point, so she can be the only survivor like you guys figured. You know… two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.”

---