Page 149 of Lucky 14

“Has Oakley talked to you?”

I just shrug.

“It’s just interesting, the dynamic you have. Given what he did.”

Riley is very focused on me now. I can almost hear the grin in her voice, and I almost groan. Cool, I’ve now made myself a challenge. And if Riley has what I suspect she has, it’s like dangling candy in front of a toddler.

Fuck me. So I turn to face her, trying to take some of my allure away. “What did he do?”

There’s a glitter of something in her eyes. “Oh, so he didn’t tell you?”

I just shrug. “He’s told me a lot of things.”

“Did he tell you why you’re here?”

I cross my arms. “Yeah, for the game.”

“No, did he tell you why you’re here?”

Warning bells start going off in my head.

Riley smiles now, like she can read my mind. “I didn’t think so.”

Oakley talked to me about how he wasn’t supposed to be here. About how he was tricked into coming here. He said he didn’t know why I was here.

“He’s been obsessed with you since day one.”

“Yeah, we’re Fourteen. We have the same number.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, I brought a number too. I killed him.” She waits like she’s waiting for me to understand something.

My brain is moving in slow motion. Is she implying that Oakley wanted to kill me? I thought he did at first, but he’s never tried to.

“You know prey isn’t random, right?”

Slowly, what she’s trying to tell me sinks in.

Prey isn’t random. Hunters pick their prey. Oakley picked me.

Riley must see when the realization hits me ‘cause she grins widely, and immediately, I hate her for it. She’s just saying that to rile me up.

I shake my head. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Awww, don’t be butthurt. I just thought you deserved to know.”

“You’re lying.”

“Something I do very often. But considering how I sat next to him while he signed you up for the game, this time I’m not.” She shrugs and walks away.

I’m left staring after her, unsure how to feel. Oakley wouldn’t do that. Why in the hell would he do that? We didn’t know each other beforehand. This was all some big mistake.

And yet it keeps eating at me. Riley starts picking a fight with Sawyer, and I feel the need to get away. Need silence. Space to think. Space to prove her wrong.

Striding down the hall, I gasp when I almost bump into Kyan, who has Oakley pinned up against the wall.

“Sorry.” I keep going, but am yanked back by my arm.

“Going somewhere?” Kyan’s voice is a mixture of sultry and angry.