Page 1 of Poisoned Pawns (The Gamemakers Trilogy #1)

Ivy-First Frat Party of the year.

The warm night air wraps around us, leaving a sheen of sweat along our flesh as the four of us walk to our first frat party of the year.

Nervousness takes over the closer we get.

You would think the three shots of Henny would’ve settled my jitters, but they didn’t.

I don’t know what it is, but my gut is telling me something bad is going to happen tonight.

We’ve been to a million parties together over the years.

Me, Katie, Millie and Everly are all best friends and have been since we were kids.

Our mothers are legacies at this college, which only made our decision to stay close to home and join the same sorority they attended that much easier.

I mean, we’ve only heard about all the fun they had and the sisterhood of Delta Phi Nu since we were little.

We spent the summer participating in rush week and numerous meetings, ultimately receiving invitations and moving into the house.

Our mothers warned us about the hazing, which to us was a cakewalk, but they also told us to watch out even after we moved into the house because our older sisters would continue to test us right up to the night of the pinning ceremony which was coming up soon.

We are more than prepared for everything and anything that comes our way though.

Being the only girls in all our families with nothing but older and younger brothers annoying us, we are more than capable of handling anyone’s bullshit.

“Walker has been eye fucking me all week in the mess hall. He’s fucking hot.” Everly giggles as we continue to walk down Delta Avenue.

“Did you ever break up with John?” I ask with a raised brow, but she shakes her head.

“He’s halfway across the country. He left, so I chose to do me.” She smirks, high fiving me.

“You guys, I think tonight we should let loose and experience as much as we can before classes start,” Katie adds, and I nod.

“Agreed. I broke it off with Matt before we left. I don’t want to be tied down while we are here. Like you said, I want to experience everything.”

“What does that mean, Ivy? Spread your legs for everyone?” Millie asks, and I come to a dead stop.

“Just because you’re a virgin and saving yourself for Prince Charming doesn’t mean I'm a slut because I enjoy having sex. So fuck you for that,” I reply, and she huffs.

“Must you remind me of my virginity at every turn?” she says, and I laugh.

“Yes!” we all say, then laugh. Her upper lip turns into a snarl as she speeds up in front of us. I catch up to her, bringing my arm around her shoulder.

“Millie, it’s okay if you’re afraid of the one-eyed snake. I promise it won’t bite,” I whisper, licking the shell of her ear as she pushes me away.

“I’m kidding, Mills. You’re better than me.

Your morals are something you should be proud of.

Don’t let these frat guys say otherwise.

” Her face snaps to me with a smile, and I shake my head.

Sometimes lying to my best friend feels awful, but we give her enough shit because of her damn morals.

She's the innocent one out of all of us, but that’s okay. Someone has to keep us in line.

“I have my eyes set on Oliver Micheals. He specifically invited me here, and I hope he lives up to his name,” Katie says, and I laugh.

“Oliver, the playboy of all playboys? I don’t know what the hell you see in him, but I’d love to punch him in his smug face,” I say, and she laughs.

“You know I love the assholes. I cut Mark loose before he left for the summer. He still texts me every day begging to get back together. I don’t know how many times I need to tell him that our high school romance has run its course,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“And hey, don’t give me shit for it, ‘Miss I love the dark and broody tool bags with terrible taste in music.’” she mocks, and I shake my head.

“I do not have a type. Matt was just fucking boring and had no sustenance. Just like Mark. Typical hockey player who was all about the game and fucking. But Matt’s brother, Jordan? God damn, was he a good lay.” We laugh.

“He really is,” Everly chimes in.

“Wait, did we all get a turn with him?” Katie says, and I laugh even harder.

“I certainly didn’t, and thank God for that,” Millie says as we finally arrive at the frat house.

We walk up the cobblestone path filled with people drinking and hanging out on the grass.

I grab Katie's hand as we go up the stairs and through the open doors, weaving between all the bodies littering this place.

The bass of the music shakes the wood floor of the house, making me want to dance already, but we hit the bar first, grabbing a few shots.

“Cheers to a night we will never forget,” I say as we clink our plastic shot glasses and shoot ‘em back. The harsh liquid flows down my throat as I swallow the warm alcohol. It immediately? courses through my veins as I look around the room. Green eyes capture mine, and I roll them. Desmond Sinclair, Millie’s twin brother, stares at me from across the room with a look of disgust and want.

I swear, ever since that one night sophomore year that we had sex and I never called him again, he’s been nothing but a thorn in my side.

It’s not that the sex was bad–it was actually earth shattering–but he’s my best friend's brother. It should’ve never happened; plus, I was still dating Matt then, and that’s just a story for another day.

Katie grabs my arm, taking me out of my thoughts, and drags me to the makeshift dance floor.

She grabs my hips, running her hands up my ribs as we move to the beat of the music, slowly grinding against one another.

Out of the three girls, I’m truly the closest to Katie.

We’ve been through hell and back together.

Not to say we haven’t with the others, but it's just different with the two of us.

Oliver comes over with a few of his friends from the football team, handing us shots. We take them and shoot ‘em back, and continue dancing until we are dripping with sweat.

That’s the last thing I remember before waking up in a strange bed, alone, with all of my clothes on.

My head spins as I sit up, trying to gauge where the fuck I am.

Standing, I grab onto the bedpost to steady myself before wiping the sweat from my brow.

Walking to the door, I swing it open to find the hallway empty.

Where the fuck am I? Where are the girls?

Walking out of the room and down the hallway, I notice all the doors are closed except for one.

The room spins as I look in through the cracked door, trying to get my vision to focus as I see three, or four, figures surrounding someone laying on the bed.

Is that blood? The room spins some more, and I stumble backwards, falling down a flight of stairs. I groan, then everything goes black.

Waking up in a panic, I look around and notice I’m in my room at the sorority house with no recollection of how I got here. What the fuck happened? The last thing I remember is dancing with Katie and the football team bringing us shots. Why can’t I remember anything else?

Climbing out of bed, my stomach flips, and I run to the bathroom, hurling my guts into the toilet. How much did I have to drink? Jesus Christ.

After emptying my stomach, I get up off of my knees and splash water on my face, and brush my teeth while I’m at it. Once I’m finished, I leave the bathroom and go in search of the girls. Maybe one of them knows what the fuck happened last night.

Walking down the hall, I hit Millie’s room first. Peeking in, I see her sitting at her computer looking freshly showered.

“Uh, hey, what the hell happened last night?” I ask as she turns to me, shrugging.

“Um, I cut out early. I told you I was leaving. How drunk were you?” she asks as my eyes widen.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Where’s Everly?” I ask, and she shrugs again.

“I thought she was with you,” she states, and I shake my head.

“Nope, I woke up in my bed alone. What about Katie?” I ask, and she shakes her head.

“I left the three of you together,” she says, and I take a deep breath.

“Alright, I'll go check their rooms,” I say, spinning. Stepping into the hallway, my phone pings, and I take it out, looking at the text as my sorority sister Beth comes flying up the stairs with two officers at her heels.

Unknown:

Sorry, girlie. Someone has to take one for the team. XOXO Checkmate B*tches

Swallowing thickly, I slide my phone into the back of my jeans with shaky hands as Beth’s voice comes to the forefront. No way, no fucking way this motherfucker is back. Dead men can’t fucking text.

“Hey, Ivy, these detectives are here to speak with you,” she says as my eyes widen in confusion. They step in front of her, taking out their cuffs.

“Are you Ivanna Bloodworth?” one asks, and I nod.

“Miss Bloodworth, please put your hands behind your back,” the second one states.

“Wait, what? Why am I being arrested?” I ask in a panic as other girls start to come out of their rooms, including Millie. Is this what that text meant? This is Checkmate’s doing. How?! This doesn’t make any sense!

“What is going on?” she asks, and my head snaps towards her as the officers step in between us.

“Ma’am, you're under arrest for the murder of Kathleen Andrews.”

My heart stops as the room spins. The murder of who? What the fuck is happening? Tears pour down my face at the realization of what the fuck the officer just said. This is a setup. I was set up!

“Call my mom, Mills. Now! I didn’t kill anyone! What the fuck!” I yell, thrashing against the officer.

“Stop resisting, ma’am. You are only making this worse,” the officer says.

“I didn’t kill her! I didn’t even know she was dead! You have the wrong person!” I yell.

“Ivy. Say nothing more until a lawyer is present. Keep your mouth shut,” Beth scolds as my entire world turns upside down.

My best friend was murdered, and I’m suspect number one. What in the actual fuck!