Page 5 of Poisoned Pawns (The Gamemakers Trilogy #1)
Silas Carmichael- Memories her friends will be there, and I’ve been scoping out that blonde girl,” he says as my fists tighten. He better be talking about Everly and not Ivy.
“Yea, I knew Katie. Which one of her friends? She has a lot of friends,” I say, trying not to deck this kid in the face.
“I forget her name. She was always with Katie. Short girl with blonde hair, banging little body, and a sassy mouth I’d love to sink my cock—” He doesn’t get to finish that fucking sentence because I grab him by the collar of his polo shirt and slam him against the hood of his car.
“What the fuck, man?” he yells.
“If you’re talking about Ivy Bloodworth, you better stay the fuck away from her. This is your only warning,” I spit.
“Why? Is she your girl?” he asks, and I shake my head.
“She’s my sister, so back the fuck off or the school's quarterback will be missing a fucking arm,” I threaten, and he laughs.
“Okay, okay. Got it,” he says, and I let him go, taking a step back. I shut my trunk as he stands, taking the duffel and throwing it into his blue Maserati, and pulling off without another word.
Taking my phone out, I shoot Desmond a text as I walk to the driver's side door, hopping into the truck.
Me:
Yo! Party tonight in Hillside. You down?
Des:
Yep. The girls are going, so where else would I be?
Me:
Good.
Des:
Come scoop me so I don’t have to take my bike.
Me:
Where you at? Home or the dorms?
Des:
Dorms.
Me:
Be there in fifteen. I gotta make a pit stop at the house.
Des:
Sounds good.
Putting my phone in my pocket, I start the truck and pull away from the curb.
Driving down the block, I make a right into the gated development, punch in my code, and wait for the gates to open.
Stepping on the gas lightly, I drive through and head the few blocks to my house in the cul-de-sac.
Luckily, no one is home. They never are lately.
Dad is always away on business and Julie is either with my father or somewhere getting drunk.
Who the fuck knows what goes on anymore.
There’s so many secrets and lies within these gates. It's ridiculous.
Pulling into the driveway, I leave the truck running as I climb out and walk to the garage door. Keying in my code, the door lifts, and I duck under because I'm too impatient to wait.
Walking to the far left corner, I take a key off the hook and unlock the basement door, shutting it behind me.
The lights automatically turn on as I walk down each step, coming up to another locked door.
Pressing my thumb over the pad, the lock disengages, and I turn the knob, swinging the door open.
Screaming greets my ears, but I ignore it as I walk over to the shelves on the wall and grab a few things I might need tonight as chains scrapping along the concrete echoes through the space.
Grabbing a few knives and a pistol, I slide the knives into my ankle sheaths and tuck the pistol in the back of my jeans.
Walking deeper into the room, I grab my clear mask and head back out the same way I came in, ignoring the screaming and thrashing going on.
Maybe the next time I come down here, the asshole will have answers for me. Until then, he suffers.
Locking the doors, I shut the garage and get back into my Escalade.
Placing the mask on the passenger seat, I flip up the center console and grab a pill from the baggie inside.
Dropping it on my tongue, I pick up a water bottle, twist off the cap, and chug the warm liquid, swallowing the pill.
Placing the water bottle back in the cup holder, I grab a cigarette, light the bitch up, turn the music on, and head out of the development towards the school to pick up Des.
Tonight can go one of two ways. Either the girls behave themselves and don’t get into any trouble, or someone is going to fucking die. Between me and Des, nothing is gonna happen to our girls. Katie may have slipped through the cracks, but it won’t happen again.
My phone pings, and I roll my eyes, thinking it's Des being an impatient prick and wondering what's taking me so long. Grabbing my phone from my back pocket, I look at the text and growl, taking another pull off my butt.
Unknown:
Still fucking your sister, I see. Same ol’ Silas. Junkie who sells to rich kids. Tsk. Tsk. Be careful out there. You never know who's watching. Oh, and you’ve got the wrong guy. See you soon.XOXO-Checkmate B*tches.
Tossing my phone next to the mask, I chuck my butt out of the window and pound my fists against the steering wheel.
Just when I thought I found him, I was wrong.
Fuck! Months of searching, years of digging, trying to put the puzzle pieces together for fucking nothing.
Whoever Checkmate is, they’re smart and calculated.
Always ten steps ahead of us, and it's really pissing me off. The girls don’t know what me and Des do or what we’ve been trying to do.
Millie spills to Des every time they get a text, and the last one they got was at Katie’s funeral.
According to Des, Millie is terrified that history is repeating itself, whichshe’s not wrong, but what we're trying to figure out is if Katie’s killer is Checkmate or if her death is unrelated.
I think it's Checkmate, but I have no proof.
Pulling up to the school, I whip the truck around the parking lot until I spot Des waiting for me by his bike. He hops in and raises a brow, seemingly knowing something is wrong.
“What’s up? Why do you look more pissed off than usual?” he asks, and I pick up the mask, toss it in the back, and hand him my phone. His eyes widen as he reads the text, telling me everything I need to know. He’s just as shocked as I am.
“Fucking Checkmate! So the asshole in my basement ain’t him. He says as much! Now what?” I ask, and he growls.
“I’m so sick of this motherfucker. I can’t wait to gut him alive,” he spits, and I nod.
“Agreed,” I growl as he turns to me, lighting up a joint.
“How did you find out about the party? I thought you were busy tonight?” he asks, and I laugh.
“Oliver came to pick up and told me how he was gunning for Ivy,” I tell him as we pull out of the parking lot. His eyes widen at my words.
“I can’t stand that fucking guy.”
“Yep. I already warned him to stay away from her, but I don’t trust him!” I growl.
“Agreed. I don’t trust anyone as of late. It’s even worse that they decided to go over the tracks tonight. It is only a little safer there than being here with a killer on the loose.”
“I don’t like it, period. They need to stay at the sorority house and just chill out,” I say, and he laughs.
“You know them better than that. It ain’t in their blood to stay put, so here we are,” he says, and now it's my turn to laugh as he passes me the joint. The pill I took finally kicks in, warming my insides. Taking a pull, I hold it before exhaling, then pass it back to him.
“Well, if anything goes down tonight. I’ve got my pistol and two knives,” I tell him as he takes a hit off the joint.
“Same!” he says as we continue to pass the joint while driving across town.
You can visibly see the change the minute we cross the tracks.
Buildings are run down. Houses look beat up and abandoned.
People walking the streets begging for money and food.
Working girls and dealers on almost every corner. Even the air is a little thicker.
“The girls better behave themselves tonight, so help me god,” he says, and I nod.
“I’m actually hoping they get into some shit just so I can get my hands bloody.” I laugh, and he shakes his head.
“I think you forgot what today is,” he says, his expression turning serious. I know good and well what today is, I just blocked it out. It hurts too fucking much, hence the pills. “Bro, it’s been three years since Jay’s been gone. That alone is going to fuck the girls up,” he reminds me.
“Shit, you’re right. I’m such a piece of shit. I’ve been so wrapped up in finding Checkmate that I forgot about Jay,” I lie.
“You’ve been distracted, but for a good reason.
Things could be so much worse.” Little does he know how much worse it really is.
I just mask it well. Checkmate is right.
I am nothing but a junkie. I know I need help, but there's no time for it. I figured if I keep my mind busy enough, I won’t want the drugs nearly as bad as I used to.
Pulling up to the party takes me out of my thoughts.
Let’s see what tonight brings. Hopefully, I can get Ivy to come home with me and allow me to explain a few things.
My sexy Poison Ivy better watch it tonight because I’m coming to collect what’s mine.