Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
I’m staring Wyatt down, watching his hands for any sudden movements, when a smattering of fireworks goes off somewhere close.
Wyatt, who tore into the room like he wanted to kill us, continues to stare at me like he wants to rip me limb from limb. The fireworks keep going off with a pop pop pop, so close it sounds like they’re inside.
Screaming starts.
Wyatt’s head cocks slightly, like a wolf evaluating its prey. His gaze snaps to the door, where the screams are coming from.
More popping happens before I realize it’s gunfire. It echoes in the halls, and as soon as it stops, high-pitched screaming rakes nails through the air. It’s animalistic, like someone’s killing a rabbit or something.
“Fuck.” Wyatt shakes his head, then turns his snarl on both of us.
“There’s nowhere you can go that I won’t hunt you down and kill you.
” He turns to face me. “Run if you want, it’ll only make it more fun for me.
” Then he’s pulling a gun from his waistband and stalking out of the room.
As soon as the door shuts, there’s a roar, “RULES ARE NO SHOOTING IN THE HOTEL, FUCKFACES.”
Oakley and I stand there stunned for a second.
“What was—“ Oakley starts, then stops. His brow is furrowed while his hands are clenched into fists, frozen between fight and flight.
Then there’s a scramble and a thud outside the door. “Hey, piano fingers, open up!”
It’s a female voice.
There’s a brief pause, and Oakley turns to me with wide eyes. Then, with a splintering sound, the door is shoved open.
Immediately, I sense the danger, and with nowhere to run, heat sizzles into me, and I want to fight. I won’t be caught unprepared again. As the person comes inside, I dart forward, snatching up the chair at the desk and hurling it with all my strength at the door.
There’s a muffled oomph and a clatter as the chair hits the wall and the person. Then they’re coming in right after. It’s a woman with short, cropped hair and a wild smile on her face. And she’s holding a gun.
I freeze, gaze locked on the weapon.
The woman flicks the hair out of her face. “He’s in a tizzy today, hmmm?” She looks me up and down, her smile becoming shrewd. “Fourteen. Nice to finally meet you.”
There’s gunfire from down the hall, but it’s fainter now. The woman makes no move to attack us; she just watches us with a smirk and light pink spatter on her cheeks.
There’s movement to my side, then Oakley is there. “Get behind me.” Then he’s shoving me. I scramble, trying to keep the woman in my sights, pissed that he’s putting me at a disadvantage. Pissed that he’s putting himself in danger.
“Fuck off,” I hiss at him, throwing his arm away from me.
“Riley,” Oakley says, and I realize he knows her name. He knows her name?
The woman rolls her eyes, locking me in her sights again. “I like you, chair-thrower.” She winks, then turns away. “Go ahead and rile up Wyatt a bit more, yeah? He’s fun when he’s angry.” She cracks the door open, peeks out, then steps outside, the door shutting behind her.
I stare at the door. Why didn’t she kill us? How does she know Oakley?
“Wyatt?” Oakley turns to me. “Wyatt’s close?”
I stare at him, brain turning everything over. “Who is she?”
Oakley frowns. “She’s…it doesn’t matter. We have to go.”
“It doesn’t matter?” Anger heats my blood.
Some woman came in here, spattered in blood with a gun in her hand, and didn’t shoot us, and he tries to claim it doesn’t matter?
I stalk up to him, grabbing Oakley’s shirt and shaking him.
“What the fuck do you mean it doesn’t matter? Why isn’t she trying to kill us?”
Oakley blinks, looking a million miles away. “Kyan looked like…why was he mad at you?”
Confusion squeezes my brain in frustrating fingers. Why is he avoiding my question? “Who is she?” I hiss.
“Riley!” he bites out. “She’s a hunter, and you need to stay away from her. Now answer my question: why did Kyan look like he wanted to kill you?”
I can hear the heartbeat in my ears. We need to go. We need to get out of here before Wyatt gets back.
I let go of Oakley, but he grabs onto my wrists. “Talk to me, Holli!” His voice gets shrill. “What’s wrong with Kyan?”
I try to yank out of his grip. “What are you talking about?”
“He threatened to kill you. Us!” Oakley’s face is red. “I’ve never seen him act like that.”
“He…” slowly, I put the pieces together. Is he talking about… “Wyatt?”
“No, Kyan. He was just in here!”
I shake my head. “That was Wyatt, now let fucking go.”
Oakley gives me a desperate shake. “What are you trying to pull?”
“Trying to—” I take in the confused, fearful look on Oakley’s face, and it makes me pause. “I’m not trying to pull anything,” I spit. “Get off me.”
Shockingly, Oakley lets go. He stands there, glaring at me. “That was Kyan.”
“No,” I hiss, “You don’t think I know the man who held me in his room for two days?”
“Then…why did you have his vape?” Oakley’s eyes dart around the room, and he yanks at his hair.
I’m so over this. I fish in my pocket. “Skull mask. Wyatt. Game master. Let’s go.”
Oakley stares at the skull mask in my hand, and then his face goes white and his voice soft. “Where did you get that?”
“Wyatt’s room,” I say, exasperated. “Now we need to go.”
“Holli,” Oakley’s voice is so faint I can barely hear it. “What’s going on?”