Page 147 of Lucky 14

My brother. I wait for the feeling that I’m not safe to overwhelm me. The feeling of panic that he always brings.

But that small voice in my head is suspiciously missing. It’s not screaming anymore. Not flooding my body with adrenaline. It’s…satisfied.

The annoying crackling of the walkie-talkie starts again. “Piano fingers? You there? Where’s Wyatt?”

We all ignore it. Instead, Holland asks, “You okay?” She looks over at me grimly, but not scared. Oakley is shivering.

I just grunt.

“Not sure where Twenty-Seven is,” Sawyer says on the walkie-talkie. “Anyone have visual?”

“Of course you’d lose him.” Riley’s voice comes over the air.

Faint gunshots sound in the distance, but I don’t really care. I realize that Holland and Oakley stayed. They…stayed. They could have left, but they didn’t.

I can’t help but look at Holland again. The light from the rising sun lights her up like an angel, the sweet look at war with the deadly gleam in her eyes. I can’t help but feel she both doesn’t belong here and was made to thrive here at the same time. Two sides to the same coin.

“Now what?” Oakley’s nervous voice fills the space.

I look away, back at the ocean again. The tide has risen enough to make Weston rise up against the bamboo, ripping it further into his skin. But he isn’t going anywhere. The stake through his torso is dug so deep into the ground that he’d have to rip his body off the top, and there’s a good four feet up in the air.

I don’t know what’s next. I just want to hold onto this moment for as long as I can.

Holland’s voice fills the space. “Day fourteen. Still alive.”

I glance over at her. Right. The game.

“I’m the first woman to win.” She looks over at me. Triumph mixes in her eyes with a little bit of something else…something…hollow.

I blink at her.

She raises an eyebrow, that dangerous woman I’ve come to know flashing in her gaze. “So how about that boat?”

CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

My shoulder twitches as I stare at the wall. We’re back at the small house. Everyone comes in and out of the door, and I just keep waiting for Ky to front. I need to know he’s okay. Need to know if I’m okay.

I’m not okay. A man was drowned in front of me. That’s murder.

Despite the fact that I’m on murder island, this was the first time I’ve…seen it. Like right in front of me. It was chilling how quickly it happened. He was there one minute and just gone the next. Like a doll you took the batteries out of.

But the look that filled Wyatt’s eyes… It was a dangerous look. He looked like a wolf, dangerous and cunning. He’s nothing like Ky, who acts more like a cat. Speaking of Ky, what does Ky think about all this? Whatever Ky thinks, I think.

Everyone is bustling, trying to figure out plans, hunt down any last stragglers, and get off the island. All I hear is ‘boat,’ ‘plane,’ and it makes me want to vomit.

Get off the island.

Leave Ky.

The thought makes my heart race.

Where is Ky? I’ve only seen Wyatt. What if they make me leave before I can talk to him? I feel that familiar panic creeping over me. It feels like the walls are pressing in. Leave Kyan? Like none of this happened?

I need to get away. Get away from all the voices and the noise.

“Going to the bathroom,” I mutter before getting up as quickly as I can.

I don’t want to leave.