“What is this game, anyway?” I look from Hunter to Jax then finally at Zay. “I mean, all I know is that, whatever it is, apparently, it meant I had to get tossed off a bridge yesterday, so I’m guessing it’s not a good thing.”

Jax winces at my mention of the bridge then fastens his gaze on me. “Come sit down, and we’ll try to explain it.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Hunter mumbles, no longer smiling. Then he turns and heads for the sofa, snagging my hand as he does and towing me with him. When he reaches the sofa that Jax is sitting on, he sits down, pulling me with him so that I end up sitting wedged between him and Jax.

The scent of cologne and cigarette smoke touches my nostrils, which makes me wonder which one of them smokes. I know Zay does, but the scent isn’t coming from him.

“I still can’t believe they even reinstated the game,” Hunter says as he reaches for a mug on the coffee table in front us. “It’s been years, and they just decided, hey, let’s do this again, only force our kids to play … It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Doesn’t it?” Zay questions. “This is our parents we’re talking about. They love seeing us suffer. Plus, it’s not like it’s the first time they’ve made us play a game,” he mumbles the last part, his gaze flicking in my direction.

I’m not sure why, but it feels like he’s trying to read me. Why? It’s not like this has anything to do with me. Well, except for the fact that I got forced off a bridge and plunged into freezing cold water because of this game …

Okay, maybe it does have something to do with me.

“What exactly is the point of this game?” I ask, discreetly tugging at the sleeves of my jacket to double-check that the bandage is covered since both Jax and Hunter are sitting close enough that, if it peeked out, they might notice.

“To destroy each other,” Zay says matter-of-factly. “To hurt each other. To win and be the most powerful family in town.”

“Well, that sounds lovely.” My tone oozes sarcasm.

“Yeah, I know,” Hunter mumbles then takes a sip of what looks like coffee, but I can smell the burning scent of whiskey coming from it.

Zay starts bouncing his knee up and down as he dazes off at the floor. “We need to find out who threw Raven off the bridge and retaliate as soon as possible. If we don’t, we’re going to seem weak, and we can’t be in that position if we want to win.”

“You want to win?” I ask, surprised. I mean, from the impression I got, they all seemed to hate the world their families come from. Then again, they have gone out of their way to make sure everyone in school is afraid of them, so they clearly care about their image.