Clay's screams jolt me awake as the morning light from New York City streams in through the window of the hotel room I'm staying in.

"Baby, wake up, it's just a nightmare." I hold him close. His body, dripping with sweat.

"Raven?" He questions to make sure it's me.

"I'm here, I'm right here," I tell him softly.

He lays his head on my chest, his breathing comes back to normal.

"H..how long has this been happening? I ask, running my hands through his hair.

"A few times before you left, then every night since then, but this time it was worse," He says quietly.

I keep running my hands through his hair. Trying to keep him calm.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask nervously.

He rejects me with a head shake and tightens his grip on me. I stop interrogating him further. We both get up when there is a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Clay says as he kisses my forehead.

"Who is it?" I ask, he walks back to the bed with an envelope.

"No one, but whoever it was, left this," He hands it to me. The front of the envelope says,

Raven

I open the envelope and read the paper that is inside.

Raven, we're having a game night this Friday. We would like you and your friends to attend. Meet us at 8pm on first and thirty-seventh street Sleepy Hollow. – Brooks

"What is it?" I don't respond to Clay's questions; instead, I pick up my phone and call Brie.

"Hello?" She says sleepily.

"You and Logan get to my room, now!"

Clay and I both quickly get dressed once I hang up the phone. Five minutes later, there's a knock on the door. Clay moves to open it.

"Dude, when did you get here?" I hear Logan ask.

"Last night," Clay responds, "Get in."

As I sit on the bed, they all shuffle over. Even though it's only 7 a.m., Brie appears irritated that I got her up so early.

"Why are we here?" She asks, annoyance in her voice.

"This," I hand her the paper. As she reads it her eyes go wide.

"Holy shit, they want us to hang out?" She's weirded out like I am, she hands the paper to Logan.

"Who's they?" Clay says, his anger filling the room

"The vamps we encountered last night. They asked Ray about this already and she said no, guess they want us at their game night," Logan finishes.

I look at Clay, he doesn't say anything, just looks at me, then...

"leave...NOW!" He barks his orders at Brie and Logan.

Fuck my life!

Logan and Brie leave as the door closes I can feel Clay's eyes on me

"Explain everything," He demands.

Great he is pissed, I swear the only emotion this man has is anger.

I start by explaining how I bumped into Erik and just went from there.

"That's it?" He asks, searching my face as if I'm hiding something from him.

"Yes," I look out the window, "But something is wrong."

"What do you mean?" He puts his arms around me.

"I...I don't know, I have a feeling that there's more to this game night than they lead on." I look at him. "These guys, Brooks and Erik. I swear Clay I know them from somewhere, I just don't know where. They both look so familiar and I can't shake the feeling that I know more about them than my brain is letting me know."

"Well, what do you want to do?" He asks, knowing damn well he shouldn't have. Doesn't he know me by now?

"I intend to return to the club tonight, and I'm hoping they'll be there. I don't know, maybe we can discover what they're doing. Remember that a face conveys a lot, so maybe if we can get some pictures or other evidence of the group for observation, we can unravel this enigma." I inhale deeply.

"No!"

I stand up, "What do you mean no?"

"I mean, we're not going. This is obviously what they want if you sense something is going to happen." He is tense, his jaw gritted.

He looks sexy when he gets mad

Stop thinking like that! My subconscious tells me.

I chuckle to myself in a soft voice. He merely takes pleasure in dictating my actions to me. He is conscious of the fact that doing so is unethical. Should I stop putting myself in uncomfortable situations given that I do not readily give up? The answer to this question is likely to be yes. But if you know me at all, you know that I'll practise my aim in front of the mirror. I've never been one to back down from a fight, and I have a sneaking suspicion that one is about to break out amongst us and the others. I am not a defenceless damsel, so there is no reason for anyone to come and save me. It's possible that I'm a little bit crazy, but one of my favourite things to do is to screw with people's heads, especially naïve boys. After then, I have the realisation that I am one hundred percent definite about the course of action that I will take.

"Ray, whatever your thinking stop right now," Clay demands, standing up from the bed. I don't pay attention to what he says and walk towards the door.

"For fuck sake, where are you going?" He calls after me.

"Brie and Logans' room, I have a plan."

"Jesus Christ," He mumbles as he follows me out.

They let us inside after Brie answers the door when I knock. Thank goodness Clay is a neat freak like me because when I glance around their room, it's a complete disaster. Of course, Brie found someone who is just as untidy as her. We settle down, and when I explain what I want to accomplish, they agree. Although Clay disagrees, he has no other option.

"So Logan and I figured that this all has to do with you," She says looking at me, I wave my hand for her to continue, "Well, the group wanted your attention, case in point, they know our names but the letter was addressed to you only."

"See and this is why I don't want you near them." Clay barks.

"But if it's truly my attention they want, then I'll be able to break down their walls." A wicked smile covers my face, "better yet, get to their heads"

"How are we supposed to do that?" Logan questions.

"Erik, he's the king of this operation or a pawn, either way he is easy to move. From the way he spoke, he leads that group." A devious smile comes on my face

"Oh no!" Brie says quietly.

"Oh no, what?" Both Logan and Clay bark at us.

"She wants to play the game." She looks directly at me.

"What game?" Both boys question, anger filling their voices.

"She's going to play a game of street chess." Brie looks at the boys, they look at her confused. "Basically Erik is the king on the board, Raven being the Queen..."

"And since a King can only move one space at a time, I'm at an advantage cus a Queen can move freely, so I'll always be one step ahead."

Checkmate!

"But I think I want to change things up a little bit. Nate is the one who vies for my attention, Erik tries to put a stop to it. Erik may be the King but going after one of his friends may break him faster." A wicked smile crosses my face.

"How is this going to work?" Clay asks

Brie and I look at him, not knowing how to tell him that I need to make Nate one of my conquests. Clay looks at me and he finally clues in.

"You want to play the game that Jamie spoke of, don't you?"

A subtle smile crosses my face as I imagine all the scenarios that can happen. Clay grabs hold of his hair as he holds onto his anger. I quietly get up and nod at Brie who smiles knowing what's coming next. I walk out with Clay on my heels yelling at me.