Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 152045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
Leaving the engine running and the headlights on, he opens his door. “Let’s go,” he tells us.
Players from St. Matthew’s, the wealthy suburb of Chicago and Hunter’s school for the past year, walk to meet us, while Stoli, Dirk, and I flank Kade. Jessica stays in the truck.
“Kade Caruthers.” Beck Valencourt grins, walking over with his crew. “How’s it going over in Shitburne Falls?”
Kade laughs. “You know who my grandfather is, right? They would never find your body.”
Beck flashes him a genuine smile—knowing of Kade’s retired gangster grandpa and the stories surrounding him. He’s used to Kade’s jibe. They know each other well, and they better not be giving us Beck as a prisoner, because Kade and he will be frat bros in a year. Kade won’t want to haze him, and I enjoy that part of Rivalry Week, actually.
School-sanctioned bullying? Why not? It’s the one time everyone at your school is finally on the same side. The enemy of my enemy is my friend…
They shake, coming in for a quick hug.
“Will we see you on the slopes this year?” Beck asks him.
“You bet.” Kade nods. “Iron Mountain.”
“Hell yeah.”
Kade glances over at the St. Matthew’s cars parked opposite ours. I look, too, searching the profiles of the people inside.
“I can try to accommodate your request,” Beck says, holding out his hands. “You just can’t have my girlfriend.”
Kade chuckles. “Actually, I just want a football player.”
“I knew that about you.”
“Shut up,” Kade spits out.
The Weston crew, led by Farrow Kelly, approach from the right, exiting the two-lane bridge.
An entourage tails him, two guys and two girls, all about a foot shorter than he is. His blond hair is pushed back under a backward baseball cap, the short sleeves of his black T-shirt frayed. His blue eyes dance as they meet mine, and I look away.
Aro defected from them. She’s a Pirate now. He’s going to make someone pay for that.
Plus, he and his friends invaded Kade’s house on Grudge Night several weeks ago. I’m still aggravated.
“It’s only for two weeks,” Kade continues talking to Beck. “You’ll get him back in almost the same condition.”
“Well, we want Trent.” Beck points to me. “Agree to that and we’ll give you a player.” He gives me a grin. “We want to see what she can do on our track.”
I narrow my eyes. “I don’t want to go to St. Matt’s.” I throw Beck a look. “They’re stuck up.”
He laughs.
And I’m not forcing myself on Hunter. He doesn’t want to see me.
But Kade replies, “You can have her.”
I jerk my head right, glaring.
You can have her. Just that easy?
“Just give us Hunter,” he tells Beck. “If Hunter comes here, she can go there.”
My eyes burn. This is why he wanted me to come tonight. To pawn me off.
But Beck looks confused as he glances to the friend at his side and then back to Kade. “Hunter? Your brother?”
Kade is quiet.
“Hunter checked out weeks ago,” Beck explains. “He’s not attending St. Matt’s this year.”
He’s not at St. Matt’s? I process for a second and then I almost smile.
I warned Kade.
Kade takes a step closer to his friend. “What do you mean?”
“Yeah,” Beck tells him. “I don’t know what to tell you. He’s a loss. Definitely. And he left us high and dry, short a tackle at the last minute too. But don’t you worry.” He smiles wide. “We’ll be ready.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Kade tenses. “Where did he go?”
“I had assumed he went home.”
I see Kade turn to me out of the corner of my eye, probably thinking I might’ve heard something from Hunter, but I haven’t. I have no doubt Hunter’s okay. Just one step ahead of us, as usual. His parents and his grandfather, Ciaran, probably let him go to Chile or Poland or somewhere else far away to study abroad for the semester. Funny they didn’t say anything, though.
“Can we still have Trent?” Beck asks.
I hold my breath.
Kade shakes his head. “Fine, whatever.”
Seriously? Like I’m not even here….
I’m not going to St. Matthew’s.
And I’m not going to make it home by curfew, either.
I step forward, giving all my attention to Farrow Kelly, unable to believe what I’m doing. “You guys have an extra motorcycle?”
Kade jerks his head toward me.
Farrow’s mouth lifts in a smile as he looks me up and down, a Green Street tattoo etched on his neck. “Yeah, but we don’t have a track, honey. Can you handle it?”
“I can handle it,” I reply immediately.
I know where they like to race. Phelan’s Throat. A closed road full of potholes and fallen trees that makes a steep climb with an even steeper down slope. If I can show my dad that I can race it, he’ll train me.
Even if it’s just so no one else does.
“Can I be your prisoner?” I ask.