Page 122 of Liars

Her lungs drew in a deep puff of smoke. “It’s a lot easier to agree to keep things casual until you’re actually casual.”

“I know what you mean,” I muttered.

She spared me a quick glance before her eyes returned to the road ahead. “I thought you might, but I have to say I’m surprised you got yourself tangled with Kreed. I had my money on Mason.”

“Seriously, Mason? I mean, he’s good-looking. They all are, but he’s?—”

Poppy grinned. “Not Kreed. I get?—”

The loud roar of an engine cut her off.

I turned just as a dark, definitely bulletproof sedan came speeding up beside us, swerving aggressively into the other lane, matching our speed, and it wasn’t Evan. My detail still trailed a safe distance behind us.

“What the hell?” Poppy muttered, glancing in the side mirror.

A weird chill ran down my spine. The car was too close, almost like they were?—

The driver jerked the wheel, the car swerving toward us, its tinted windows making it difficult to see in the night.

Poppy gasped and gripped the wheel tighter. “Okay, seriously, what is this guy’s problem?”

I turned to get a better look, my stomach dropping when I saw them.

Two men.

Wearing masks.

My breath left me in a sharp exhale. I swore if this was Kreed’s or Maddox’s idea of a sick joke, I was going to kill them, but then I remembered. Unless they forfeited the game of the season to play a prank on me, it couldn’t be them, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t gotten one of their sick friends to do it.

“Poppy,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

She saw them too. The color drained from her face. “Oh my god.”

Panic clawed at my chest. They weren’t just messing with us. They were here for me.

The sedan veered closer, forcing Poppy to swerve to avoid them. My heart pounded. If they ran us off the road—if they got their hands on me…

Grabbing my phone, I quickly found Kreed’s number, my fingers trembling as I pressed it. Did he keep his phone on the sidelines? I prayed he was on the bench while the defense took to the field. Would he see my name flash across the screen? It was a fucking long shot, and if I had time to think of it, I would have wondered why Kreed was the first person I thought to call.

Evan was in the car behind me. I might not have his phone number, but surely, he would do something to stop this car from killing us.

Before I could hit send,BAM!

The sedan rammed into us.

Poppy screamed. The car jolted violently, skidding toward the shoulder. She fought for control, her knuckles white as she gripped the wheel. “No, no, no—” she chanted, slamming on the brakes.

The car fishtailed before jerking to a stop. My breath came in ragged gasps, my pulse hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat, but before I could process what just happened, another impact shook the road. My security’s black car slammed into the masked men’s sedan at full speed.

I turned just in time to see the other car spin out of control, tires screeching as it whipped across the shoulder, plowing into the embankment with a sickening crunch of metal. For a second, everything was silent. Poppy and I sat there, stunned, wide-eyed, our chests rising and falling in shallow, panicked breaths. Then reality crashed back in.

I snapped out of my daze and turned to Poppy, urgency surging through me. “Go.”

Poppy blinked at me. “What?”

I grabbed her arm. “Drive, Poppy! Now!”

I didn’t want to stick around to see who would be the first to crawl out of the wreckage.

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