Page 124 of Liars

I stared straight ahead, trying to slow my breathing and not freak the hell out.

I was in deep shit.

31

KREED

My football helmet dangled from my fingers as I wiped the sweat off my brow. I’d taken a nasty hit during that last drive, but at least we ended up with a score. It might not have been the touchdown I wanted, but still, three points were better than none.

Maddox was on the field. He was the only one of us who played defense. The crowd was deafening. Cheers, screams, and the stomping of thousands of feet against the metal bleachers. None of it registered. Not when I looked up and didn’t see Kaylor sitting where she was supposed to be.

I scanned the stands behind me looking for a certain pair of piercing light-blue eyes, not that I would have been able to make out the hue from this distance, but I could imagine them all too well, and my imagination was what I had to use since I couldn’t seem to locate her in the crowd.

My brows scrunched together.

I knew the general area where she and Poppy had been sitting, and unless they moved seats, the two of them were gone. This was the third time during the second quarter I’d lookedfor her. A bad feeling settled in my gut and crept up my spine. I told myself that maybe she was getting food or rushing to the bathroom with Poppy. There could be a perfectly reasonable explanation for her absence.

But I knew better.

With less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter, I went to the bench, dropped my helmet to the ground, and reached for my phone.

Then I saw her.

Poppy.

She came tearing down the field, red hair flying wildly behind her. I knew before she even reached me. Before she opened her mouth. Something was wrong.

Kaylor wasn’t with her.

My heart slammed against my ribs, and I closed the distance between us in three long strides. “Where is she?” My voice was rough, urgent.

She huffed, struggling to breathe but finally managed to speak. “They took her.”

This girl really needed to lay off the cigarettes. She couldn’t catch her breath to save her life, and it was making my job of getting information from her difficult. “Where?” If they had her, then I didn’t have a second to waste.

Poppy continued gasping for air, trying to catch her breath. “They—” she started, bending over and gripping her knees. “I don’t know. They just came and grabbed her. They wore masks. I couldn’t see their faces. She went with them. Why would she do that?”

The world tilted, a rush of cold fury surging through me. “Because she’s crazy…and she didn’t want to involve you. Fuck.” I shoved my fingers through my hair.

No further explanation needed.

I turned, scanning the field for my brothers. Mason was already looking at me, sensing something was wrong. I jerked my head at him, a silent command. “Get Maddox,” I ordered. “We’re leaving.”

Mason didn’t hesitate. He took off in the direction of his twin, shoving past people on the sidelines.

“Dude,” Nash’s voice cut through the chaos. “What the hell is going on?”

I met my best friend’s gaze, knowing I was about to ask him to throw away everything he’d worked for. “I need backup.”

His brows furrowed, but he didn’t waver. “What’s going on, Kreed?”

I clenched my jaw. “They took Kaylor.”

Nash swore under his breath. He glanced at the scoreboard, then back at me. “I’m coming with you.”

“I can’t ask you to walk away from a championship game. This is your future, your scholarship.”

Nash hesitated for half a second. Then he unbuckled his helmet and tossed it onto the bench. “Let’s go.”

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