Page 18 of Lose to Win: Lost Trilogy: Part 3
The new cell phone I now have dings on the floor where it fell at some point. I jump to answer it. There are only two people who have this number, one being Puck since they forced me to call him. The other one is Steve, who gave me the phone.
“You are late, and you are going to pay for it, Emily,” he barks into my ear as soon as I answer. “You know the consequences.”
“I’m so sorry,” I cry out. “I am trying to get away from them. I am locked in the bedroom. I need to get out and sneak away.”
There’s a quiet pop echoing in the room, followed by a window breaking.
“What are you doing?” I ask with despair in my voice when I hear Steve laughing.
“That was a warning shot, Emily. He missed on purpose because he is that good.”
I look at the bed and see a small hole in the pillow where Puck’s head would be. My hands start to shake and my chest hurts.
“Now, now, Emily,” Steve tsks, sounding his condescending self. “Use the inhaler I gave you earlier.”
Like a robot, I turn and walk back to the closet where I hid the inhaler under a stack of Puck’s sweatshirts. I pick it up and stare at it for a long second, until the pressure in my chest reminds me that I need this.
I bring it to my mouth and inhale, the relief almost instant. A distant voice in my head nudges at me, telling me that this can’t be good for the baby. But I can’t bring myself to care. I’ll be dead soon anyway, and so will this human that can only be evil, just like its father.
“Now that you’re feeling better,” Steve reminds me of his existence, “tell them you’re leaving. Make sure you make it hurt. Hopefully, he’ll cry,” he snickers.
I go back to the bedroom and finish getting dressed. My hair is in a messy bun, and I look like absolute shit when I see myself in the bathroom mirror.
I pick up my bag and throw the inhaler in it, then square my shoulders and unlock the door to get out. The house is way too quiet when I step into the hallway. For a second, I wonder if maybe whoever shot in the bedroom up here managed to somehow also shoot Puck and my father.
I walk faster the closer I get to the stairs, gripping the banister so hard, my fingers are turning white from the pressure.
“About time you got your ass down here, babe.”
I jump when Puck pops in front of me the second my foot reaches the bottom step, then freeze when I hear his next words.
“Are you done talking to Steve-the-creep?”
6
Puck
“When did you do all this?”Devereaux asks me with a pensive look on his face as he is watching the screen in front of him.
It shows Emily rushing around through the bedroom, definitely not taking a shower. He averts his eyes when she drops the bathrobe to the floor, then puts on a pair of panties and a bra. And then… her new cell phone starts ringing.
“I installed the camera in the bedroom a few days ago when she was at work. And not for what you think,” I cut him off when I think his mind is going where it shouldn’t. “Although, that could come in handy, too,” I smirk.
“Mr. Puck,” he growls at me. “My daughter will never be a subject of dirty jokes to you, or anyone else for that matter.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Chill, grandpa.”
Devereaux freezes in his seat, then spins around slowly until he can face me.
“Why would you call me that?”
“Because you’re old as fuck and you act even older,” I shrug. “Although, I wouldn’t mind making you a grandpa either, sooner rather than later,” I laugh. I realize that he actually is a grandpa now that Wyatt has his own kid.
There’s the beginning of a smirk forming in the corner of his mouth, but then we’re both distracted by the conversation Emily is having with Steve.
“You are late, and you are going to pay for it, Emily,” he tells her as soon as she answers the call. It took me less than a minute to access her cell phone while Devereaux remained upstairs to give me time to do this.
“I’m so sorry.” My anger spikes to dangerous levels when I hear the panic and desperation in her voice. “I am trying to get away from them. I am locked in the bedroom. I need to get out and sneak away.”
