Page 74 of Lose to Win: Lost Trilogy: Part 3
“That is not something you should worry about,” he smirks at me. “Instead, you should wonder if you’re still going to be alive by the time today is over.”
My eyes go wide in shock when I see a van, just like the one in the picture I was texted, turning onto the street. I turn in my seat and watch as it pulls into my father’s driveway.
The windows to the car I’m in are tinted dark, so there’d be no way for anyone to see inside of it. Even if I had realized sooner that Puck was in that van, he would not have seen me.
I was played. Again. When will I ever learn?
“People do really stupid things in the name of love, don’t they?”
I keep my gaze straight ahead, refusing to engage in whatever head game he thinks he’s playing with me. The baby in my belly gives me a soft kick, reminding me of his existence. And now I wonder if I’ll ever be able to even meet him.
I can’t go out like this, I decide. I will channel my inner Becca and kick this asshole’s ass. I just need to focus and come up with a way to do it. And once this is all over, I swear to God and all that’s holy that I will never be this naïve about anything. I will have to trust that Puck is smart and strong enough to save himself. That way, I can stay alive.
“People do stupid things only when other people try to trick them into things that are out of their control,” I finally answer this man’s question, which I’m pretty sure was rhetorical.
“Oh, you do have some fire in you,” he snickers. “Steve led me to believe you were meek and needy.”
“I guess Steve doesn’t know me as much as he thinks, wouldn’t you say?”
I hope none of this will backfire. I am all sassy all of a sudden, but with the wrong person. My life is in his hands. At the same time, what do I have to lose? If I go, I want my last conscious thought to be the knowledge that I fought until the end.
The man doesn’t respond. We sit in silence as the car keeps on going to parts unknown. All of a sudden, I think I recognize the direction we are heading. I wonder for a second if the cell phone I have on me has the tracker turned on or if these people turned it off.
When the car pulls into my driveway, I give him a condescending look.
“You brought me to my own house?”
“Hiding in plain sight and all that good stuff,” the man smirks at me.
“It didn’t work before,” I point out. “Why would it work now?”
The driver turns and leans over the back of his seat.
“Because why would I be stupid enough to bring you here two times in a row?”
“Steve.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes at him. I can’t believe his dumb ass scared me for all this time. If it’s the last thing I do, it’ll be killing Steve. I will gladly join Puck and his friends in the criminal ranks of life.
We walk into my house, and I hate it on sight. This used to be my safe space, where I learned to be independent and learned how to support myself.
Now, it just looks like a torture chamber. I will never look at any of the furniture here in the same way as before.
“When’s your friend getting here?” Steve asks, sounding positively giddy.
Hearing that we have another person added to this mess is making me nervous. I was hoping that I could come up with a way to take Steve out. This other guy doesn’t strike me as the type who would get his hands dirty. But if there’s another one coming, I won’t make it.
“He says he’s thirty out,” the man responds.
“Who are you?” I ask him. I don’t understand why he wants to do me any harm.
He eyes me thoughtfully, but then grins, amusement clear on his face.
“I’m surprised Lucas never told you about me.”
“Lucas?”
Nobody I know calls Puck by his given name. This could only mean that this person is someone who knew him from before he became Puck.
