Page 114 of Their Dangerous Game
I plant my feet. “What? No. My tire is fixed. I’m going home. Mom is expecting me.”
He stops and crowds me, but I hold my ground. “And I’m not letting you drive home in a car someone already fucked with. Call your mom and let her know the tire was more damaged than you thought and you’re getting a ride from a friend.”
“I could just call her to come pick me up,” I throw back at him.
“Fine, but I’m not leaving you out here alone while you do and I need to get back to practice. Are you walking or am I carrying you?” He lifts his eyebrow. He’d do it too.
I glance around the empty lot.
“Fine.” Being out here alone already spooked me.
I text Mom as Caden pulls me to the football field. Mom tells me she’s still at the hospital and to grab a ride with a friend.
I sigh.
“What?” Caden stops. We’re just outside the football stadium, and I can see a group of three guys looking our way. No need to guess who they are.
“Mom’s at work.” I glance up at him. Even though it’s probably useless, I have to try again. “My tire is fixed. Give me back my keys and I can get home on the spare.”
“No, you won’t.” Caden grabs my chin and lifts my face so that I have no choice but to meet his glare. “You’ll sit on the bench like a docile little pet, or I’ll spank you worse than anything Luke will ever do to you.”
I open my mouth and then shut it. Arguing with him is pointless. Besides, the horsemen may have backed off today, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still fair game. If Caden decides to punish me, there’s not much I can do to stop him.
He takes my silence as compliance and drags me over to the bench on the side of the field. “Sit. Stay.”
I’m tempted to bark at him, but I roll my eyes and sit on the bench.
He tips my chin up, and his eyes narrow on mine. “If you leave, I will be in your bedroom tonight.”
I bite my tongue to keep from sayingpromises, promises.
He leaves me to join the others. They talk for a minute and glance over at me a few times, but I try my best to ignore them.
The coach blows his whistle, and the guys get back into practice. My bag is locked in my car, so I don’t have my homework to work on. I have my phone, but Mom is at work. Kenz is planning on meeting Brandon tonight. I’m not about to text the user girls. I could text Tanner to give me a ride home. He did promise to be my hero, but I don’t really need saving tonight. Not any more than Caden has already done. Not that I needed anyone to save me. I fixed my tire and was ready to head home.
Am I creeped out because someone probably did it on purpose? Of course. And I would have discussed it with my mom when I got home.
Now I havetheirattention again. Just when I believed I was free and clear.
I pull up Candy Crush and play through my lives. That’s the problem with the higher levels. It takes a while to get through some, and I fail on all five of my lives. I try to ignore the sounds of pads colliding and grunting men on the field.
At least Caden put me at the end they aren’t currently doing drills on. I look around, curious if whoever is out for me is still watching. None of this started until the horsemen claimed me, but it doesn’t make sense.
I mean, they could still be two separate incidents. The prank and the car tire. Someone punishing me for having the horsemen’s focus on me. Because that’s my fault. I scoff. Or maybe someone punishing me to get the horsemen’s attention.
Some of the guys run sprints while Luke throws to Eli and another guy. The other guy doesn’t seem that good. He almost drops the ball twice and fumbles it another two times.
When Luke catches me watching, I decide staring up at the sky is a much better way to pass the time. I lie down on the bench and stare at the endless blue sky. A cloud would make this so much better.
“Wake up.” A hand nudges my hip. I go to roll away from the offending hand and meet with only air. My heart flips. My eyes pop open to see the ground rushing my way, but then I realize I’m floating there and an arm is banded around my waist. “Didn’t know you were so accident-prone.”
Jack. I lower my feet to the ground and stabilize myself before he releases me.
“I fell asleep.” Wow, way to state the obvious. I shake my head, vaguely remembering staring at the empty blue sky.
“Apparently.” Jack sits on the bench and looks up at me. He pats the space next to him. He’s still in his practice gear, covered in grass stains. His black hair is plastered against his head.
Not fully alert, I drop onto the bench and realize no one else is out here with us. “Practice over?”
