Page 212 of The Pucking Coach's Daughter

He moves past me without another word. I grab for his shirt and fucking miss. He straightens and strides out into the open, his knife at his side. I lunge to follow him, but Carter manages to stop me. His arms around my shoulders, dragging me back into the shadows.

“Oliver?” Her voice wobbles.

“Why does she keep calling for him?” I ask Carter. “She doesn’t know we’re here?—”

BANG!

Carter and I both flinch down, but my gaze flies to my best friend.

Oliver wavers for a minute… and then he drops.

sixty-five

carter

I barely manage to hold Penn back. I get the urge to run for Oliver—I do, truly. But I don’t see blood on him. And a minute later, their ex-teammate walks out from the opposite direction. His scary older brother, who resembles a bulldog, comes out behind him.

He’s carrying a gun, but there’s a very clear distinction: the green tip.

“He hit him with a bean bag,” I breathe in Penn’s ear. “He’s alive. Okay? Come on.”

I try to drag him back around the other way. We need to get to Sydney, wherever they’re hiding her. In the middle of the room, Oliver groans and rolls onto his side. He heaves.

“Get up,” Bear orders.

He’s limping, too. Vicious thoughts of breaking his leg fills my vision. Just as a warm-up. An appetizer, so to speak.

Penn jerks free of my hold, but he doesn’t rush out to save Oliver.

“Listen,” I say, grabbing at Penn again. “You can either go be a martyr, or we can find Sydney.”

“You find her,” he says. “I’m going to save Ollie.”

I groan, but he’s already moving away from me. Bear and his brother are almost on top of Oliver when Penn steps out.

“Let’s make it a fair fight, guys,” he calls. The knife isn’t in his hand anymore, and he spreads his arms out wide. “You don’t think Ruiz came alone, do you?”

Bear laughs. It’s fucking cold and goes straight through me. “I hoped there would be three of you. Save us some time chasing down the SJU rat.”

I bristle. I force myself away from them, circling wide and creeping along the walls. There’s only a row of lights on in the center of the warehouse, casting the rest in shadow. I’d guess Bear and his brother were going for some dramatic effect, but it works to my favor. I keep one eye on them. They’re fully focused on a conversation with a rambling Penn, while trying not to make a sound otherwise.

I am good at this. I’m good at hunting, at stalking.

Maybe that’s why I like acting it out with Sydney…

“Oliver?” her voice comes again. It seems to echo all around, the wobbling tone making my brows furrow.

There’s something off about it. Because it sounds… the same.

Bear laughs. “You didn’t fall for that, did you?”

Oliver pushes himself back to his feet, clutching his side. “What did you do?”

“Confronted her with the mask…” Bear tilts his head. “I must admit, I expected her to run immediately. Instead, she said—well, here. Listen.”

“Seriously? Get the fuck out of here,” Sydney’s voice comes again. Stronger. Angrier. “You don’t just get to follow me around, Penn. It’s fucking creepy. We haven’t moved into the phase where the mask is funny.”

My heart climbs into my throat.