I freeze.
But, like—mother effer?
Who says that instead of using the actual swear word?
I snort, despite the fact that I’m fucking scared.
Terrified, actually.
The sound of crunching leaves. Breaking sticks.
I’m incapable of moving another inch, but I can remove this helmet, if only to get more air.
“I said freeze, mother effer! Do what you’re told and you won’t get hurt.”
Do what you’re told and you won’t get hurt.
Definitely a female voice.
Sounds young, too.
A foot lands on my gut, causing me to gasp.
“You’re not the boss of me,” I force out.
A tsk. “You’re in my yard, a-hole.”
I don’t move.
Can’t.
“Take that stupid thing off your head so I can see your face.”
Pause.
“Do it or I’m calling the cops.”
Once again, I comply.
Lift the thing off my head, darkness making it impossible to see, especially when—
“Jesus!”
I’m blinded by flashes—a cell phone camera—one after the other.
Then the clicking of a tongue as my eyes adjust to what little natural sunlight remains. A porch.
A yard.
A girl from my senior class staring down at me.
“Well, well, well—if it isn’t the one and only Easton Westermann committing a crime in my very own backyard.”
Chapter 1
Easton
Three days earlier…
