Page 99 of Puck Me Back to Life

“That's it.”

The panic doesn't disappear. But it slows a little. Enough.

I press my car keys into his hand. The metal lands against his palm. He stares down at them, Confused.

“Go wait in my car.”

“What?”

“I need two minutes.”

“Ash—”

“Go sit in the car.”

The words come out firm. Certain. No room for argument.

For once, he doesn't argue. He simply nods. Then starts walking. I wait until he's through the exit doors. Then I turn around and head back into the locker room to grab our things.

And if anyone says the wrong thing about Noah Grove while Kai is falling apart in my car, I'm liable to start a fight.

11

Kai

The walk across the parking lot feels like moving underwater. I don't remember leaving the arena. I don't remember crossing the sidewalk. One moment I'm standing in the hallway staring at Ash while he presses his car keys into my hand. The next I'm unlocking the passenger door with fingers that don't feel like mine.

The door clicks open. I climb inside. The car smells faintly of cedar, leather, and whatever cologne Ash wears. It's becoming a familiar scent. One that my brain immediately associates with quiet.

I don't deserve that association.

My vision blurs as I lean forward until my forehead rests against the dashboard. The surface is cool beneath my skin. I close my eyes.

Noah Grove.

The words repeat over and over until they stop sounding like words and become something heavier.

A punishment. Maybe that's what this is. Maybe this is finally the universe balancing the scales. Maybe I was never supposed to escape.

The passenger door had barely closed before the panic started pressing against my ribs. I try to breathe the way Ash told me to in the hallway, but every breath catches halfway down.

In.

Out.

In—

William's throat.

Blood on the ice.

The screaming.

My stomach twists violently. I squeeze my eyes shut harder.

I hear the rear hatch open. Equipment bags hit the back of the SUV with two heavy thuds.

A second later the driver's door opens. The seat shifts beneath Ash's weight.