Page 185 of Five Mountain Daddies

“Just up there, I swear this’ll only take asecond.”

I turn around a bend, and I don’t know why, but I’m suddenly afraid. I pull the car over, ready to turn around and get the fuck out of here, but before I can there’s a gun pressed against myside.

“Why’d you stop?” Reggie asks mesoftly.

“What the fuck?” I say,shocked.

Reggie’s grin is huge. “I told you, it’s justahead.

“What are youdoing?”

He leans toward me. “You’ve been a bad boy,Wyatt.”

“What thefuck?”

He shoves the gun harder against my ribs. “Drive or I killyou.”

I start driving again, mind racing. Why the fuck is Reggie doing this shit? Is he getting revenge for something I did in high school, or is he just trying to robme?

And then the answer becomes obvious: he’s a fuckingNiner.

Of course he is. That’s why he lives in a trailer, that’s why he’s still in Mason. That’s why he made up withAtticus.

I’m such an idiot. I should have done more research on him, at least checked to see who he was friends with on Facebook. Instead, I just blindly accepted that he’s the guy he used to be back inschool.

They knew I’d do that, or at least he probably guessed. He knew I’d let him get close to me like this, and now I’m alone with the fucker, and he’s got a gun on my goddamnribs.

Fear spikes, but I have to keep it at bay. I can’t let fear destroy my mind right now. I’m going to need it if I can get throughthis.

Unbidden, Cora’s face flashes through my mind as I come up to a clearing. “Park up there,” Reggiesays.

Cora’s face, smiling at me, as I pull the car next to sometrees.

“Get out,” Reggie says. “Slowly.”

I open my door and climb out. Reggie keeps the gun trained on me before slowly climbing out hisside.

And I know it’s my only chance. I turn and sprint off into the trees. I briefly hear Reggie curse, and I brace myself for the gunshot, but he doesn’t pull thetrigger.

I crash through the underbrush. I can hear him coming after me, but I have a good head start. I jump a fallen log and wind my way through trees, getting into denser and denserforest.

“Wyatt! Stop, motherfucker!” Reggie yells. He sounds out ofbreath.

I don’t slow down. I curse myself for not bringing my fucking gun, but I can’t do anything about that now. I keep pushing myself, running as hard as I can, my breath coming in ragged. I know I can’t keep running forever, but I need some space between me andReggie.

I crash through a dense bush, right into the center of a small ring of trees. Instead, of going forward, I step to the side and press myself up against one of the trunks, my back against it. Reggie couldn’t have seen my move, and I’m hoping he’s running hard to just keeppace.

I hear him blundering closer. He curses and pushes in through the bushes, trotting after me. He goes past and I step out behind him, catching him by the neck on his shirt, yanking it back as hard as Ican.

It catches on his throat, pulling him backward. He’s surprised, not expecting that, and he drops back. I slam him onto the ground and he makes an awful gagging sound as I drop on top of him, slamming my knee into the wrist of his gun hand. He releases the weapon as I slam the heel of my hand into his face, smashing his nose. I feel and hear the bonebreak.

“Fuck!” he screams. I grab the gun from the ground and get off him, rolling to the side and standing. “Oh fucking shit, you broke mynose.”

I level the gun at him. “You’re lucky that’s all Idid.”

He snorts blood onto the ground and sits up, staring at me with these wide, wild eyes. “You should go back to the city, Wyatt,” hesays.

“Yeah? Why’sthat?”

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