Page 30 of The Players

I helped Randy close the store and waved goodbye before we both drove home. Then I had a fifteen-minute drive to go over every single second of my interaction with Spencer.

He’d been kinder than I thought he’d be, and hotter if I was being honest. But I knew better than to trust good looks. I’d been burned before. The strange part was he had sounded like he’d wanted to help me, but I couldn’t trust that either. And if I didn’t play the next game, the consequences were too dire. I’d simply have to play.

It seemed Savannah knew she had me right where she wanted me because she left me alone for the rest of the week. It was as if I didn’t exist in her world anymore. There were no threats, no snide comments, or snide smiles.

It was unnerving.

I’d have stewed on it more, but I was still worried about Mills. Hector had finally gotten a hold of his mother who told them he’d taken a vacation to Europe for the week. I knew they had enough money to send Mills off on a whim, but would they? In the middle of the semester?By himself?

Nothing about that sat right with me.

The boys wanted to comfort me, but I gave them excuses. Randy texted, and I kept it light. I’d already hurt enough people this week, either inadvertently or by just being near them. I needed to keep everyone at arm’s reach for now.

Still, the weekend arrived. Halloween was on Monday, but I’d barely given that a thought since I had so much else going on. I knew the next game was on Saturday night, but I’d been given no other information. My stomach churned as the hours passed, and I waited for the text to come. It finally pinged at 6 p.m.

ANONTXT: Good evening, orphan. Meet us at the Remmington Raceway at 8 and come alone. We have so much waiting for you. ;0)

I stared at the text as my throat squeezed closed. The Remmington Raceway? I wasn’t familiar, but a quick Google search let me know it was a now-defunct race track that had been abandoned ten years ago. It was on the outskirts of town, at least a forty-five-minute drive from my house which meant I’d need to leave within the hour. Not a lot of time to plan, but they’d given me nothing to go on, so it didn’t seem to matter. I showered, dressed, and paced my room. Then, at seven, I went out and kissed my grandmother on the cheek.

“I’m going over to Randy’s.”

She nodded, reaching up to pat my cheek. “Don’t stay out too late. And don’t drink and drive. And watch out for goblins.” She made her hands into claws and grimaced before smiling.

“Goblins and witches, got it. What about vampires?”

“That depends. Are they the sexy kind from that movie we watched a couple of years ago?”

“The vampires from Twilight?”

She pointed at me. “Yes, those. Are they those?”

“Sadly, no.”

“Then avoid them. Definitely.”

“Anything for you.”

I kissed her once again, basking in her smell for a moment. I hated lying to her. I hated lying to everyone. If only I could let them know it was all for them.

The drive was long, but I made it in record time. I was too anxious to drive the speed limit, even though I knew getting pulled over would have serious ramifications. When I turned into the raceway, I scanned the area for signs of what was to come.

I drove through the battered gate with a large sign above that announced you were enteringThe Remmington Raceway. Beneath the sign, they listed several businesses I’d never heard of. The signs were faded and showing wear, as was the paved drive I took to get to the parking lot. Pulling up, the track unfurled in all its abandoned glory. From the parking lot, I could see the racetrack in the distance, or rather, the bleachers that circled it. The main entrance was a large cement wall with two open walkways. Weeds grew up from the sidewalk and sprouted around the boarded-up ticket booth.

The smell of rot and decay was strong as I walked past a garbage barrel and crept past the ticket window. Through the boards, I saw a ravaged booth filled with debris.

Someone (or many several someone’s) had had their way with the buildings that remained. I stared at a sloppy, spray-painted skull-and-crossbones as I slipped past the booth and headed inside.

Still, I saw no sign of Easton Hill or his cousins.

Tentatively, I walked over the weeded sidewalks toward the track. The sun was setting, and it was getting dark. I had to hand it to Easton and Savannah. They knew how to pick locations. Everything about this place gave off a horror movie vibe. There were dark corners everywhere—abandoned bathrooms, areas under the bleachers that had to contain more than trash, and even a pit on the far end of the track that made me shudder.

Still, I walked with my hands fisted reminding myself who this was for. Randy. Her family. The guys. That was what mattered. Besting Savannah was just a bonus.

My shoes crunched on the broken pavement as I stepped on the track. Empty bleachers reared up on both sides, making me feel like a gladiator walking into the lion’s den. I still didn’t see anyone, nor had there been any cars in the lot. That didn’t mean they were hiding somewhere, plotting, but I was starting to get unnerved.

Was this some sort of trap? They’d done it before.

Finally, the overhead lights clicked on. The halogens buzzed as they warmed from orange to yellow, flooding the track and the bleachers with their harsh light. I squinted and held a hand up to cover my eyes.

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