Player (A Secret Baby Sports Romance)(313)

Bryce nods; “Let’s go.”





30





Peyton




We’re running through the hallways of the fortress towards the vehicle port, Sasha and I helping Logan limp along and Bryce bringing up the rear, when suddenly there’s a shout from behind us.

I whirl, and my face goes ashen.

“Alright, enough of this bullshit!” The man with the silvered goatee and the piggish face has a thick arm around Bryce’s neck and a gun at his temple. He’s snarling, his face red with rage as he presses the gun against Bryce’s head, his eyes swinging wildly between him and the rest of us.

“Where are they!” He roars, clenching his jaw and tightening his arm around Bryce’s neck. I cry out and take a step towards them, but the man hisses and levels the gun at me; “Back up there, sweet cheeks.” Bryce growls and moves to break free of the arm around his neck, but the man who can only be Benson brings the gun right back to his head; “Easy there, Connors,” He spits; “Now where are they?”

“They’re gone.”

Benson’s eyes narrow into slits, his lips pulling back in a snarl; “What?”

“I said they’re fucking gone, Benson; long gone.”

Benson’s face goes a shade redder and he snarls viciously at Bryce; “You spent them?!”

“I gave them back; donated them to charities the first chance I had.”

Benson roars, yanking his arm tight against Bryce’s neck; “You fucking idiot!” He’s raging now, his eyes wild and spit flying from his lips; “You stupid, stupid fucking idiot!”

The dull roar in my head begins to grow louder and louder, until it begins to drown me; burying me under the force of it and dragging me under. Because suddenly, I’m seeing Bill all over again. The world starts to dim around me, going into slow motion, and suddenly it’s him standing in front of me.

“The fuck have you been?”

Only this time, it’s worse, because this time, it’s not just me. This time, I have a family, and he’s hurt them, again and again. This time, I’m watching him inflict the hurt onto someone I love.

“Don't you dare talk back to me you fuckin whore!”

And I’m done watching.

It’s a fluid move as I turn and grab the gun tucked into Logan’s waist. It’s heavier in my hand than I expected, the metal cold as my fingers wrap around the stock. But then I’m turning, the whole scene playing out in slow motion around me as I whirl back to Benson, raising the barrel in my hand, and leveling it at him.

“Oh, knock it off,” Benson says, rolling his eyes; “You’re not gonna shoot me, sweet cheeks.”

I’m trembling, my eyes locked on Bryce’s - locked onto the man I love as Benson presses a gun to his head.

“Run along home, little girl, before you make me do something to mess up that pretty little face of yours,” Benson says with a snarl.

“I swear to fucking God I'm gonna put some respect into you if I gotta burn it into yer skin!”

“Besides,” He says, winking at me; “We both know you don’t have it in you to kill anyone, right?”

The sizzling smell of my own skin, the bright, blinding pain that sears itself into my heart. And I’m screaming…still screaming.

And suddenly, everything just clicks. The sirens in my head go silent, the gun grows light in my hand, and the world drops away around me as my eyes lock onto Benson; “Wrong.”

The gun thunders with the sudden explosive release, the recoil thudding through my body with one deafening, defining moment. Benson falls back, and it’s almost like slow motion as I watch him tip backwards, as if falling through water, before he crumples to the ground.

And suddenly the world snaps back to normal speed as the whole scene goes silent.

I let the gun drop from my hand, letting it clatter to the floor. I’m falling, the world spinning around me before suddenly Bryce is there, catching me and wrapping me in his arms; “Hey, I’m here,” He murmurs, and I press my face into his chest, squeezing my eyes shut and letting the moment flow through me; “I’m here.”

And suddenly, for the first time in forever, the roaring inside of me is gone, and I feel something new entirely.

Peace.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to look up into my brother’s face as he nods at me slowly; “You OK?”

I grin and grip Bryce’s hand even tighter; “I’m-” I take a shaky breath, finding my center, and breathing in the silence inside; “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s all going to be OK.”

And I know it is.

“Let’s go home.”





31