The Perfect Escape (The Perfect Escape #1) - Suzanne Park Page 0,65
Grumpy McGrumpface, who continued marching in silence, eyes locked forward, making it a mission of hers to avoid all eye contact.
A message flashed on our wristbands. 24 HOURS REMAINING. 70 CONTESTANTS ELIMINATED. 30 PARTICIPANTS STILL IN THE COMPETITION. GOOD LUCK!
I marked the message as “read.” Kate glanced at her watch and continued down the trail.
“Kate, we need to stop. I have to piss! Too many Capri Suns.” One last try to get her to slow down and talk to me.
Please, just talk to me.
She shouted over her shoulder. “Hurry!” Slowing her pace, she added, “I have a rock in my shoe anyway.” Hallelujah! No more silent treatment.
A nearby Douglas fir, over a hundred feet tall with a green, thick, moss-covered bottom akin to Treebeard in The Lord of the Rings, was as good a place as any for a long watering. I unzipped and relieved myself for a full minute, honest to God. Eyes firmly closed, I basked momentarily in my man versus nature glory moment.
“Hey! Bruce Lee. How’s the karate coming along?”
Terror jolted through my entire body, and a voice inside me screamed for me to run. But I couldn’t—Pete was standing only a few feet behind me, my pants were unzipped, and my guy parts were hanging out.
This encounter wasn’t going to go well.
“Give me a second,” I said. Think, Nate. Think.
“It’s not like I haven’t seen your skid dick before in the locker room, Natey boy.”
Hands shaking, I zipped up quickly and turned around.
Pete wasn’t alone. Annie was standing right next to him, eyes wet with tears.
“Annie, did he do anything to you? Are you okay?”
Pete barked out a laugh. “Me, hurt Annie? Nah, Nate. You got it all wrong. She’s been instrumental in this whole plan.”
“What plan?” I asked, panning my glare from Pete to Annie.
She sighed. “Why couldn’t you just take the money? If you’d done that, we wouldn’t even be here.”
“What plan? Why are you here?” I repeated. “I don’t understa—”
Pete cut me off. “I thought you were a smart skid, but apparently I have to spell it out for you. Guess you were too dumb to see the coincidence of your dad losing his consulting gig at the company where my dad’s a VP. What was supposed to happen was you would tank your grades, take our generous skid donation, and it would be a win-win for everyone. But now look.” He pulled something out of his pocket that was sort of like a stun gun, but more pistol-shaped.
Shit, a Taser. One of those expensive high-voltage ones that shot needles AND electricity at you. “Now we have to make sure you lose this competition. Then you’ll have to take my money.”
I turned to Annie. “You knew about this? You were in on it?”
She took a step closer. “I wasn’t at first. You have to believe me.”
“So…you mean, you at the roller-skating rink?” Nate, you fucking moron, don’t make her answer that. I knew couples’ skate was all bullshit, way too good to be true.
It was a ruse.
She scammed me in the worst way possible.
Using my pathetic skid heart.
I instinctively recoiled with her next step forward. Acid reflux kicked in just thinking about that night at the rink. It was one of my best memories too. And it was a lie.
She wiped her eyes. “Pete recruited me that night, on skate day, when he drove me home. He saw me with you at the rink and thought I could help you change your mind.” Eyes pleading, she added, “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, and he recruited me after we hung out that night. I swear. He said you were already on board with everything, I just needed to help pull you over the line.” She hung her head and closed her eyes. “He said he’d pay me what he paid you. I needed the money for college.”
Pete had his Taser pointed right at me. The neon-green laser dot danced across my chest.