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“Because we want her to be awake for it.” Zach’s voice. He tugs on my hair, and I let him pull my head like I’m still passed out. “And we want him to watch.”

Anger burns in my chest. The fuck they will. I’ll gut this fucker myself if he lays one hand on Harper.

“Man, this is fucked up.” Someone else speaks, but his voice is modulated by something. “We were only supposed to take the girl. And why the fuck weren’t you guys wearing your masks?”

“Because I don’t give a shit if she sees me. And don’t worry about Jack.” Zach sounds almost gleeful. “They’ll pay for him too.”

“What about the others?” Trace asks. “I don’t mind the payday, but people will notice if a bunch of seniors go missing.”

Others? Fuck, what others are they talking about?

“Did they see your faces when you took them?” Zach rubs some of my hair between his fingers. At least if he’s touching me, he isn’t touching Harper.

“Masks and voice boxes were on.” Trace blows out a breath.

But not now. My stomach drops.

He’s not disguising his voice for me or Harper. Which means they’ll need to silence us somehow. So are we dead or are they really going to try to sell Harper? And me?

Zach hums slightly and tugs on my hair. I’m careful not to flinch.

“We dump them off and tell everyone it was a senior prank.” Zach’s voice is nonchalant. Does he honestly think he can get away with this prank? “It’s not like they know it’s us.”

He’s a smart guy. He has to have a contingency plan because you can’t walk into a high school event and set off things that sound like gunfire and come away with a slap on your hand. The administration will want someone’s head to roll for it.

“Dude, you can let me out,” another modulated voice says. “I’m good. You keep my share. I want to fucking graduate high school.”

Something tells me this isn’t going to go over well with Zach. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from watching hours of footage, he demands absolute loyalty.

“The time to leave has passed. There’s only one way out now.”

The van falls silent. I keep my breath steady. The van lurches a little and whatever was against my knee slides against my body.

Harper. Her vanilla scent fills my nose instead of the gasoline smell I’ve been inhaling. I want to curl around her and protect her, but I can’t give away that I’m awake.

“What the fuck is happening?” Zach yells when the van continues to lurch from side to side.

“One of the tires is flat,” Tanner yells back.

I know there are at least five different voices in the van. That’s too many for me to handle on my own.

I don’t know about the other seniors they took or if those students are in here too, but hopefully it’s someone who can help.

And we can find a way to break free.

CHAPTER 20

The Middle Game

Kenz

I bolt awake and see nothing. Even with my eyes wide, all I can see is darkness surrounding me. My heart clatters in my chest. Arms hold me close, and I quickly realize they’re not holding me down.

“Hey.” Brandon’s voice is soft. His hand takes mine, warming me.

“She’s awake?” Penny asks. The words tremble in the air between us.

“Not like that’s going to help us,” Angela Harris scoffs. Her attitude is obvious even without being able to see her. Maybe we got stuck in the bathroom?