High Risk by G.K. Parks (books for 10th graders TXT) 📕

to wipe his mouth, and slapped him across the face. Carter’s cheek stung, and his eyes watered. “It’s done.” The third man stared at him. “Pull yourself together. She’s dead, right?”

“Ye-yeah,” Carter said.

The third man held out his hand. “Give me the gun before you blow your brains out.”

Carter fumbled with it, accidentally ejecting the magazine. It dropped into the pool of sick, and he scooped it up, thumbing out one of the bullets before offering it to the third man. The third man reached back, wiped the magazine on Carter’s shirt, and shoved it back into the gun.

“I wish I could have seen it,” the third man said. “What was it like?” He grinned, the tip of his tongue snaking out to moisten his lips. “Did you feel that rush? The thrill? There’s nothing like it.”

Carter doubled-over and heaved uncontrollably.

“You’re cleaning this when we get back,” the third man said. “The car. The gun. All of it.” He turned back around. “Pussy.”

Diego glanced at the man in charge. “What the hell are we doing?”

“Taking back what’s ours.”

“I thought this was about a payday, a means to an end. What we just did, that put targets on our backs.”

The third man laughed. “How naïve are you? They were already hunting us. Now they know we’re hunting them right back.”

Diego ran a hand through his hair, wincing when he brushed against the welt. He glanced down at his fingers. Blood. His DNA was in the system. They might identify him. Then again, after the cop came out of the fridge with the piece of glass stuck in her neck, it’d be hard to find any blood evidence in the store that didn’t belong to her. She’d bled rivers. Frankly, he was surprised she’d stayed conscious as long as she had.

“Still,” Diego glanced at Carter who had curled up on the back seat, clutching his stomach, “what did tonight accomplish? We almost got caught. I stayed in that store for almost an hour. The owner might be able to identify me, and he escaped.”

“I know.” The third man held up the detective’s badge. “But we got what we came for. And Carter, here, finally became a man.” He wrinkled his nose at the disgusting smell coming from the rear of the car. “Just remember, you killed a cop tonight. That’s all they’re going to care about. So if you even think about changing your mind or opening your big mouth, remember they want you dead or buried in some deep dark hole for the rest of your life.”

“But what’s a badge going to do for us?” Diego asked. “I thought you wanted to snag some police uniforms.”

“This is better.” The third man examined his prize. “I never thought we’d bag a detective. This,” he flashed the badge at Diego, “comes with a lot more perks and opportunities. We’re going to live like kings.”

*       *       *

“Careful,” a voice said as I was lifted off the ground. The motion made me sick, and I coughed up more blood. “We have to hurry.” The EMTs slammed the rig doors closed. The one in the back checked the IV. “The lines are wide open,” he called to his partner. “Notify the hospital to have an OR ready. They’ll have to take her immediately into surgery.”

“Do you think they wrote that using her blood?” another voice asked, but their conversation made no sense to me.

The words swirled around, getting lost in the agonizing abyss. My world went dark. My last thoughts were of my parents, Emma, and Brad. I had to hang on for them. I had to tell Brad.

By the time I opened my eyes again, I couldn’t remember what happened. But terror flooded my senses. Someone wanted to hurt me. My head throbbed in time to my heartbeat. He was close. I remembered him hovering over me, staring at me. He had a gun. He was going to kill me.

I screamed and shoved myself backward. I had to get away from him. He was hiding in the dark. Where was my gun?

“Whoa, easy, Liv. Easy.”

The room was a dingy white, and the lights were too bright. Everything spun and wobbled. But despite the brightness, the darkness encroached, threatening to black out the world. Not again. It hurt to breathe, but I couldn’t stop gasping.

“Liv, look at me. You’re safe. I got you.” Brad took my hand and reached for my face. He stared into my eyes until I actually saw him and not the images floating around my subconscious. “I’m here. I’m right here.”

“Brad?” I clutched his hand, realizing I was on the brink of passing out. “What happened?” Something was wrong with me. I just didn’t know what.

He eased me back against the pillow. Concern furrowed his brow and etched lines around his eyes. “You don’t remember?”

I squinted, hoping to recall details, but everything was a blur. I tried to force myself to think, and panic overtook my senses again. Somewhere in the room, something started beeping. My breathing bordered on hyperventilating.

“Liv, I won’t let anyone hurt you. I’m not leaving your side. Not ever.” The emotion in his voice scared me more than whatever memories were lurking just out of reach. His gaze flicked to something behind me, but I couldn’t turn to see what it was. Instead, I clung to his arm like it was a lifeline. He grasped my hand in both of his, running one down the bandage along my forearm and holding my knuckles against his lips. “Everything’s going to be okay. I promise. Shh. You’re okay. You’re okay.” His breath warmed my fingers.

I winced with each breath, slowly calming as he shushed me. Once I had my faculties in order, I realized where I was. “Oh god, Emma’s gonna kill me.”

“Emma’s going to be relieved you’re okay.” Brad