Page 2 of Death Rydes Shotgun

His fingers clamp tightly around my wrist, jerking me back.

Rage flares hot in my chest, but before I can slap his hand away, Noah shoves his phone screen inches from my face.

A single photograph glows in the red-lit room.

The air locks in my lungs. My pulse roars in my ears, completely drowning out the party music.

It’s clear, sharp, and undeniable—proof of the secret I’ve spent months hiding. The one secret that will destroy my reputation, ruin my future, and burn my entire life to the ground.

“I have more.” Noah snatches the phone back, his bird-like chest heaving. “I’m showing everyone on Monday.”

He turns and bolts toward the front door before I can even draw another breath.

Two hours later, and Blaire’s estate sits empty, leaving only the four of us sitting on the back hood of my old Toyota Camry in the cold driveway.

Bryan pulls his coat tight around his half-naked body due to his Rambo costume. “You’ve barely said ten words since Noah talked to you, Harm. What did that dip shit say to you?”

I stare at the frozen grass beneath my boots, my knuckles three shades lighter where I grip the edge of the bumper.

“Noah knows.” My voice shakes. “He knows my secret.”

Bryan freezes, his drink halfway to his mouth. “What secret would that be?” He smirks. “What we did last summer?”

He raises his eyebrows, wiggling them as he chuckles.

I glare at him. Now isn’t the time for jokes.

“Oh.” He swallows hard. “That secret.”

“Yes. The one that affects more than just me. He said he’s telling the whole school on Monday,” I say, my voice dropping into a razor-thin cadence.

Tre kicks a loose rock across the gravel. “Fuck. We can’t let that little freak run his mouth.”

“Over my dead body,” Bryan scoffs.

Blaire examines her nails apathetically, twisting her lips. “Please. Mouse isn’t going to do anything. Don’t waste your energy.”

“You don’t know that,” Tre growls. “We can’t take the chance.”

Blaire rolls her eyes.

Tre is right. We can’t risk it.

I can’t risk it.

“Then we’re not going to let him. We’re going to give him The Last Ride tonight. Scare that little shit into silence,” Blaire says.

I raise an eyebrow. “That’s dangerous, and dumb. Noah’s not a stranger, Blaire. He knows us.”

I look up at the three of them, the cold terror in my chest hardening into something sharp and ugly.

At my core, I know this is wrong, but at the same time, it might be the only way to make sure Noah doesn’t say anything.

“Which is exactly why it’s the perfect plan.” Blaire slides off of the hood, and saunters over to open the passenger side door. “We offer him a ride home. We act like we want to make a deal with him to buy his silence. And once he’s in the car, we show him what happens to people who try to mess with us.”

With me in the driver’s seat, everyone piles into the car to make our way to Blackwood Highway.

After ten minutes of driving, my Toyota sedan continues to glide through the thick fog hanging over the eerie road.