Page 12 of Dark Things (Payback Duet #1)

Haunt

G ame day. My first one that’s going to be televised and thousands of people will be watching, but the only person I care about seeing me play is Reb. She’s never come to a game before.

High school football is like playing with other kids, nothing serious—or, at least, it wasn’t for me, but then I got to play in a small college before Skyton and it became everything. I was undercover for most of it, so no one knows who the real me was, but it still was thrilling.

Here I get to be myself, play the way I know I can, and test my limits. Sure, the NFL would be the dream, but I could never leave my life without Reb. And she would make a terrible football spouse. Let’s just say Reb is in her own class of women, and I wouldn’t have it any other way .

“Are you ready for this?” Colter asks, tying up his cleat. As captain, I guess it’s his job to check in with everyone.

“I am. Feels like I’ve been training for this since I got my first pigskin,” I reply, grinning wide and trying not to make it seem like I’m a deranged killer, even if that’s exactly what I am.

Stafford and Brooks walk over to where we’re sitting, eyeing me up as if to find fault, but I don’t let them see the buzz of excitement or tremble in my hands.

“Being on the field with a camera crew is a mind fuck, but if you ignore it and keep your head in the game, listen to the calls, and play like you’re going into battle, you should be fine,” Brooks says, his hand slamming down on my shoulder a little harder than necessary.

Brooks is a big dude, matching my height but having about thirty pounds of muscle on me. He’s a formidable center, not letting much get past him. He’s protective and reliable. I’m sure that’s why he’s the BFF of the quarterback, Colter Shultz.

“Battle, huh?” I chuckle. “Not sure if I’d be comparing the two, but I hear ya. It won’t be easy, but I got something to play for tonight. I’ll be focused.”

“Something or someone?” Staff asks, his eyebrows a tad furrowed.

I’m surprised. Why would he be interested in who I have in the stands? And then it hits me. Reb. We all share Math Analysis together, and he looked a little interested when he approached us the first day.

“Someone. Reb, she’s here to see me play. She hasn’t gotten the chance before. We were too busy in Kentucky.”

It’s not like I can tell them much, but for some reason I want them to know Reb is mine.

We haven’t talked about this aspect of our cover, but if it keeps fuckboys away from her, all the better.

We don’t have time for interested parties making a play for her attention, even if we’ve dabbled with a third in the past.

“You guys are together?” Staff asks, his scowl is a little deeper and I see him clutching his helmet a little too tight.

Huh, interesting. Neither of us has even talked to him much.

Or maybe Reb has and didn’t tell me? We’ve always had an understanding.

If there’s someone out there we’d like to fuck, we bring them in.

Never alone. No, I don’t think she’s shown interest. I trust her with my heart.

She would have said something, meaning this is Stafford testing the waters.

That leaves me extra curious, because he’s hot with his nerdy glasses and three piece suits.

“She’s the most important person in my life. Together isn’t the word I’d use. It’s more than that, or deeper. She’s my person.”

“Deeper? Like you’re in love and obsessed, or like she feels the same and it’s more than just a casual relationship with traditional rules?” Staff asks .

I laugh this time because if Reb found out he was calling her traditional or what we have as traditional, she’d be cracking up. Nothing about Reb is ordinary.

“Nah, it’s none of those. Reb is my partner in every way that matters. She’s just more than some girlfriend or college fling. She’s mine.”

I keep the growl out of my voice, but I need to leave before I start to throw my weight around to make sure they know to stay away.

While I don’t think they’re bad dudes, I can’t have them sniffing around too much.

Fucking people is very different than trying to be in someone’s life.

And our life is too fucked up for these pretty boys.

“All right, dipshits. It’s time to get on the field. Let’s go out there and slaughter the Bulldogs. We need to crush this. The first game always sets the precedent for the season. Bring me a win!” Coach yells, getting us all pumped up.

The guys start yelling and jumping around the locker room, getting amped up. It’s hard to not surrender to the energy, and I’m shouting by the end of it.

No one would be able to see Ghost the killer. They’d see Haunt, the normal, twenty-one-year-old college kid.

We race out of the tunnel onto the field, and the noise hits me first. There are thousands of people in the stands cheering us on. Excitement bubbles up inside, but as I scan the crowd, I’m only looking for one person.

And there she is on the fifty yard line. Right in the front. She’s got on my jersey, with tight as fuck jeans. Her hair is pinned straight in a ponytail, face just as beautiful as always.

We make eye contact, and she stands up, kissing three fingers and holding them out to me. I clasp my heart in response before jogging over to the rest of the team huddle.

I can’t wait to score for my girl.

Rebelle

Seeing Haunt play is fucking exciting. His team is really good, but the way he moves…it’s like watching him on a mission, but without the killing. He’s always been liquid and smooth, his body shifting to where it needs to be before his thoughts match up. I’m in awe.

I’m also very mindful of three other players on the team.

Even from up here in the stands, I can’t help it.

They’re here, after all this time, and my rage turns into a tornado of fire inside of me.

Especially when the announcer goes on and on about the dream trio. How they’re so perfect on the field.

Of course they are. They didn’t get put into juvie at the age of sixteen, and they weren’t tortured and beaten until they became one of the country's most sought after killers. If they peeked into my world, there’s a good chance they’d pass out from fright.

The past needs to stay locked up, but it keeps slamming into me, reminding me of everything I had to go through.

“I can’t believe he’s playing! This is just so amazing. Finally, my brother is able to show the world what he’s got. I mean, look at him,” Cat squeals.

Apparently, I don’t need to be Haunt’s cheerleader, since Cat has that covered. She’s more excited than me to be here.

Her long strawberry blonde hair is curled to perfection. She has on a mini denim skirt and Haunt’s jersey tied into a knot at her side. A sliver of her stomach is showing. She looks amazing, like a perfect Barbie college girl.

I’m a bit darker, with my hair up in a ponytail, ripped black jeans, and Haunt’s jersey tucked into the front of my waistband.

I have on my combat boots and the two tattoos on my forearms are out, giving me an edgy look.

The jeweled mandala on my left is done in a kaleidoscope of colors.

Hidden inside are messages to Haunt about my love for him.

The other tattoo on my right is the word ‘Pitch,’ my code name for missions.

I’m sporting my don’t-give-a-fuck face, which keeps a lot of the assholes away from us. Not that I’m worried if anyone approaches us, but Cat is with me, and I don’t trust anyone with Haunt’s twin.

Colt throws a pass and the ball arcs in the air, moving almost too fast for me to track, but then number twenty-three jumps and catches the ball. He lands on his feet and starts to run with the ball cradled in his arm.

Turf comes up from the ground from where his feet are digging into the dirt and when he gets to the goal line I stand up, screaming so loud a few people cover their ears.

Haunt looks for me, and when our eyes connect a shiver runs through my body. My heart, my soulmate, just scored his first touchdown in a real college game.

“That’s it Haunt! Let’s go!” I scream. My hands pump in the air, and Cat grabs on to my side, jumping up and down.

Haunt puts both hands to his face mask and makes a kiss motion to throw it at us. I kiss three fingers and hold it out to him. I’m smiling so big I almost miss the three other guys crowding around him, but then I see them, and I go stock still.

“What was that?” Colter asks, after I jump down from my horse. I won the competition, and I’m on cloud nine.

“I figured it was time to have a special way to signal to you guys that I love you. So three fingers, one for each of you, and a kiss to make sure you know you’ll always be in my heart,” I say.

Staff kisses my forehead as Brooks smiles wide. “I love it,” he says.

All that attention on me isn’t something I want. I’m trying to forget all these feelings inside me and seeing them everywhere isn’t making it better. In order for my plan to work, they need to stay as far away from me as much as possible.

They disperse after the coach calls them over to go down the tunnel for half-time. I sit back in my seat and take a sip of the beer we bought on our way in.

“You want something from the snack stand?” Cat asks, getting out of her seat and grabbing her bag.

“Maybe a hotdog? Just ketchup. No mustard.”

“Ew…yeah, mustard belongs on German sausages, not hotdogs.”

I laugh, almost spitting out my beer. “That’s what I tell your brother all the time. He’s notorious for mixing the two. I’m glad we’re on the same page when it comes to condiments.”

“Girl, we probably have more in common than that. Especially once we start our own competitions. Show those football jocks what a real sport looks like.”

Her smile is almost sinister, and at that moment, I believe even more that she’s Haunt’s twin. He gets the same gleam in his eyes.

“All they have to do is run and catch a ball. We move a thousand pound animal just with our thighs. There’s no contest.”