Page 120 of Ricochet

“Don’t fucking lose it again. You can’t do this here!”

That manages to stop me.

I stare at him, his face coming back into focus. I glance down at his arm where that cut is hidden by the sleeve of his shirt.

I can’t lose it again.

Meeting his gaze, I give him what he wants this time. I’ll be patient.

“But Icando it?”

His jaw ticks, and I see an easy determination cross his face. “Fuck yes.”

The lights of the citypass by in a blur as Stone speeds down the empty street toward his apartment. I stare out of the window without really seeing them, my vision filled with nothing but black shapes and a haze of white and yellow flares.

I still feel a bit sick to my stomach, lost memories that had gathered dust resurfacing and joining the rest of those shadows.

The scar from the cigar burn on my side stings like a phantom pain.

Coach’s laughter still rings in my ears.

How had I never seen him smoke cigars before? Maybe I had? Maybe I had seen him, but my brain somehow blocked it out.

It tends to do that.

They say repressed memories can return suddenly with a single trigger. I guess I was hoping it would never happen to me.

Stone abruptly beats his fist on the steering wheel. “Fuck!”

My head snaps to the side, and my heart leaps into mythroat. “What?”

The muscles in his jaw are twitching like crazy, his hard gaze boring into the road like he can make it disappear and shorten the distance left.

“We need to get a hold of Eric.”

Hearingthatcome out of Stone’s mouth is the last thing I was expecting.

“Why?”

The next breath he takes is clearly forced. “I think Coach knows about me.”

Even though we’ve both put our hoodies back on and the heat is on full blast, goosebumps rise along my arms. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end. “Why do you think that?”

“I think he was Eric’s source. I don’t know how he knows, but I think he’s the one who brought Eric here. I heard them in Coach’s office a few weeks ago. I assumed Eric was just trying to worm his way onto the first line to get closer to you, but now I think he was trying to get closer to the truth. Coach wouldn’t do it because it would seem suspicious.”

“He also might be worried that I remember.”

Stone nods. “If Coach was a friend of Lewis, then he also could’ve been a friend of Eric’s uncle. If I’ve been killing off all his friends, it makes sense he’d get someone to keep an eye on me. And you. He’s afraid I’m coming after him, and he’s fucking right. Call Eric.”

I take my phone out of my pocket and dial Eric’s number, putting it on speaker. It rings a few times but goes to voicemail.

“Fuck.” Stone presses a few buttons on the touchscreen display in the middle of the dashboard, and another ringing fills the car before Lacey’s voice comes through the speakers. It’s much too cheery for the situation.

“What can I do for you, baby bro?”

“I need you to trace a cell for me. Callum’s going to text you the number.”

Without waiting for more instruction than that, I send Eric’s number to the one on the display.