A brief silence.

“And what exactly did you hear, Zach?”

He steps closer, looking at me with one of those emotionless blank gazes he always gets before snapping and entering one of his psycho moods. I step cautiously past him and stand in the open doorway, relieved he’s allowed me a clear path out of the bedroom and, if needed, the house.

“Tank, one of the guys told me Horton has you on the stuff.”

“Shut up,” he says, rubbing his forehead with his right hand. “Just shut up. That’s a total lie. I don’t cheat. I’ll never cheat.”

“Whatever, man, but people are noticing you.” I take a step backward and into the hallway. “All I’m saying is that if a coach is involved, especially Horton, you need to take him down.”

He paces back and forth at the foot of the bed, and I get really nervous when he eyes the gun racks.

Then he just stops and looks at me and says, “You need to leave, Zach. Now.”

“Look, I’m sorry, but I figured you’d want to—”

“Just get out!” he yells, cutting me off. “If you stay, you’ll get hurt, so get out. Now!”

And I’m totally out of that house in three seconds flat.

As I’m sprinting down the street, my new Blaine football hat flies off of my head and lands on a neighbor’s dead brown lawn.

I don’t stop to pick it up.

Chapter_15

15

Four reasons why my life sucks right now:

1. I haven’t spoken with either Tank or Sarah the past two weeks.

With Tank, well, he’s the one who freaked out, so I figure he’ll come around when he’s good and ready. As for Sarah, she probably thinks I’m the biggest loser on the planet, kissing her and showing her Tank’s stash, but then avoiding her all this time.

So why am I holding out on Tank with the Helen Dawkins thing, my knowledge of his crawlspace stash, and my hotness for Sarah? It’s just that … well, as I’ve said, I don’t feel like getting killed, okay? Besides, Tank’s holding out and lying to me, too. Plus, telling him that his dad’s involved in a secret relationship with my boss’s wife isn’t exactly what he needs to hear right now. And regarding the stash, I still have a plan for taking down Hank Horton, but if it doesn’t work I’m kind of hoping Sarah either confronts Tank with the tackle box or steps up and tells her dad about it. I mean, Big Dale is a cop, after all.

2. Bootleggers of Blaine is totally out of control.

When I told Tony Banks and Mike Foreman to spread the word, they sure as hell did. I can’t even keep up with the orders anymore. Economically speaking, demand is far greater than supply or whatever.