The Four Day Fakeout

The Four Day Fakeout West Oaks Heroes Hannah Shield Copyright © 2023 by Hannah Shield All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Cover photography: Wander Aguiar Cover design: Angela Haddon Produced by: Diana Road Books Edgewater, Colorado Contents Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Epilogue Also by Hannah Shield About the Author Prologue Fourteen Years Ago I was one-quarter awake and dreaming. One of those dreams that seems like it could be real, yet you know it’s not. I was throwing the ninth inning of a no-hitter against West Oaks Prep. My hands were tacky with rosin, and the dust and grass were thick in my nostrils. The catcher signaled for a back-foot slider. A tough pitch even for a pro. For me? Pretty much impossible. But this wasn’t real anyway. So I wound up, pronating my wrist just-so on the release. The ball slammed into the catcher’s mitt, barely missing the foot of the left-handed batter. Out. And there was the game. The catcher stood, a hand reaching up to tug off his mask. Instead of my pock-marked teammate’s face, a pair of plush, feminine lips smiled at me. Long auburn hair tumbled down around her face. But that dark and hungry glint in her eyes? That wasn’t the way my best friend usually looked at me. Hey, army, Harper said. You didn’t choke. I strode toward her, giving her my cockiest grin. I was in desert camo, complete with body armor and an M4 slung across my chest, which was weird. But Harper wore my jersey and nothing else, which was very much okay. A bumblebee flew past my ear, and I shooed it away. The crowd was still roaring, but I didn’t care about the win. Just the girl in front of me. You thought I’d blow that pitch? No, I figured you could handle it. I had faith in you. She put her hand on my chest, gazing up at me. My rifle had disappeared. Why haven’t we ever done this before? Done what? I asked. Played ball together? You hate it. You never even come to my games. No, not that, she said. Her hand moved down along my stomach. Then kept going, dipping inside my waistband. Oh, that. Fuck. This dream was turning into a best-friends-to-something-more porno, and I was absolutely down for it. The bumblebee did a fly-by again. I brushed at my ear. But the buzzing didn’t stop. No, I thought. Come on. I really wanted this dream to play out. Because this scenario between Harper and me was never going to happen in real life. I opened one eye. The light on my nightstand was on, and a green dot flashed on my phone. I grabbed the device and flipped it open. Harper: Shelborne, are you up? I see a light on in your room. Would you fucking write me back? I need a ride. It’s an emergency. The words swam in front of my eyes. It was—jeez, two in the morning? Then, a final message that really told me this was serious. PLEASE. I snapped to full alertness. I still had half a hard-on, but it was fading fast. My thumbs jotted out a response over the keys. Me: I was asleep. Where are you? Harper: Outside. My front yard. Code Red. Me: omw I swung my legs down and almost stepped on my little sister Madison. My toes nudged her before I cursed and pulled back. She cracked an eye. “Hi,” Madison whispered. She was hugging her stuffed green dinosaur, and she’d made a nest beside my bed with her My Little Pony sleeping bag and LA Dodgers pillow. One of my hand-me-downs. “What’re you doing?” she asked. “What’re you doing?” “I was scared.” “Because you watched The Shining with Aiden on TV. After I told you not to.” “He dared me!” “Because he’s a little shit.” I didn’t have to look to know that my brother was asleep in his bed across the room. Fourteen years old, and the kid snored worse than our dad. Madison was eleven. Despite our age difference, I got along with her far better than I did with our other siblings. But maybe that was unfair. The twins were only seven. As the oldest, I was supposed to wrangle my siblings and keep them in line. But that was like herding chipmunks. “Don’t tell Aiden I got scared of the dark,” Madison whispered. “He’ll make fun of me.” “I won’t tell him if you’ll cover for me.” I stepped over her and grabbed my jeans from the back of a chair, followed by my wallet and truck keys. “Where are you going?” “Harper’s.” “Are you going over there to kiss her?” “What? No.” Scenes from my dream surfaced in my mind, and I shoved them back down. “She’s upset about something. She needs my help.” “What’s wrong?” Madison’s voice was getting louder, and I had to put a finger over my lips and shush her. “Don’t worry about it. Just cover for me if Aiden wakes up and sees I’m not here. Or if Mom…” We both knew how our mom would react if she realized I’d snuck out. It wasn’t the kind of thing I usually did. Mom would demand to know all. Madison nodded. “I can handle it. If you pay me twenty