TRICK ME TWICE
BECCA STEELE
Trick Me Twice
Copyright © 2020 by Becca Steele
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Editing by One Love Editing
Proofreading by Sid Damiano
Cover by Opulent Swag and Designs
Becca Steele
www.authorbeccasteele.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s crazy imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Playlist
Trick Me - Kelis
Supalonely - BENEE, Gus Dapperton
Ready or Not - Fugees
To Be Young - Anne-Marie, Doja Cat
Still Don’t Know My Name - Labrinth
Trouble - Stripped - Mabel
Standing in the Rain - Action Bronson, Mark Ronson
Don’t Come Around - Kodaline
Good In Goodbye - Madison Beer
Acid Rain - Cimorelli
On Hold - The xx
Bloodshot - Dove Cameron
Hurts Like Hell - Madison Beer, Offset
you broke me first - Tate McRae
Teenager in Love - Madison Beer
Unbelievable - Why Don’t We
The Reason - Hoobastank
Find the playlist on Spotify or YouTube
Contents
Author’s note
Halloween
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
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Epilogue
Thank You
Acknowledgments
Also by Becca Steele
About the Author
Author’s note
The author is British, and British English spellings and phrases are used throughout.
For Ivy
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
Oscar Wilde
Halloween
“This is an emergency broadcast announcing the commencement of the annual Fright Night. When the siren sounds, let the games begin. Good luck to you all.”
As the unnecessarily dramatic, robotic voice faded from the speakers, smoke began swirling through the night air, and the sound of a siren blared all around me. Strobes lit up the area in sharp flashes, illuminating the surroundings for milliseconds at a time before plunging us back into darkness.
Beyond the rides and food stalls, in front of the haunted house, stood a group of masked, hooded figures, dressed in black. The masks glowed with neon LED lights, creating sinister slashes over their eyes and mouths. Most of the guys had green, yellow, or orange masks, but the three centre figures had red, purple, and blue masks.
I immediately knew who they were. The three kings of Alstone High.
Kian, Xavier, and Carter.
The guy in the blue mask seemed to stare right at me, and it felt like my heart stopped. Without a shadow of a doubt, I knew it was Carter. I edged closer to the chain-link fence, trying to stay out of his sight.
The sirens suddenly stopped.
His attention was locked on me.
He ran.
I did, too.
1
ONE WEEK EARLIER
I owned this school. I was untouchable.
Sauntering down the hallways of Alstone High with my group of friends, aware of the envious looks thrown our way, even the teachers fawning over us. Most of them, anyway. We were at the top, and Kian, Xavier, and I ruled them all.
And that was the way it was going to stay.
Until one girl ruined it.
“See me after class, Mr. Blackthorne.” My English Lit teacher thumped my desk as he slapped my essay down on it. D. Fuck. If I didn’t keep up my grades, my spot as football team captain was gone. Even worse, I’d have no hope of getting into Alstone College. A degree from there opened more doors than one from Oxford or Cambridge, and if I was going to follow in my dad’s footsteps, I needed to take my place there next year. I gritted my teeth. This was the only class I was struggling in, and it had to be with the one teacher I couldn’t control.
Tearing my gaze away from my paper, my attention shifted to the girl sitting at the desk under the window. Raine Laurent. Plain Raine. Mousey-brown hair scraped back in a tight ponytail, a school uniform that should really be burned, it was so ill-fitting…she had “future librarian” written all over her.
My eyes strayed from the small smile playing across her lips to the paper she was clutching in her hand, and resentment burned through me. How did she get an A, again, and I could only manage a D? Again?
As the bell rang for the end of the class and everyone piled out, I reclined back in my seat, casual and indifferent to everyone’s eyes, but inside I felt my future slipping from my grasp.
“Another D. I expect better from you, Mr. Blackthorne. Your entire future is in jeopardy if you don’t buck your ideas up.” Clenching my jaw, I remained silent, tuning out Prof. Patel’s rant as he laid into me. I focused again in time to hear him say, “I expect a B or above for your next assignment, or you can kiss goodbye to any hope of getting into Alstone College. You may have a provisional acceptance, but remember, confirmation is entirely dependent on your grades.”
When I still didn’t comment, he leaned across the desk towards me, holding his thumb and forefinger up in front of my face, his voice hard and uncompromising. “You’re this close to failing. This is your final warning. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir.” I forced the words out.
“Good. You’re dismissed.” He retreated to his desk, and I got the fuck out of there.
The hallway was already empty, most people having left since it was the end of the school day. I headed for my locker to dump my books before I headed over to the field
