Shredded by Tracy Wolff Read Free Book Online Page A

you?”
    “No.” I don’t know why I admit it. At least not until he smiles and the damn thing lights up his whole perfect face. For the first time, I actually get why the women line up to throw themselves at him. The knowledge only makes me more wary, and I take a second step back.
    “So,” he says, brows raised. “Are you ready to blow this pop stand?”
    I start to turn him down, to make something up to get away from him, but the fact of the matter is that I’m breaking out in a sweat despite the cold. If I don’t get out of this clinic soon, they’re going to have to carry me out—after medicating me into a drug-induced stupor. “More than ready,” I finally admit.
    “Me too.” Z puts his hand on my lower back, starts to guide me toward the door. I shrug him off, shoot him a glare, but he just grins. “I had to try.”
    “Yeah, well, don’t.”
    We push the door open and walk into the waiting room. Before I can do more than take one step forward, we’re surrounded.
    “What did the doctor say?” Cam demands, poking at Z’s forehead. He winces but other than that tolerates her concern.
    “Tell me you don’t have a concussion, man. You’ll be out for weeks.” Ash looks miserable at the very idea.
    “I’m good,” Z answers. “Just a little bump.”
    “A little bump? You were knocked out for three or four minutes!”
    “I’m fine, Cam.” He reaches out and pats her head. “I swear.”
    “Excellent! X Games invites are going out soon, and with the Olympic trials next month, it would totally suck if you were grounded,” Luc tells him, then glances at me curiously. “What are you doing here, Ophelia?”
    “I had a doctor’s appointment. Z was just showing me the way out.” I pull out my cell phone, glance at the time. I’ve got fifteen minutes before the next bus leaves for the resort, which means I need to move it if I want to get to the bus stop in time. “Thanks,” I tell him before heading toward the door. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
    “Hey, wait!” Luc says, jogging after me.
    I don’t stop until I hit the sliding glass doors at the front of the clinic. The second I step outside, the tension leaves me in a rush. I take a few gulps of air before turning to look at Luc, who is watching me curiously.
    “What’s up?” I ask.
    “Where are you rushing off to?”
    “Back to the lodge. I’ve got things to do.”
    “Are you working today?”
    I pause for a moment, consider my answer. But since I haven’t gotten any better at lying in the last five minutes, I opt for the truth. “No.”
    “Awesome. Then you can come with us. Since Z’s okay, we’re going to catch a late lunch and a movie.”
    “I don’t think—”
    “Don’t think,” he says. “Just come on. It’ll be fun.”
    I know I should say no, but I haven’t been to a movie in months. Haven’t done anything fun in months, if I’m being honest. And Z’s friends seem nice enough, even if he is a total hound.
    “What movie?” I ask as I study him through narrowed eyes.
    He names a thriller I’ve been dying to see, and my resistance drops another notch. Still, I’m no pushover. “What’s in it for you?”
    “What do you mean?” He’s wearing a butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-his-mouth expression.
    I cross my arms over my chest, refuse to give an inch. “You know exactly what I mean.”
    It’s his turn to study me. Finally he says, “I don’t care what he says. Z took a pretty hard hit today. If we don’t distract him, he’ll be right back on the half-pipe, and honestly, I don’t think he’s up for it.”
    “What do I have to do with that?”
    “He’s interested in you. If you come along, he won’t be in any hurry to rush off and try to kill himself again.”
    His words are light, but there’s an underlying grimness to them that tells me there’s more going on here than meets the eye. “So I’m bait?”
    “Pretty much, yeah.” He grins engagingly, and despite myself, I’m suckered