Slightly Tempted (Slightly Series, Book Four, Teen Wolf)

CHAPTER SIX---Orphaned

I stood with Dad in the hall at the school. "Dad, really. I'm okay."

Dad stammered, looking down at the evidence bag in his hand with Violet's thermo-cut wire. "I should've been here. It was your first game and you nearly got killed."

"But I didn't," I told him, trying to keep the mood up as I smiled. "Thanks to Derek."

"I still should've been here."

"You're here now."

Violet and Parrish walked out into the hall.

Violet looked at his name tag. "Jordan Parrish?"

"Deputy Parrish," Parrish replied.

As she walked past me and Dad, she smirked at me evilly. As she walked past McCall and Scott, she glared. She walked past Liam in the doorway to the other hall.

Dad and I stood next to Scott and his dad.

"Sheriff, what is that?" McCall asked, looking at the bag. "Is that the weapon?"

"Yeah," Dad answered. "It's a thermo-cut wire."

McCall looked at the burn around my neck, having this look that said he knew what it meant, following Parrish and Violet. "Parrish, hold up."

Dad followed McCall.

I looked at Scott as Liam walked closer. "Guess I am useless enough to almost get you and Stiles killed."

Scott shook his head. "Stace, you're not useless. If you were useless, Violet would've killed you long before Derek saved you."

"How inspiring," I said semi-sarcastically. I sighed. "Time to set the training into overload."

Liam stopped next to us, Scott asking, "Where's Kira?"

"She took off," Liam answered. "Stiles told her about Lydia cracking the second part of the dead pool."

"Her mom's on it."

"Everyone's on it."

"You're not on it."

"Not yet."

"There's still another third, right?" I asked.

Scott and Liam didn't answer, looking like they were listening to something.

°

Stiles, Lydia and I skipped school the next day. We followed Parrish into the station. "Your dad should be back within the hour. You want to wait in his office?"

"Actually, we want to talk to you," I told him.

"Privately," Lydia added.

°

In Dad's office, Parrish looked at some of the names on the second half of the dead pool. "This is a hitlist?"

"We call it a dead pool," Stiles said. "Recognize any of the names?"

"Yeah. The Sheriff had me run a bunch of these through the system last night. But we couldn't find any of them."

I looked at Lydia. "Show him the other thing."

Lydia tilted her head at me. I gestured for her to do it. She took the paper and flipped it over to see his name under the fold.

Parrish stood up, turning around. "Okay. That's kind of terrifying." He sighed. "What's the number?"

"That's how much you're worth," Lydia answered.

Parrish looked at us. "I'm worth five dollars?"