Against the Odds Read online

  AGAINST THE ODDS

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  With thanks to

  GHC,

  soccer legend.

  AGAINST THE ODDS

  For a moment Elizabeth couldn't move. If she screamed, no one would hear her. If she went inside to try to save Ronnie, Max would take her captive.

  I've got to call the police! she realized. As she backed away from the window, she looked around for a phone booth. There wasn't one in sight. Elizabeth ran around to the back of the building, wincing as her feet noisily hit the gravel.

  She found an abandoned gas station on the other side of the building, and there, on the wall, was an old, rusty phone booth.

  Elizabeth sprinted up to it and picked up the receiver. Her heart jumped when she heard a faint dial tone. She struggled to keep her fingers steady as she dialed 911.

  "Emergency," a voice at the other end answered.

  "Hello, I'm—"

  But those were the only words she could get out before a large hand clamped over her mouth.

  "Aughh—"

  A choked scream was all Elizabeth could manage as she felt herself being dragged backward toward the building.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  One

  Elizabeth Wakefield shot a quick glance at the scoreboard. There were only forty-five seconds remaining in the game, and the Sweet Valley Gladiators were tied with the Palisades Pumas.

  "I hate time-outs," Enid Rollins, Elizabeth's best friend, said. "They always happen just when the game is getting exciting!"

  Elizabeth nodded in agreement. The tension was almost too much to bear. If the Gladiators lost this game, they would be eliminated from the championships. If they won, they would end the season in a tie with Big Mesa for first place in their division. The two teams would have to face each other the next Saturday in a special play-off game.

  If it were any other Sweet Valley team, the outcome of the game wouldn't have meant quite so much to Elizabeth. But her boyfriend, Jeffrey French, was on the soccer team, and that meant all the difference in the world.

  Elizabeth smiled as she thought about Jeffrey. For days he had been so excited about the game that he could barely talk about anything else. But Elizabeth hadn't really minded. In fact, she admired his winning attitude. It was almost as if he were incapable of giving less than one hundred percent. Jeffrey wasn't one of the team's highest scorers or flashiest players—his best friend, Aaron Dallas, fit those descriptions. But in his own dependable, enthusiastic way, Jeffrey was the backbone of the team, and Elizabeth knew that Jeffrey was one of the main reasons the Gladiators had done so well that year.

  "Let's go, Gladiators!" the cheerleaders yelled. Elizabeth looked down to see her twin sister, Jessica, waving her pom-poms energetically, leading the cheer. Immediately Jessica caught Elizabeth's glance, and her face broke into a wide grin. "He's going to do it—you—wait!" Jessica shouted. Then she looked slightly to Elizabeth's right and blew a kiss to her boyfriend, A. J. Morgan. A few students in front turned around to see who the kiss was headed for, and A.J. blushed.

  Elizabeth laughed. Leave it to Jessica to steal the attention away from the most exciting game of the year, she thought.

  Even after sixteen years, Elizabeth was still amazed by the differences between herself and Jessica. On the surface they were mirror images—Elizabeth's eyes shone with the same sparkling blue-green as Jessica's, and her hair was the identical shade of blond. Her perfect size-six figure, the dimple in her left cheek, even the gold lavaliere she wore around her neck—everything matched Jessica exactly.

  But for all their similarities in looks, their personalities couldn't have been more different. For every conservatively stylish outfit Elizabeth had, Jessica had one that was wild and trendy. Elizabeth enjoyed long walks with Jeffrey and deep talks late into the night with Enid. Her greatest dream was to become a writer, and she loved working for The Oracle, Sweet Valley High's newspaper. But to Jessica long talks were fine only if she was the topic of conversation. And she had no patience for sticking to one thing: her interests changed from week to week, depending on what project excited her the most at the moment. The latest project was creating earrings that Jessica was convinced would revolutionize the jewelry world.

  Of course, there were times that Jessica had tried to change—for instance, when she had first met A.J. She had thought he only liked conservative and studious girls, so she tried to behave like one. As usual with Jessica, she had gone overboard, becoming so quiet that A.J. had gotten bored with her. Fortunately she had come to her senses before it was too late, and she and A.J. were now closer than ever.

  A sudden roar from the crowd made Elizabeth snap out of her thoughts, and she quickly located the action on the center of the field. A pack of players from both teams had converged on the ball. Suddenly a tall, blond figure emerged. As he ran down the field, his tousled hair blew out behind him in the breeze.

  "Yea, Jeffrey!" Elizabeth cried at the top of her lungs.

  Enid let out a loud whistle. "Go for it!" she yelled, grabbing Elizabeth's hand and squeezing it. Her curly brown hair bounced up and down as she jumped with excitement. On Elizabeth's left, Julie Porter clapped her hands and cheered.

  "Ten seconds remaining!" the announcer's voice bellowed over the PA system.

  Jeffrey continued to maneuver skillfully toward the Puma goal, past three more defenders. He faked left and went right, causing the goalie to lean the wrong way. Then, with lightning-quick reflexes, Jeffrey drew his foot back and kicked the ball directly toward the goal.

  The goalie scrambled to recover his balance, but the ball flew past him into the back of the net.

  "Score!" the announcer yelled.

  A thunderous roar erupted in the Sweet Valley bleachers. Enid and Julie both threw their arms around Elizabeth.

  "It was all because of Liz" Enid said. "Seriously! Did you notice Jeffrey looking at you just before he scored?"

  Elizabeth giggled. "Sure, Enid," she said. "And didn't you hear him call out my name just as he kicked the ball?"

  "Well," Enid said with a shrug, "at least that's the way I saw it."

  At the sound of the final buzzer, the entire Sweet Valley team swarmed around Jeffrey on the field. As they lifted him up high onto their shoulders, he threw back his head and laughed.

  "Come on," Enid urged, starting to climb down the bleachers. "Don't you want to congratulate him?"

  "Sure I do. I'll be right there," Elizabeth said. But for a moment she wanted to stand still and take it all in. Jeffrey looked so wonderful, and she wanted to remember this moment for a long time.

  Loud music, laughter, and conversation greeted Elizabeth and Jeffrey as they walked arm in arm into the Dairi Burger, followed by Enid and her boyfriend, Hugh Grayson. Elizabeth had never seen the place so crowded before; it was a real celebration.

  "Get ready for a hero's welcome," Enid warned Jeffrey.

  He laughed. "Oh, come on, Enid. I wasn't the only—"

  "Hey, there's the man of the hour!" Aaron Dallas's voice rang out above the din.

  Jeffrey's face turned pink as people yelled out his name in congratulations.
>
  In the center of the crowd, some of Jeffrey's teammates were shouting the loudest: Aaron, Tony Esteban, Michael Schmidt, and Brad Tomasi. Flashing a wide grin, Aaron broke away from them and squeezed through the crowd to Elizabeth and Jeffrey. "Enjoy it, buddy," he said. "A little hero worship never hurt anyone!"

  "I don't know about that," Jeffrey said wryly. "Look at what it did to you!"

  Aaron laughed and punched him playfully in the shoulder. "Watch it, French!"

  Elizabeth smiled. She remembered a time when Jeffrey couldn't have kidded around with Aaron, back when Aaron was angry about his parents' divorce. But with Jeffrey's help, Aaron had managed to pull through the hard times, and once again they were the best of friends.

  Elizabeth felt a tug on her sleeve. "Come on, Liz. I can't save these seats forever, you know!"

  Jessica was pointing to a long table in the back. Chatting away on either side of A.J., with their shoulder bags and jackets thrown over four empty seats, were Lila Fowler and Amy Sutton. Even though Elizabeth found both girls snobby, they were two of Jessica's best friends, and she had learned to get along with them—most of the time. Smiling politely, she led Jeffrey, Enid, and Hugh to the table.

  "How does it feel to be the star of the team, Jeffrey?" Jessica asked as Lila and Amy cleared the seats around the table.

  "Well, I don't know about that," Jeffrey said with an embarrassed chuckle. "I mean, I could still screw up in next week's game."

  Jessica groaned. "Jeffrey, you're too modest. I'm afraid my sister is rubbing off on you."

  "Hey, just a minute!" Elizabeth protested.

  With a giggle, Jessica squeezed around the table toward her chair, which was wedged tightly against the wall. As she leaned over the table to balance herself before she slid into it, one of her earrings flew off, landing with a clatter on the table.

  "Uh, tell me something," Enid said, lifting the large earring made of black plastic and dangling, sparkling beads. "Is this a Christmas tree ornament or an earring?"

  Everyone at the table burst out laughing—except for Jessica. Raising an eyebrow, she took the earring from Enid and put it back on. "For your information, these happen to be the latest fashion."

  Enid shrugged. "I have to admit, I've never seen anything like them."

  "That's because Jessica made them herself," Lila Fowler said, sounding proud of her friend. Lila was known as the richest, snobbiest girl in Sweet Valley, but she had her loyalties—and Jessica was one of them.

  "Just wait till she starts marketing them," Amy Sutton added, giving Enid a triumphant look. "Then we'll see who's laughing."

  Elizabeth looked up to see Ronnie Edwards sauntering up to the table, dressed in an expensive-looking designer shirt and pleated pants. It was a far cry from his usual jeans and rugby shirt, she noted.

  "Hey, look who's here!" a voice suddenly called out. "I guess this is the table of honor," Ronnie commented. "What'll you guys have? I'm taking orders—it's on me!"

  "Uh-oh," Enid muttered under her breath.

  An uneasy silence fell over the table. Elizabeth remembered all too well that Ronnie had once been Enid's boyfriend—and she could never forget the rotten way he had treated Enid after becoming insanely jealous over an innocent letter she had received from a former boyfriend.

  Ronnie stood by the table, his sapphire-blue eyes twinkling. "Come on, don't be shy! Get whatever you want. You guys deserve nothing but the best!"

  Elizabeth gave Jeffrey an uncertain look.

  He smiled at Ronnie. "Uh, that's really nice of you," he said, "but we're all set. Besides, there are a lot of people at the table—"

  "Hey, money is no object," Ronnie insisted. With a flourish, he pulled a wad of bills out of his pocket. "I got a good deal on my Mustang convertible, and somehow I had all this left over, too. Not bad, huh?"

  Elizabeth noticed three surly-looking guys at the counter who were staring intently at Ronnie's money. They looked too old to be high-school students, and with their sunglasses, beard stubble, and leather jackets they seemed like the kind of guys it would be better to stay away from. Elizabeth hoped that Ronnie would quiet down and put his money away before they got too interested.

  "Well, look who won the lottery," Lila said with a smirk.

  "Better than that," Ronnie said. "I earned it."

  "Oh, please," Lila said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "What have you been doing, mowing every lawn in Sweet Valley since the age of two?"

  Ronnie smiled. "No, let's just say I've got connections."

  "I get it," Amy said dryly. "One of your friends robbed a bank, right?"

  "No, nothing like that," Ronnie said, chuckling.

  Lila raised her eyebrows knowingly. "Well, then, it has to be some kind of inheritance or trust fund or something."

  "I wish," Ronnie replied. "Anyway, that's not impor—"

  "Come on," Jessica pleaded, her curiosity piqued. "How did you get it?"

  Elizabeth saw a look of disgust cross Jeffrey's face. Abruptly he stood up from the table and said, "I'm really thirsty. I think I'll go get a round of sodas for the table."

  Puzzled, Elizabeth watched Jeffrey walk toward the counter. Within seconds he was surrounded by students congratulating him about the game.

  Looking over his shoulder at Jeffrey, Ronnie shrugged. "I hope I didn't offend anyone. I only wanted to—"

  He was cut off by a gravelly voice. "Yo, did I hear you say you had a Mustang convertible?" One of the three guys from the counter was standing next to Ronnie, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

  "Yeah," Ronnie said uneasily.

  "No kidding," he said. "Great car, man! I haven't seen the new model yet. Is that the one you have?"

  "Yep. It's pretty incredible, too. You wouldn't believe the acceleration. . . ."

  Elizabeth stopped listening to their conversation, along with everyone else at the table. "This is too weird," Enid muttered to Elizabeth. She stood up and walked off to the counter, followed by Hugh.

  "Well, leave it to Ronnie to really bring this table to life," Amy said.

  "So anyway," Jessica continued, as if nothing had happened, "I'm not sure I want to start marketing my jewelry right away. I think it's important to develop a small local reputation first, don't you think?"

  "Uh, listen, guys," Ronnie interrupted. "We're going to go outside for a second to look at my car, but I'll be right back. Remember what I said: I expect this table to be full of food and drinks the next time I see it!"

  Deep in conversation about jewelry, Jessica and her friends ignored Ronnie. But Elizabeth kept her eye on him as he walked outside. It was weird, the way that guy had just come up and talked to Ronnie. They didn't even know each other.

  She glanced quickly around the room. Jeffrey was deep in the crowd, still inching his way to the counter. Off to his left, the other two tough-looking guys were staring at the front door. They seemed to be waiting for something or someone.

  Then, as if on cue, one of the guys looked at his watch. Liz could see his lips form the word now. When the two men straightened up, they bolted out the front door after Ronnie and their friend.

  Elizabeth stood up and tried to push her way through the crowd toward Jeffrey. She had a feeling Ronnie was in trouble.

  Two

  "I don't know how you scored that goal, French!" said Brad Tomasi, the Gladiators' left wing.

  Michael Schmidt, the team's co-captain with Aaron, shook his head. ''It was pretty amazing. There were three guys covering you on the play!"

  "No, there weren't, Mike," Jeffrey protested. Then an impish grin spread across his face. "There were four."

  As his teammates broke up laughing, Jeffrey caught sight of Elizabeth squeezing her way through the crowd toward him. He smiled, but then he saw that her face was lined with concern.

  "Liz, are you all right?"

  Elizabeth grabbed Jeffrey's hand. "I'm fine. But I need to talk to you for a second."

  "Be right back," Jeffrey told his
friends. As he followed Elizabeth toward the door, he chuckled. "What's up? Are there reporters waiting for me outside?"

  "It's Ronnie," Elizabeth said in a serious tone. "I think he's in trouble."

  "Oh, yeah? Did he run out of cash or something?"

  "No, but he might soon. There were these really creepy-looking guys standing at the counter, Jeffrey. I could see them watching Ronnie when he was flashing all that money around. Anyway, one of them came up to the table and started talking to Ronnie about his car. Then they walked outside, and the guy's friends followed a couple of minutes later, as if they had timed it."

  Jeffrey frowned. "Where did they go?"

  "I guess out to the parking lot. I mean, maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe they really do just want to look at the car, but—"

  "I'll be right back," Jeffrey said without waiting for her to finish.

  "This way." Ronnie pointed. "It's on the other side of the parking lot."

  "I want to show you my Lamborghini first," answered the guy in the leather jacket, who had introduced himself as Bruno. "I keep it hidden in the back, so no one paws all over it. People can be weird about nice cars."

  "Right," Ronnie said with a laugh. "I know what you mean."

  Ronnie smiled as he followed Bruno to the back of the Dairi Burger. For months he had been driving around in the old Toyota his mother had left behind after his parents' divorce. Who'd ever have thought he'd ever drive a car nice enough to think about hiding? Thank you, Big Al, he thought.

  Even though he had never met Al Remsen, Ronnie felt as if the man had changed his life. Things hadn't been going too well between Ronnie and his father lately, and money had been tight. Ronnie had heard of Big Al through a customer at his father's all-night grocery store. At first he had been reluctant to deal with a bookie, especially Big Al, who had a reputation as the coldest, toughest guy in the business. But he was also the richest, and the whole thing had turned out to be so easy. All Ronnie had to do was put down a few dollars on high-school teams from Al's sheet, which listed the odds on all the area games. Ronnie seemed to have a knack for betting, and each week his winnings grew. Soon Al had become like an uncle to him, letting him bet on credit, lending him the car . . .