Free Triple Threat by Eric Walters Page A

game?”
    JYD turned to her and motioned for her to come over. “No trash talk,” he said quietly. “To get respect you have to give respect. Understand?”
    â€œSorry,” Kia said. She went out to the top of the key as the ball came into play, once again coming to Devon.
    He faked and juked and styled with the ball. He was good. It would have been even moreimpressive if somebody was covering him. He was out there, way beyond the three-point line, putting on a show.
    Ben started yelling for the ball. He was at the top of the key, and Devon bounced in a pass to him. Instantly, JYD was right on his back. Ben started to back in, trying to power through JYD. Ben was big, but JYD was bigger. It was like watching a truck hit a brick wall. JYD stood his ground, finally reaching out and swatting the ball away.
    I scrambled after it, but Ethan got there first, bouncing me off to the side, knocking me off my feet. I sprawled forward, my face plowing into the pavement.
    â€œTime!” JYD yelled as he rushed over.
    â€œIt was an accident!” Ethan exclaimed.
    â€œLoose ball foul!” Kia screamed.
    JYD offered me a hand and pulled me to my feet.
    â€œI’m okay,” I said.
    â€œI didn’t mean to knock you over,” Ethan said. “I’m really sorry, man.” He offered me the ball.
    I shook my head. “No foul … it’s still your ball. We were just both going for the ball,” I said. “It wasn’t your fault. You just got there first and got there bigger.”
    â€œYou sure you’re okay?” he asked.
    â€œI’m fine. I’ve been hit harder before,” I said, although never by anybody that big.
    â€œMaybe we shouldn’t even be doing this,” Ethan said. “I don’t want to hurt anybody. These two are just little. Maybe we should call the game.”
    â€œYou call it now and we win,” Kia said.
    â€œI just don’t want anybody getting hurt,” Ethan said.
    â€œWould it be better if we promise not to hurt you?” Kia asked. “Your ball. Let’s get playing.”
    Ethan started dribbling. He threw a pass in to Ben, who once again tried to back JYD in. Ben was big—at least compared to Kia and me—but he was no match for JYD. Why didn’t he see that?
    JYD reached out and swatted the ball away again. Before either Kia or I could react, the ball bounced into Devon’s hands. He put up a shot and it dropped for two.
    â€œNice shot,” JYD said as he recovered the loose ball. He handed it to me. “I’ll try to get open, but keep an eye open for Kia.”
    I stood up at the top of the court. Nobody came out to cover me. JYD was doubled, and Ethan was halfway between him and Kia.
    Suddenly music came spilling across the court. QTMC was standing by the Escalade. The doorswere wide open and he’d turned up the sound system so it was blasting out. It was one of the songs we’d heard yesterday. He bounded toward the crowd, his arms raised in the air, and the people watching all joined in.
    It was then that I noticed it wasn’t just those dozen or so guys anymore. There had to be three times that many people. There was a couple with a stroller, three guys sitting on their bikes, and what appeared to be a whole team of six- or seven-year-old soccer players, in uniforms, wearing cleats, standing by the fence. It looked like they’d abandoned their practice to watch the game. With the music blaring and everybody waving their hands in the air, it was starting to seem more like a concert than a basketball game.
    â€œCome on, Nick, let’s get playing!” Kia called out.
    JYD broke toward me and away from the coverage. I tossed in a ball to his open arms. As they closed in on him, he pitched it out to Kia. Ethan rushed toward her, his arms raised to try to block the shot. She put it up, barely getting it over his outstretched fingers. The ball went way up, came