Red-hot rage slithered up my spine, and I was across the elevator in one stride. My palm pressed into his chest, slamming him up against the wall. The elevator shifted, the signal that we were arriving at his floor. “Watch it, Ross,” I seethed.
His grin widened. “You know. I wasthis closeto believing you.” He held a hand up in the air next to my face, his forefinger and thumb only centimeters apart.
I stepped away from him as the door dinged. He adjusted his shirt, then ambled toward the opening. “But thank you for the confirmation.” Then he disappeared down the hall.
What the hell just happened?
Exhaustion licked at my bones. I made it back to the hotel room with Trinity’s medicine a little after three. I had barely managed to sleep, my mind looping back to Jagger in the elevator. I stumbled through the motions of preparing for the game in the locker room. Tablet was ready. Headsets were ready. Everything was like any other game. Except for Trinity. She was back at the hotel. She’d called Rodney this morning to let him know she was sick, and when I reluctantly left her, her fever had dropped to a low grade. It took most of my strength to leave, but it wasn’t as if I had a choice of where I wanted to be. And if I had been given the choice, there was no doubt on what my answer would be. Which meant I had some serious things to reconsider in my life.
I was in the office, grabbing the last of my things, when a knock snagged my attention. A sour pit formed in my gut when I saw Jagger.
“Got a sec?” he asked.
Glancing behind him, I nodded. “Close the door.”
He was in full uniform, and we had about ten minutes until warm up.
“You know. It could cause some big problems for you if I reported what I saw last night.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Career would be trashed.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You have your speculation, Ross.”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “Cameras will show you entering her room.” He smirked. “Got too comfy, huh?”
My hands clenched. He was right.
I gritted my teeth. “What’s your point?”
“You want to keep the fact you’re fucking Rodney’s daughter a secret.” He clucked his tongue. “I want starting QB.”
“Excuse me?” I scoffed. “Are you threatening me?”
“You heard me. Bench Krew. I start. It’s simple.”
“No.”
“No?” he asked with a laugh. “Then tell your girl to pack her fucking bags. No team wants to hire a whore.”
He reached for the door, and I slammed a fist down on the desk.
“Ross,” I growled, anger and surrender in my tone.
He paused, then peered over his shoulder. He knew he had me. I’d do whatever it took to protect her.
He nodded as if understanding what expression I relayed even though I couldn’t say the words.
He winked. “See you on the field, Coach.”
46
Trinity
“Throw the freaking ball!” I screamed at the TV.
I felt like death run over, and the fact Jagger Ross was playing the QB1 position was just the cherry on top of my shitty day. Krew’s shoulder had been fine. He’d been keeping up with his stretches and as far as Julia was concerned, there was no reason he couldn’t play. At least that had been the case the last four games. Maybe something happened that I didn’t know about, but either way, we needed to win this game and Jagger was causing every nerve ending I had to spaz with frustration. We were down by fourteen, and the buzzer just sounded to signal half time.
Leaning against the headboard, I huffed and crossed my arms.
I could easily spot Preston in the crowd as they jogged toward the tunnel. He wore a white long-sleeved Cougars shirt and black joggers. His hat was even backward.My favorite.He slowed at the back of the group, the zoom from the camera showing the frown lines in his brow. As he passed the cameraman, it showed him pulling his phone from his pocket.
