A heavy hand on my shoulder. "Your helmet's empty. It's been empty,” Seager said. “Don't make me take a penalty for kicking my own teammate's ass on the fucking field."
"I'm doing…what I'm good at." I shrugged him off. "Following orders. Like a mindless grunt." The words tasted like acid in my mouth.
He grabbed me by the pads and sneered in my face. "I'm not giving you some sugarcoated pep talk for losers, and I don't give a shit about your ego." His eyes blazed fire. He had a different passion for this game. It wasn't Drakes's showboating, but it wasn't my commitment to serving my team. And for a moment, I felt it. Wanted it.
"We've gotonechance to win, and make all your sacrifices this season maybe be worth something. But if you don't have the heart to lead this team, then I wonder how you ever made it as a Marine."
"I've bled for that title," I snarled. "Whether you fucking respect it or not." The heat in my veins whirled, pent up, tumbling over and over. I had nowhere to channel it.Think.
"Then sack up or back up, Mick. Those are your choices."
I gritted my teeth.Third down and six. A field goal only gives us a tie. Forty seconds, one time out, and God knows if Cody can hit anything in this rain.
"The weather is shit, your OL is a bunch of losers. And you can either letlesser peopledefine you, ortake a fucking stand." His voice cracked in the midst of his rant. "We might still lose, but at least you'd go down as a leader who's worth a damn—to the onlyrealStrikers on this field!"
"Can you block for me?"
"You know what they say: every day of the week and twice on Sunday." He gave me a weird grin. "But it ain't Sunday."
"Coach call another run play?" Danny joined us, gasping and panting for air. "My legs are starting to burn."
"When you think you're at your limit, you're only at forty percent."Same goes for you, McBride. What have we got? Visibility's bad, turf's slip-city. A throw's a big risk. They're expecting the run, but we could pull them right…and run a reverse.
Danny groaned. "But Mick, we're not Marines."
"Babies whine! Be a running back, or get off the field." Seager barked.
"We'll run the reverse. Seager, take tight end. Need you to pull up front."
He nodded and strapped his helmet on. "Any one of you dickheads that misses your block on this play, I will personally pray over you as I take your bleeding carcass to the hospital."
"Thompson,” I said and waved the panicked kid closer. “Right here."
He stepped forward. "Yeah, Mick."
"You'll be in motion, I need you to toss the ball toDanny as he runs by—then keep going. Play like you've still got possession, draw the D away."
"Mick I'm gassed," Danny hissed. "Seriously, I don't have it."
"Just need you to run one more play, thirty-five yards. You said it one time at practice. ‘It's nothing. Like taking a Sunday afternoon jog.’"
"One Sunday jog, Danny," Wheldon called over his shoulder as he moved to the line of scrimmage.
"I hate all you guys!" Danny shouted, but pulled his helmet on and found his stance.
I took my position. The Striker offensive line assumed a tight-split formation, with Seager on the near end.
A loud shout cut above the noise. The ref shook his head and waved a hand back and forth. I glanced at the sideline as Coach threw his clipboard and headset at the ground.
Last play of the game. Maybe of my life…I grinned.Let's go!
"On two. Hut, hut!"
The ball snapped, I turned and handed off to Thompson. The kid bent like he was tucking the ball to run, heading wide. Danny moved the opposite direction. Thompson pitched the ball—a little awkward coming off his glove. Danny stagger-stepped and reached, his left hand tipped the football, and I caught my breath. Another stretch and he palmed the ball, pulling it in. He ran toward the left side. I raced after him.
Lindsom's guy broke free, but Seager had already made quick work of his mark—he threw a block taking the lineman out of the play. And himself.
I continued to run. The fact that I could even keep up with Danny meant he was flat tired. I shoved theBrigadiers' cornerback away once, twice. He missed a step and fell behind, but their safety was gaining ground. He had the angle, and Danny was losing speed.
