Jace froze mid-bite, color draining from his face. “Point taken.”
The others laughed, the tension easing back into something familiar and warm, but I couldn’t join in. My throat felt tight, my hands suddenly cold against my lap.
Stalker.
The word echoed in my head like a bell tolling too loud.
Because it didn’t take much—one slip, one overheard comment—for everything I’d tried to bury to surface. For them to look at me and seeher.
I stared down at the half-eaten fries in front of me, then lifted my gaze just enough to see them, Natalie still grinning, Jaceshoving Riley’s shoulder playfully, Parker trying not to smile, Matty watching me with quiet curiosity.
I didn’t want to lose this. Any of it.
So I smiled, too, pretending my heart wasn’t pounding like it wanted to escape.
CHAPTER 21
MATTY
Coach had been on our asses all afternoon.
Coverage drills. Sprint ladders. Tackling form. Again and again and again.
He’d been brutal all season, but now, with the NCAA Football Playoffs about to start, he looked like he might start personally tackling people just to prove a point. Nobody was safe. Not even Parker.
By the time he finally blew the last whistle, my legs felt like sandbags and my brain was just static. The guys were still in the locker room arguing about dinner plans and ice baths, but I’d slipped out early.
There was only one thing I needed to do.
And that was to see Ophelia. At my place. Where she’d said she would meet me.
I was halfway across the parking lot when I noticed him.
A man stood near the gate, the late afternoon sun glinting off the metal clasp of his notebook. Windbreaker, slacks, pen tucked behind his ear. He didn’t look like a fan.
“Matthew Adler?” he called out, his voice practiced and friendly in a way that put me on edge.
I slowed. “Yeah?”
He stepped forward, flipping open his notepad. “Ben Carrow,Knoxville Daily Record. Sorry to bother you, but I just had a quick question or two.”
“Sorry, I don’t have time,” I said automatically, already angling to pass.
“Won’t take long.” He smiled that reporter smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “There’ve been rumors—talk that someone on the Tennessee roster might be connected to a gambling ring. Point shaving. Insider bets. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
For half a second, I couldn’t breathe.
Because I knewexactlywhat he was talking about.
Flashbacks of the dinner slammed through my head—the fancy restaurant, Kenton’s watch catching the light as he saidinformation is currency. The way my dad’s eyes had gleamed as Kenton explained the new “business opportunity.”
“I’d think carefully before saying no.”
Fuck.
I forced a short laugh that sounded wrong in my own ears. “A gambling ring? That’s ridiculous. Nobody on this team’s doing anything like that.”
Carrow’s eyes narrowed slightly. “So you haven’t heard anything? No one’s approached you? You’re sure?”
