I know. It didn’t take long to realize Cecilia is one of the strongest people I know, which is why I mean it when I say, “We can’t let him get away with this.”
“We won’t.” Felix agrees. “And I think I know someone who can help with that.”
“Who?” Julio and I ask at the same time.
“Rumor is, Holt’s been poking his nose around Gigi.”
Gigi? I don’t know any Gigi. Then it hits me. “Coach’s kid?”
Felix nods. “Yep.”
“No way is she legal.” Julio adds. “Has she even graduated from high school?”
“Nope. And Holt knows that, but he’s chasing her tail, anyway.”
“So, what are you thinking? Use the girl to get to Holt? What about the others?” I ask.
“We’re not setting her up. We can’t put a kid at risk like that.”
“I’m not suggesting we do,” Felix says. “But if she’s going to be an idiot kid regardless, I say we use it to our advantage.”
“We should warn her. Tell Coach at least,” I suggest. There are unspoken rules in place when you join any team, and at the top of the list isyou don’t fuck the Coach’s daughter.They’re always off limits.
“It won’t matter,” Felix tells us. “I tried getting a read on the girl. She spends a lot of time on campus because of her dad.”
“And?”
“She’s an idiot. She thinks Holt hangs the fucking stars. She’s too obsessed with the idea of landing an older guy. I warned her what her dad would think, and she made it clear she doesn’t care.”
“Keep tabs on her. I’ll dig into Benson and Chambers, see if I can find an angle for them,” Julio tells Felix. “And you—“ He turns to me. “Go see your girl and keep your shit together. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I won’t.”
“Good. We’ll handle this for now, like we’ve been doing, and pull you in when one of us has more.”
I grind my molars. I fucking hate this.
“Gabe,” he snaps.
“Yes. Got it.”
Satisfied, he nods. “And watch your backs. Holt knows we’re onto him. Today’s little show didn’t come out of nowhere. We need to be prepared.”
I nod. Holt can throw whatever he wants at me. I’ll be ready.
“And you need to fill Cecilia in.”
What? No way. My eyes snap toward him. “Tell me you’re kidding? She’ll be pissed. It’ll throw these last two weeks right down the drain. I’m not telling her.”
“You have to.”
I bark out a laugh. “I do not.”
Julio gets to his feet. “She’s going to figure it out and what do you think will hurt more, finding out now from you? Or hearing about it later because shit hit the fan and you’re left standing there with egg on your face all because you wanted to keep secrets?”
My jaw clenches, lips pressing into a thin line. “I’ll think about it.”
“You do that.” Julio leaves, and Felix grabs his things to follow. Moving at a slower pace, he pauses in the doorway and gives me a long look.
