My heart stumbled over itself. I was unsure what to say to that, because hearing it from her made the back of my eyes burn. I didn’t cry often, but when one of the most important people in his life gave me a little speech like that, it got to me.
I walked into the kitchen, blinking my watery eyes up at the ceiling. I was feeling off-balance, and what surprised me mostwas knowing, without a doubt, that Nate was the person I saw when I thought about my future.
CHAPTER 30
NATE
The cafeteria wasloud as Ryder, Jax, and I grabbed our food. Practice was brutal thanks to the shitty weather outside. It was late October, so snow this early in the year was no surprise for New England, but it still sucked when you had to practice and play in these conditions.
I set my tray down just as Jax and Ryder slid into the chairs across from me.
“I got news,” Ryder said between bites of his chicken and rice.
I took a drink of my blue Gatorade. “What kind of news?”
He leaned back in his chair and exchanged a look with Jax. “We made some calls. Got some shit on your guy.”
I paused and set my drink down. “What did you find?”
Jax smirked. “Your guy was doing some shady shit.” He picked up his phone. “Did you know he represented Marcus Brown?”
Marcus Brown was a linebacker who played for Washington. He was only three years in the league, but the pundits have been talking about him being an automatic in to the Hall of Fame.
“And?”
“Marcus is as smart as a whip. Dude pays attention to everything. He noticed some discrepancies with a few endorsement deals.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Are you saying Brian was taking advantage of him?”
Jax nodded. “Skimming from the top. Asshole was making everything look good on paper. One of his sponsors called, and they started talking numbers. That’s when Marcus noticed the numbers weren’t adding up.”
I pushed my food away. “Is he willing to go on the record?”
Jax nodded like a proud dad. “Him and a couple other guys.”
“Not all of them,” Ryder said, jumping in. “At least not yet.”
I dragged a hand over the back of my neck. “This is enough, right?”
They both nodded.
“I hope so.” Jax glanced over his shoulder as a few more guys walked into the cafeteria.
I paused for a second. “Why didn’t anyone say something sooner?”
Ryder tilted his head to the side. “Why do you think? Brian’s got connections and knows how to hold shit over people’s heads.”
I leaned back and spread my legs out. “So, he was doing the same thing to them as he was to me?”
Jax set his fork down and folded his arms across his chest. “The guy’s a big douche canoe.”
I rubbed the back of my neck; the gravity of the situation was settling in. “You didn’t tell them what he was doing to me, did you?”
Ryder shook his head. “Just said he was trying to pull something. Didn’t get into the details. In fact, they were shocked that he had the balls to fuck with someone like you.”
I looked down at my food. “I feel so dumb. I should have known.”
The signs had been there the whole time, yet somehow, I didn’t see them. I let him get too close. I thought he had my back, and I hated how badly that trust had been used against me.
