Page 138 of Hard Pass

“Am I feeling a little lost? Sure. But that’s also me feeling sorry for myself.” She offers a small smile. “It’s early days yet. I’ll get over my pity party.” Her head tilts as she studies me. “What about you? What’s going on in your world? Are you holding up?”

“Game’s on Sunday. Just trying to keep my head where it needs to be.”

“And is it?”

I smile softly. “It’s hard to be when I know how this is affecting you.”

“That’s the last thing I want.”

“I know.” I lace my fingers with hers, grounding us both. “It’ll all get straightened out. Your job. Your reputation. The asshole behind the bets. My yips.” I bring her hand to my lips and press a kiss to it. “We’ll figure it out.”

She watches me like she wants to believe that. Like she’s afraid to.

“You always this optimistic?” she asks.

“Not even close.”

“Then why now?”

“Because you seem to bring out the best in me,” I say, joking simply because that’s a hard concept to accept. “And because this is something I want to take a chance on.”

Her breath hitches just slightly, but I see it. I feel it. And for a second everything else fades—the noise, the headlines, the mess.

It’s just her and her eyes that tell me she wants to take that chance too.

“What do you say we get out of here?” I lift my chin toward the door.

She exhales slowly. “Are you asking me if I’m ready to be thrown into the fire?”

I smirk. “I figured we’d skip the warm-up and go straight for the burn.”

“Of course you would.”

I stand, offer her my hand, and then head toward the exit.

The second we step outside, chaos erupts. Cameras flash. There’s shouting. It’s aggressive and suffocating. And if I’m thinking that when I’m used to attention like this, I can’t imagine what Dublin’s thinking.

“Cole! Over here.”

“Dublin! Did you compromise the investigation?”

“Were you sleeping with him before the case?”

Her fingers tighten in mine, so I shift closer, my hand sliding to the small of her back, guiding her forward while I hold my forearm up to block being blinded by the flashes.

“I’ve got you,” I murmur and I feel her nod.

We push through the crowd. The bodies never stop pressing closer and the questions never stop flying.

“Dublin. Is trading sex for information a normal practice for you?”

I stop. Everything in me goes still and my world narrows to that one voice. To that one question.

What the fuck did he just ask?

My rage is instant—hot, violent, and immediate. The instinct to turn and grab him and shut him the hell up owns me.

Every muscle in my body locks because I want to hit him. Desperately.