“I told you not to wander this facility,” he growled.
Jesus Christ. “Well, you know what they say, Coach, when you gotta go, you gotta go.”
His glare intensified, and I moved a little closer to Mike. I didn’t give a damn about the message that was sent.
“Whittaker,” Coach Sutherland said to Mike without looking away from me, “you leave her side again inside this facility, and we’re going to have a very long talk about your future with the Lions.”
Head Dick didn’t miss my gasp of surprise at the blatant threat to Mike’s future. He smiled sinisterly and walked past me, narrowly missing shoulder-checking me.
Dustin whistled under his breath. His eyes held a warning — not reassurance. I ducked my head because he’d just saved my ass, and I was sure he’d take the opportunity to remind me of it. But for now, he was walking away, leaving me with Mike, who looked like he was ready to cry.
“Fuck . . .”
“I’m really sorry, I really needed to go to the bathroom,” I lied.
He nodded, but he looked heartbroken. “I shouldn’t have left you, it’s on me.” He tried to smile, failed, and I felt worse. “Maybe you should leave... for today?”
I rubbed my stomach. “Yeah, actually, I was hoping you would say that. I must’ve eaten something bad.”
Mike winced in sympathy. “I’ll walk you out,” he offered, almost back to his bright, lovely self.
“Thanks, Mike.”
As Mike held the door open for me and said he hoped I felt better tomorrow, I was sure that the story I’d come here to write was much closer than I initially thought.
Chapter 12
Dustin
Spring training was supposed to feel like a reset.
Fresh drills. Fresh plays. Fresh tape. Fresh shot at proving I was still the guy this team could rely on. Instead, the whole place felt... off. Everything felt tense. Fractured. Training and the locker room felt like we were one wrong word away from something blowing up.
And everyone, including the coaches, was pretending not to notice it.
Hadley walked into the weight room on day seven like she belonged there, notebook tucked to her chest, with Mike trailing behind her like a loyal golden retriever, and the room shifted around her. Not in a good way. Not in the way theyhadbeen whispering about her either.
The smartass comments about their chances of dating her, or the lower, filthier comments about her ass, or her tits. Comments Dante had already shut down with a cold glare and a disgusted shake of his head.
Noah had smacked someone across the back of the head when he heard them. Coach Merriman had heard him and told him it was harmless fun, saying, “It was just locker room talk,” and to save his energy for the field.
My teammates talked about my sister like that, I’d cut their dicks off, so I liked that Noah was being more physical about shutting that shit down.
But these weren’t those kinds of whispers. This was now a whole new attitude.
Coach Sutherland had stood up in front of us after film and laid down the law. It was a practice she hadn’t been to. She’d barely missed two, and he’d been waiting for it.
The locker room was already muttering about her wandering off and Mike getting his ass ripped by the coach for it. But Sutherland decided to notch it up further.
“Anyone, and I do mean anyone, who speaks to the wannabe reporter onanysubject that I have not approved is on the bench indefinitely.”
I exchanged a look with Dante, who was wearing his mask and projecting his ‘this is beneath me’ persona. He did it when he got questions from the media he didn’t want to answer. He looked naturally bored. I schooled my face to match.
Coach Sutherland continued. “I know she’s young and attractive, and you all think she’s sweet. But she’s worth watching, so don’t be fooled by a pretty smile. Hadley Peterson is not a friend of this department. She’s here becauseDean Coleput her here. Not me. Not any of your coaches. Administration sent her, and while we have nothing to hide, we don’t need extra shit added to our training.” His gaze swept the room. I tried not to shift in my seat when his gaze landed on me.
“We are a team. On the field and off of it, we work andsticktogether. Alright?”
There were several loud agreements, and Dante, Noah, and I all nodded right along with them.