Relief hit me like a sharp, clean punch straight to my rib cage. I masked it with a shrug. “Well, she was kind of a distraction anyway.” He looked miserable. “You’ll do better paying attention in training when you’re not answering a thousand questions.”
Mike didn’t look convinced. “She didn’t seem happy about it.”
“No shit,” I muttered.
Because I got the impression Hadley didn’t quit anything. Not even when she should, and when it was smart to do so.Safeto do so.
I narrowed my eyes. “Did she say why her professor pulled her?”
“No. Just... something really vague, and she said she’d be sure I’d know more than she did.” He glanced around, lowering his voice. “She’s not going to drop it.”
My stomach dropped. “What do you mean? Why would you say that?”
“She said she’s still working on... something. Didn’t tell me what, but I kind of got the impression she had to be here for it.”
Of course she did.Damn it.That stubborn, relentless, infuriating fucking woman. But if she wasn’t on the assignment anymore, then she didn’t have access — but she also didn’t haveany buffer between herself and whatever the hell was hiding under this program.
I tried not to clench my jaw or appear agitated. “Did she say what she’s digging into?”
“No.” Mike looked over his shoulder. “But she asked me yesterday if I knew the name Mason Sterling.”
I froze completely. It took me a second for my brain to work. “Say that again.”
“Mason Sterling,” Mike repeated, confused. “I told her I didn’t know who that was. Should I have known the name?”
No. He shouldn’t, that was the point. No one should. I shook my head.
“Nah,” I said, forcing my voice steady. “He’s a nobody, was here years ago, dropped out, I think.” I nudged Mike. “Not everyone can handle the pressure of stopping an offensive line, know what I mean?” I was such a liar. “Whatever she’s cooking, you stay clear of it, Whittaker, you hear me?” He gave me a sullen nod. “Man, Coach is already pissed at you for leaving her alone in the facility. Keep your head down, your mouth shut, and work your ass off to get first team, you can do it.”
Hope flared in his eyes, everything else forgotten. “You think so?”
“Yeah, I do.” I actually did, which helped. “Hernandez is injured, our DE Hartley is playing like he already got a spot on the roster. You know what that means?” I leaned in. “Means the harder they fall, right?”
Mike grinned at me, his gaze traveling down to the far end of the field. “I do,” he said thoughtfully.
“Sorry about your feature, man,” I told him. “Best to forget it and focus on what’s important, right?”
Mike nodded. “Yeah.” He beamed at me. “Thanks, Dustin, I appreciate your insight.”
“You got it,” I told him with a smile. “Listen, Mike, if she asks you anything else, be careful. You come to me first.”
Mike’s eyes widened. “Am I in trouble?”
“No. Just...” I sighed. “Just keep me in the loop, okay? I want your focus on that spot on first team, not someone who was only here for eight days and runs after players in practice.”
Mike snorted at the reference. He nodded, relieved. “Yeah. Sure. You’re right. I liked her, though. She was actually helpful, and she genuinely seemed interested, you know?”
“Yeah, she was good at her job.”You’re a bastard, Slater.But it had the desired effect on Mike; he flinched at the reminder. I knew what I’d just done, using Mike’s admiration of Hadley against her, and I knew it would work. I saw it in the way the light in his eyes dimmed a little, reminding him he was just an assignment. “Hey, go practice, show me what you got when we line up against each other later, alright?”
“I’ll go easy on you,” he joked.
I watched him run off down the field and followed a little slower.
How the fuck did she find out about Sterling?A name connected to the thing Dante, Noah, and I were pretending we didn’t remember.
And she’d found it. Of course she had. I dragged a hand over my face. Mike said she was nice.
Yeah, I bet shewasnice. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that she didn’t know when to stop. The problem was that she was alone in something she didn’t understand. The problem was that she’d been taken off the assignment and didn’t seem to care.