Page 112 of Forever Defiant
We were back in the locker room, and Dante came in from the media room. “Why do we need me?” he asked, rubbing his face with a towel.
I pulled Noah with me and stepped right into Dante’s space. I might have looked possessed or something because Dante looked ready to defend himself.
“Slater? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I beamed at him. “We’re so fucking dense, Dante. We didn’t use our resources.”
He glanced at Noah, who shrugged. “I’m not sure he’s checked in,” Noah told him quickly.
“Like you just checkedoutwith the social media girl,” I snorted, turning back to Dante. “I know why he’s single, by the way. Zero game. None. Really fucking awkward.”
“Can we focus?” Dante asked me. “What are you talking about?”
“Who do we know who knowseverythingwe need to know about stats and, more importantly, the Lions?”
He frowned. “I . . .”
“‘Dante Spence is number one.’ Ring a bell?”
He looked at me and grinned. “Ava.”
“Ava.” I nodded excitedly. “She’s been a fan of this team for years. We know she’s watched every game, and she’s told us both our stats so many times that you know she’ll know every play. I guarantee she’ll knowhisname and more than we do. She isn’t at this school, she doesn’t have any other loyalty to anyone here, and she’s all about the Cardinal Saints now. We need to speak to her.”
He lost his smile. “That means we might have to talk to Jett.” He shook his head. “He’s such a dick. There must be someone else.”
“This is a gift, Dante,” I told him firmly. “We accept the gift.” I looked between the two of them. I was getting out of here, putting distance between Hadley and me, which wasexactlywhat I needed. “We’re going to Cardinal.”
They shared a glance, and I glared at them both.
“Don’t fucking fight me on this. We’re going.”
Chapter 25
Hadley
I knew I was avoiding Dustin. What I hadn’t appreciated was that Dustin Slater was avoiding me.
He hadn’t even attempted to fake it. He turned on his heel and walked the other way. He wasn’t even subtle. It was humiliating. It was worse because Noah looked like he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to laugh or cry. He simply waved and followed hisbrointo the athletic building.
Why was Dustin avoiding me? He’d played me like a flute and then walked away. Was I pissed? Yes. Pissed he hadn’t finished the job. Pissed he hadn’t let me suck his dick and then bend me over and just get theneedfor him out of my body.
I was avoiding him because the man had me on my knees withonecommand, and I didn’t know how to respond. He had a dangerous power over me, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t know how to come back from that, and I was damn sure I was never going to be played like that again, especially by him.
But then... he walked away from me. Again. And yes, I noticed. And yes, I was counting how many times that had happened.
But if he wanted to pretend it never happened and was just waiting for me to get over it — as if I would let him know I couldn’t stop thinking about it — thenfine.
I had more important things to do, like unravel a cover-up big enough to take down the entire Wrighton athletic department.
Savannah sprawled on her bed while I paced, my laptop open and notes scattered everywhere in her dorm room. It was the safer space since she was allergic to Milly. She watchedme like someone observing a high-speed car chase — horrified, fascinated, and completely unwilling to intervene.
“So,” she said, chewing on a Twizzler she definitely stole from my bag, “are we ignoring the part where he’s ghosting you because you and he almost had sex in the street?”
I stopped pacing. “I cannot believe he told Dante,” I grumbled.
“I think he told Noah.” She tried to hide her grin. “Who told Dante.”
“Who then told you.”
