Page 161 of The Score

She sighs again and stares at me, giving me room to decide. I call them all in.

They surround me. Evie stands next to me for support.

I look up at the ceiling, and ignore the embarrassment adding extra beats to my heart. "There's a video of Pen and I— err— well— in a storage room in the club."

No one reacts at first. When several seconds go by without a sound in the room, I give in and lower my eyes to track their response.

Saint's eyebrows are high up on his forehead. "That's one way to make it clear you two are not platonic, after all."

I chew on my bottom lip. "It's only this group who thought we weren't."

"I suppose that's right." Logan frowns harder than usual. "But it's not only about that, is it? Are you getting fined?"

"Probably," I say. "Might get suspended."

"The coaches are going to be pissed," the QB adds.

"Who leaked the video?" Dom asks. "I thought the club was a safe place."

"I'm going to look into it." Evie's mouth pulls to the side. "I know the manager will want to know too, when the alternative is to lose our business."

Damián's eyes stay on me. "What did Pen say?"

I rub my lips with a fist. "She doesn't know yet."

"How bad is the video?" Rafa asks.

"Bad enough," Evie says. "It won't send me to therapy, but it's clear it's Bear."

"Is it not clear it's Pen?" Logan asks.

"It's not clear it's her." Evie gazes up to her fiancé. "The video isn't very explicit either. Just enough."

"There's an option there," Logan says. "If you need to keep it quiet for her."

I frown at him. "There's no way I'm going to pretend to be having sex with someone other than my wife."

"Isn't she applying for a job at the Strike?" Rafa asks.

Nevermind that I haven't moved, or that the ground is still. I lose my footing.

"Fucking hell," I say through gritted teeth. "There's no way I'm letting this affect her."

Evie puts a hand on my arm again. "Then let's make a careful plan, shall we?"