Page 117 of The Love Penalty

Another smile flashes across his face, and he joins me in the whole headshaking thing.

And then someone’s pounding on the door, barking to be let in.

“Ah, my love.” I kind of laugh out the words, then cringe when Wily answers the door.

“Hi, there.” His tone is warm and welcoming.

Asher’s… not so much. “Let me the fuck in!”

“All right, all right, hockey boy, calm down.”

“Wily!” he growls. “If you weren’t friends with Ethan and Liam, I would smash your face in right now!”

Wily laughs. “I’d like to see you try, man.”

“Move!” Asher booms.

“Okay, okay.” The giant steps aside, giving Asher room to shove past him.

His steps are fast and agitated. “Where is she?”

“In the dining room.”

“This way, jackass!” Zander calls out to him, and I cringe. Is the name-calling really necessary?

Asher storms in, his face mottled with anger as he takes in the scene. It’s like he was expecting to find me tied to the table while the football team took turns with me or something.

“Baby, I’m fine,” I reassure him.

His nostrils flare, and he lets out a huff through his nose before walking across to me, crouching down by my side and scanning my face like he’s looking for a lie.

I raise my eyebrows and try to calm him down with a gentle smile. “They’re helping me… because I asked them to.”

He clenches his jaw and nods, lightly squeezing the back of my neck. “Please don’t do this to me again,” he whispers. “Waking up without you fucking sucks. Finding out you’ve gone alone to the… the place where it happened?” His expression crumples with a look of anguish that makes me feel bad.

I touch his cheek. “I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to find anything I could use.” My face bunches. “And I wasn’t sure if you wanted to hear it if I did. I mean, you know… if I’m right about who I think it is.”

His swallow is thick and he blinks, resting his hand on my knee as he slowly stands. “I’m in this with you, boo. All the way. No matter how fucked-up it is. No matter how much it hurts.”

Giving his arm a grateful squeeze, I then turn to Grady and nod. “Okay, let’s do this.”

CHAPTER 52

ASHER

So, it’s safe to say I lost my mind for a lil’ minute there. I don’t know what came over me. Raw fear, maybe? The thought of Lani being here unprotected sent me into a fucking spiral. Walking in to find her safe and sound was the biggest relief.

But now I’m tensing up again, agitation sizzling through me as I move behind Grady Newman, the best running back in Nolan U’s history. The guy’s gonna go far and fast. He’s a bullet on the field. Not that I’m a huge football watcher, but I’ve heard about Grady, and I’ve checked out some clips online. He and Zander Donahue seem to work on the same frequency or something, because on the field, they’re hard to beat.

I give the quarterback a little side-eye. He meets my gaze, and I nod at him. Just a minimal movement to say thanks. He raises his eyebrows at me, telling me I had nothing to worry about in the first place.

Okay, so I overreacted.

But with all the shit going down right now, I’m on edge.

I’m allowed to be protective of my woman!

Sliding my hand down her back, I find a home for it on the curve of her hip, curling my fingers around her and feeling like I need the support as Grady fast-forwards through footage of the party.

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