Page 38 of Broken Rivalry

Leaning toward Ethan, I nod subtly toward Cole. “Rough practice?”

Ethan shrugs, his eyes following mine. “No clue. He stumbled in late last night. Looks like he broke his nose.”

My gaze flickers to Eva, who’s eyeing Cole with a challenging stare and a sly, satisfied smile playing on her lips. A wild thought crosses my mind about his nose and her golf club, but it dissipates as quickly as it came—she was home all night, after all.

As Ted concludes his briefing, we each select a weapon, and before we can decide on an order, Eva slams her helmet down and begins to swing with a wild, unrestrained fury, objects splintering beneath her wrath. Her cries, raw and laced with pain, claw at my soul.

Cole approaches. His expression a carefully crafted mask of concern. “Angel…” His voice is a gentle caress, his hand slowly rising in an attempt to still her.

Angel? My brows knit together in confusion.

Eva’s grip on the bat tightens, her entire body radiating fury. “Don’t touch me,” she snarls, swinging the bat with all her might. It slices through the air, stopping mere inches from him.

His reflexes save him, but the threat lingers in the air, charged and volatile. “Do not touch me. Ever again!”

He growls a low, primal sound that sends shivers down my spine. “I’ll touch you if—”

She swings again, her movements a chaotic dance of fury and despair. My eyes seek Ethan, helpless and pleading.

He steps forward, inserting himself between them. “Chill, bro,” he murmurs, a hand resting on Cole’s chest.

Cole slaps it away, his eyes ablaze with a dark fire. “You don’t tell me what to do with her!” he spits, trying to peer around Ethan at Eva, who now sobs openly.

Nessa encircles Eva with her arms, cautiously lifting her mask.

“No, but I won’t stand by while you scare her,” Ethan counters, his stance solid, protective.

Nessa’s eyes, shadowed with defeat, meet mine. “Take the Cherry Bomb and drive her home,” I tell her. “I’ll be there soon.”

Nessa barely resembles herself as she whispers, “I can’t… I’m not allowed to.”

“Ethan, move, or I swear to God—” Cole’s voice is a venomous hiss through gritted teeth, his demeanor feral.

“Enough!” Liam’s voice slices through the tension, his helmet crashing to the floor with a resounding crack. “Enough of this damn drama. No one needs it.”

He steps forward, his hand caressing Nessa’s shoulder, coaxing her to look at him as Eva’s cries, now heart-wrenching, are muffled against Nessa’s chest.

His expression softens, eyes tender. “Let me take you home,” he whispers.

She glances at me, and I nod reassuringly. “I’ll take care of the car.”

She nods to Liam, and he reaches down to carry Eva out of the room.

The room’s atmosphere is thick with tension; each shattered object is a testament to the raw emotions unleashed. Ethan’s grip on Cole remains firm, his eyes locked onto the other man’s seething gaze. “Let them go, Cole,” he says, his voice a steady, calming force amid the chaos of emotions swirling around us.

Cole’s body trembles with restrained fury, but eventually, he relents, his shoulders slumping in a mixture of frustration and defeat. Ethan cautiously releases him, his eyes never leaving Cole’s face.

Cole turns away, his voice a mere whisper in the distant echoes of destruction from other rooms. “She’s mine,” he says before stepping out.

Ethan and I are left in the room. He turns toward me, his eyes reflecting a storm of emotions—regret, concern, and something deeper, more vulnerable.

“I’m sorry, Poppy,” he whispers, his voice a gentle caress that somehow soothes the chaos inside me. “I truly thought I was helping.”

In that moment, something shifts, a barrier breaking down as I step closer, my heart pounding in my chest. His eyes search mine, a question lingering in their depths, and I find myself drowning in the sincerity I see there.

My hand cradles his cheek, his stubble grazing my palm, and his eyes flutter closed briefly at the contact. When they reopen, the vulnerability has deepened, mingling with a raw, aching need that mirrors my own.

And then we’re kissing.

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