Page 173 of Cruel Steps

Emerson fell asleep quickly between us, but I couldn’t stop my mind from racing. It seemed Colter couldn’t either. He leaned up on his elbow over her and stared.

“Spill,” he whispered.

Sighing, I told him everything I’d been hiding. His eyes were hard, but he listened to every word. When I finished, neither of us had to say anything; the answer was clear—protect her at all costs.

CHAPTER

FIFTY-ONE

EMERSON

“So, are we going to talk about last night?” I asked. Holden gritted his jaw and let out a deep breath. We were standing on the float the football team and Wolfettes had decorated. The parade had started ten minutes ago, and we were the only ones on the giant football platform. I’d waited until now, knowing he wouldn’t be able to ignore me or distract me with sex like he had last night and this morning.

Not that I’d minded the orgasms, but he couldn’t use that as a tactic for everything.

“One of my teammates from high school plays for the Royals now. There wasn’t anything officially stated about the stuff my dad did, but a few people had raised concerns. Parents, disgruntled players. But since there wasn’t any viable evidence considering manipulating my emotions doesn’t leave a trail, they could never prove I was cheating.” Holden’s face was stern, and I hated that someone was bringing up things from his past.

“Cody was right, then? He’s trying to stir up shit?”

“Smack talk isn’t anything new.”

“Was there anything else?”

He side-eyed me. “There were comments about you, me, and Colter. But I don’t care.”

“Ah.” I gulped. I wouldn’t give either of them up, but it didn’t lessen the fear of what people would say online, and the impact it could have on Holden’s career.

“It just means I’ll have to score even more on the Royals.”

I nodded, chewing my lip. I knew there was still something else, but I hadn’t chosen whether I wanted to know or not yet. In the end, I decided it was better to be prepared.

“And the other thing?”

Holden’s shoulder dropped. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask.”

“I almost didn’t.”

He squeezed my hand and stared down at me. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Wildcat.”

“Wh-what did it say? There was a note, wasn’t there?”

“Yeah. Some bullshit about you dancing today and dreams coming true. I can’t remember it word for word.”

“Is Detective Jennings worried?”

“It would take a lot to make her worried,” Holden scoffed. “But she said she’d have police at the game.”

“Is that a possibility?” My eyes went wide.

“Who the fuck knows? He’s mostly targeted our cars. I can’t tell if he is obsessed with them or is too scared to face us head-on.”

“I just want this all to be over. I don’t want his attention.” My gut swirled with apprehension. I scanned the crowd, but no one stood out. Everyone was decked out in Hayward colors—a sea of teal, magenta, and black surrounded us.

We were third in line of the floats. The float in front of us was a wolf, and the one behind us was a castle. I didn’t understand why, but it was beautiful. Our float was a mess of green and brown. The football looked more like a giant turd, but I wasn’t going to be the one to say that to a bunch of jocks. The fact our float had been completed was a miracle in and of itself.

“There’s Colter and Taylor,” Holden said, pointing them out to me. I waved and smiled, happy to finally see a familiar face. Taylor blew me kisses and winked. She’d regaled me with her night with Eric and Dillion while helping me prep for the parade. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to have a second night with them or find a new bed partner before she left tomorrow.

“There’s my dad and your mom.”

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