Page 44 of Hard to Break

“If Miles was taking anything now, I would know,” I insist.

Wouldn’t I?

There’s a flicker of doubt, a question mark that makes me hate myself before I brush it aside.

Yes. Absolutely.

Waffles does his business, and I switch into cleanup mode.

“This will blow over,” I say as I finish, tossing the bag in a nearby trashcan and heading back toward the condo building. “They’ll drug test him. He’ll be clean. It will be obvious it wasn’t his.”

“And someone put drugs in his locker by mistake?”

The possibility sounds ridiculous, but there aren’t a lot of options.

“Or it was planted.”

“Who would do that?”

“A second-string player envious of the amount of time and attention he’s suddenly getting? Someone who has it in for the Kodiaks?” I counter.

The concierge holds the doors as I step inside.

“Easy, tiger. You’re starting to sound like mom.”

I bristle. “What are you saying?”

“Just that once is a coincidence but twice is harder to believe.” He pauses. “Miles is my friend and I don’t like talkingbehind his back. But, he has been having a career defining year. Maybe the pressure is getting to him.”

Incredulity rises like steam in my throat. My heels and Waffles’s nails click on the marble floors as we head for the elevator.

“I think you’re still not happy about the two of us together and you’re looking for problems where there aren’t any.” I step inside and stab a button.

He curses. “That’s not it, Brooke. You know how I know? Because I should be worried for him and the team, and I am, but I’m more worried for you.”

The words set me back. “Me? Why?”

“Because I don’t want you dragged down by this. Because you’ve been dragged down by assholes before. Because…” He swallows. “Faceless people say shit about you that’s wrong and cruel and unfair, and I see how much it hurts you.”

My breathing slows as I fixate on the person in the mirror.

I appreciate that he noticed. It’s bittersweet, because I wish he’d said something to me years ago to let on that he saw.

“Miles isn’t an asshole,” I say finally. Waffles snorts in agreement.

“I know, but you being together is making your life harder, and you deserve better.”

The elevator dings, announcing our floor.

I say a tense goodbye to my brother and start down the hall.

I open the condo door, not fully aware of my own reaction until I see Waffles is blurred and fuzzy through my tears.

That’s when a notification pings on my phone.

The news got leaked to the press.

People are commenting on the post of the two of us, speculating that dating me had something to do with Miles’s recent troubles.

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