Page 57 of Hard to Break

I jump to my feet, swaying. Waffles barks, his tail wagging as he bounds over to the security guard. The guard's stern expression softens slightly as Waffles sniffs his shoes, his tongue lolling out in a goofy grin.

“It’s me. Miles Garrett.” My brain struggles to form a coherent excuse.

The guard's eyes narrow with uncertainty. “You’re not supposed to be in here given your probation.”

“I’m working out. Got to get back into game shape.” I flash a grin.

He reaches for his radio.

I take a stumbling step forward. “No. Come on, man.”

But it's too late. The guard is already speaking into his radio. Waffles, oblivious to the seriousness of the situation, trots back to me, tail wagging happily.

I sink back onto the bench, my head in my hands. I'm supposed to be proving my innocence, not getting into more trouble. Brooke's going to be so disappointed in me. So is Grams.

Two more security guys emerge from the hallway, their expressions solemn.

Not good.

I pull Waffles back into my arms. He licks my chin.

“I screwed up, buddy,” I whisper. “But I'm going to fix it.”

15

MILES

Jay: We need to talk. The entire team.

Jay: Today.

Miles: I’m there.

“This is a secret meeting. Anyone asks, it never happened.” Jay looks around the circle of guys in the back room at Mile High.

“Wait.” Damon holds up a hand. “First we have to sign in blood.”

Rookie rolls up a sleeve, and Clay shoots him a look.

“It was a joke,” Clay says.

“It was?” Atlas frowns.

I clear my throat, and every set of eyes slides to me.

“Listen, I know I’m scheduled to be back in practice in a few days. I started a little early.”

“You got drunk and broke into the gym,” Clay corrects.

I called this meeting because, aside from my suspension, there’s the very real issue that half the guys on the team don’t believe the drugs in my locker weren’t mine.

I hold up a hand. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t lose conditioning.”

Rookie snorts, but Clay doesn’t blink.

Joking around isn’t going to fix this. I’ve got the message.

“Fine. I missed it. I missed you guys.” I rub a hand over my neck. “The team has always been important to me, but I didn’t see how important until we were in this position. I didn’t care about winning as much as some of you, but what mattered was the fact that we were in it together. Lately, it’s felt like we’re not together.”

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