Page 84 of The Spice Play

“Seb,” Luke called, the worry evident in his voice. I ignored him.

“No,” I laughed, coming up between the two cars he stood between. “I don’t.”

My hand darted out, grabbing a fistful of his shirt andpulling him to me. He stumbled forward, his eyes widening for a split second before narrowing into a smug little glare that ignited every bit of fire burning inside of me. “What’s this about?” he asked, so nonchalant it was obscene. His hand reached out, pushing against my arm and dislodging it from him. “You mad I’m a better right wing than you?”

“Don’t play dumb,” I snapped. My pulse roared in my ears, my fists clenching so tightly that my knuckles ached. “You know exactly what this is about.”

The smirk he bore deepened, so infuriatingly casual. “Oh, you mean the thing with Nelly?” He brushed his shirt flat with his hand as if I’d somehow dirtied it. “What, I can’ttalkto her now? I didn’t realize you owned her.”

His words hit me like a punch in the chest, like gasoline on an open flame. “Talk to her?” I hissed, taking a step closer to him. “Is that what you call touching her when she clearly wasn’t okay with it? In front of my fuckingson? She didn’t want that. You knew that.”

Bryan laughed, low and sharp and angering, and shook his head. “God, you’re such a boy scout. She’sfine.Women like a little passion, Bluesy. You’d know that if you weren’t such a?—”

I didn’t let him finish.

My fist connected with his jaw so quickly that it even shockedme, swift and angry andstrong, and he staggered back, slamming against the doorframe of his car. His eyes went wide with surprise, then turned into something wilder, darker, that I hadn’t quite expected.

“You fucked up, Bluesy,” he growled, straightening up.

And he lunged.

His shoulder caught me in the chest, knocking me back a couple of steps from the surprise blow of it, but it didn’t matter — the tension here had been building for months,and it had finally snapped. I pushed forward, locking both hands on his shoulders, and shoved him hard, slamming him against the side of his car.

“You don’t touch her,” I barked, my voice barely under control as it cracked under the strain of it. “Not her, notanyone. Do you understand, Addaway?”

Bryan swung for me immediately, his fist grazing my shoulder as I ducked out of the way. The parking lot around us seemed to blur, the shouts from Luke and a handful of others ringing out, but I barely heard them, barely registered a single word. All I could see was Bryan’s face in front of me, that smug, self-satisfied smirk that had pushed me too far for the last time — and in my mind, all I could see was Nelly, crying in the kitchen with her head tucked into my chest because I hadn’t fucking been there to stop him.

This wasn’t a game. This wasn’t hockey. This was me making sure he understood, once and for all, that he’d crossed a line he’d never be able to cross again.

But he came at me again, faster this time, his fist swinging wide. I ducked low again and drove my shoulder into his stomach, slamming him back against the car once more, the metal groaning under the impact.

“Get off me, you fucking psycho,” Bryan seethed, his hands shoving at my shoulders wildly. He spat somewhere off to my right, a hint of blood tinging the edge of his mouth, and just as I was caught off guard by it enough, his knee jammed against my right one, igniting the ache from the scar tissue.

Thatrattled me. I wasn’t prepared to block out the pain of it.

He shoved me back hard, finally breaking my stance on him. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Bluesy?”

He swung again, and I wasn’t ready. His fistcollided with my cheek, a sharp burst of pain sprouting instantly and sending little shockwaves across my head and shooting stars through my vision. I stumbled back, my legs and rear walking straight into the car behind me, but I found my footing. I surged forward again, slamming my forearm and elbow into his chest to pin him to his car.

“You don’t get it, do you?” I rasped, my breaths and throat ragged. “You’ve fucked up. You’re lucky she didn’t call the fucking police and get a restraining order on you. You’re done, Bryan. With her, with me, and with this goddamn team if I have any say in it.”

“Big words,” he laughed, his hands fumbling to grip my arm and get it off him. “You think you’re so righteous, Bluesy? You think you’re her fucking hero? Maybe you should have been there.”

He laughed. He knew, heknewhis words hit a nerve. He wanted to rile me up, wanted to make me lose control completely — he wanted to push every button he could in the hopes it would getmekicked off the team. I couldn’t give him the satisfaction. “Say whatever you want,” I shot back. “It doesn’t change what you did. It doesn’t change this.”

I dug my fingers into his shirt again and pulled him toward me just enough to shove him to my left, sending him sprawling out onto the pavement. He landed square on his back with a loud grunt, his hands splayed out on either side in an attempt to catch himself. For a moment, he just lay there, chest heaving as he stared up at me.

“Enough!” Luke’s voice finally cut through the haze, and I turned my head. He rushed toward us, his eyes wide with a mix of panic and frustration coating his features. “Seb, stop!”

Bryan coughed once, propping himself up on oneelbow. His gaze met mine, a twisted, bloodied grin spreading across his cheeks. “You fucking idiot.”

I stepped forward, fists clenched, but Luke’s body reached mine too quickly. He grabbed my arm, pulling me back. “Don’t,” Luke warned, a deepness in his voice that I wasn’t used to. “He’s not worth it, man.”

Bryan laughed and wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, pushing himself until he was sitting fully upright. “Listen to your little babysitter, Bluesy. He’s right.”

I glared at him as he picked himself up off the tarmac, my chest heaving, and for a second, I considered lunging at him again. But Luke’s grip tightened, pulling me, and I forced myself to take a step back from him. “You go near her again, and I swear to God, Addaway, I will finish this,” I seethed.

Bryan scoffed as he brushed loose gravel from himself. “Whatever. You’re all bark. We’ll see.” He yanked his car door open and climbed in before I could consider breaking free from Luke, his engine roaring to life a second later.

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