Page 166 of The Wrong Play

The second half was ours.

We dominated.

The final score? 35–17.

We didn’t just win. We shut them down.

By the time we got back to the locker room, the celebration had already started. Water bottles were sprayed, guys were yelling, everyone was going nuts.

And then, I saw it.

An envelope.

Sitting on my locker.

Red-colored, thick paper. My name scrawled across the front in dark ink.

I grabbed it, my pulse kicking up as I flipped it over and pulled out the card inside.

Two words.

You’re welcome.

Below it, in smaller print, another line:

Courtesy of the Sphinx.

My stomach dropped, and my hand automatically went to my chest where a brand spanking new Sphinx tattoo was inked into my skin. A shady guy had shown up to the house the day after I’d passed the third trial, armed with a tattoo kit, and I hadn’t been a fan of the resulting new ink.

But I was rethinking my stance right about now.

Parker stepped up beside me, brow furrowing. “Is that what I think it is?”

I swallowed hard, showing him the note in my bag before anyone else could see it.

Matty squinted at me, catching my expression, an impressed smile sliding across his face.

I shook my head, feeling a bit dizzy from all that had happened over the last three hours. “Apparently, that ROI on my three near-death experiences has just improved quite a bit.”

Parker snorted. “I’m thinking so.”

CHAPTER 31

RILEY

Ipractically ran back to Jace’s house after the game, every step fueled by the suffocating weight of Callum’s threats. My hands shook as I burst through the door, my breath coming in shallow gasps. I didn’t have much time. If I could get out before Jace got back from the game, I could disappear before he even realized what was happening.

I grabbed my bag and started shoving clothes inside, not bothering to fold them. My toiletries, my books—anything that I could fit—I packed in a frenzy, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. Jace had made room for me here, carved out space in his life like I was permanent. But I wasn’t. I never had been.

By the time I zipped my bag shut, my eyes were burning from the urge I had to cry, and it felt like something was wrong with my chest, like something had reached in and grabbed my heart. The ache got stronger with every move I made to leave him.

I ignored the pain and threw my bag over my shoulder before grabbing my car keys and running out the door, my mind screaming at me to go faster.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, I shoved the key into the ignition. My fingers trembled as I turned it.

Click.

Nothing.

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