Page 52 of Pucking Forbidden

“Silvestri!”

Jordan spins when someone shouts his name from behind us. “Son of a bitch,” he growls, stiffening beside me.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, eyeing the guy in the suit warily.

“It’s Charles Montaque.”

“Oh no,” I whisper, my stomach twisting with anxiety. I’ve never met him before, but I’ve heard plenty about him. Apparently, he’s caused all kinds of trouble for the team, especially lately. If he’s here looking for Jordan now, I’m guessing it’s not good.

Charles jogs toward us, his piercing blue eyes locked on me. “Ms. Peters,” he says, dipping his head in a nod.

“Don’t talk to her, Montaque,” Jordan growls, a dangerous warning rumbling in his voice. “You aren’t doing the same shit to us that you’ve done to my teammates. Fuck you and whatever you want.”

“So, you don’t know,” he says, eyes widening slightly.

“Know what?” Jordan growls, his fists clenched at his sides.

Charles glances at me, and for a moment, I think I see pity in his eyes. But I don’t know why. I don’t even know him, and he certainly doesn’t know me.

“Approximately an hour ago, Jamison Peters announced that he wouldn’t be renewing his contract with the Bucks,” Charles says. “He’s retiring, effective immediately.”

“What? Why?” I ask, shock running through me in a current.

“To enter rehab for alcohol addiction.”

My knees tremble beneath me, threatening to buckle. Jordan notices and quickly wraps an arm around my waist, hauling me up against his side.

“He put out a statement.”

“W-What…” I have to lick my lips to work moisture back into my mouth. “What kind of statement?”

“The kind that everyone is talking about right now,” Charles glances between me and Jordan. “I’m guessing the two of you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Neither of us says anything. Ican’t. Words won’t form. Jamison… God, he put out a statement? He admitted what he did? I can’t even wrap my mind around this. He’s been selfishand done the worst possible thing for so long. I guess I expected him to continue. I was afraid to hope that he’d finally tell the truth.

“Do either of you want to comment?” Charles asks.

“Fuck no,” Jordan snarls at him. “If you have questions about his statement, ask him.”

Charles nods like he expected that answer, eyeing Jordan critically. “You shouldered the blame for that fight for a long time. I guess I don’t have to ask why.” His gaze drifts to me, his lips curving slightly. “I have a feeling the world is going to look at him differently now.”

A lump forms in my throat, threatening to choke me. God, I hope the world looks at him differently now. I hope they finally stop bashing him for that damn fight. Maybe he shouldn’t have attacked Jamison in the middle of a game like he did, but I can’t say that he was wrong for doing it.

I doubt most of the world will now, either.

“Does Peters know about the two of you?”

“We aren’t his business,” I manage to say, my voice shaking. “What’s between me and Jordan is between the two of us. It’s no one else’s business and never has been.” I hesitate for a long moment. “You’ve done a lot of shitty things yourself, especially lately. If you have any decency in you, you’ll do the right thing this time and not turn our relationship into a circus. Jordan has suffered long enough for doing the right thing. Jamison is the story here. Let that be enough.”

Charles doesn’t say anything, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. But maybe if Jamison can do the right thing for once, so can this man. At least, that’s my hope.

“Come on,” Jordan murmurs after a moment, gently leading me toward the truck.

Charles doesn’t follow us. He simply turns around and walks away.

Jordan and I don’t speak until he’s buckling me into my seat.

“I want to see his statement,” I whisper.

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