Page 48 of Red Zone

I picked up my menu only to lower it when she spoke.

“But seriously—don’t think I’m letting you off the hook. I want updates—regular ones. And I want to spend time with my niece. That’s nonnegotiable.”

A grin tugged at my lips despite everything. “Deal.”

As the waitress came by to take our orders, I felt a small flicker of hope. Fiona’s belief in me didn’t erase all the doubts, but she was right. I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t my dad. I could be more for Lily and Skye. It wouldn’t be easy, but if I’d learned onething from football, it was that the hard-won victories were the ones that mattered most.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

SKYE

Istretched my arms above my head, feeling the tension in my shoulders pull tight before finally releasing. The last stack of graded finals sat neatly on Professor White’s desk, a triumphant finish to a grueling evening of red ink and secondhand stress over the periodic table.

I glanced at the clock—almost five. I had a night game to cover soon. After putting everything away, I bundled up to leave the building. I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets as I stepped into the hallway, the cool air of the building brushing against my skin. The campus was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that made every sound echo just a little too loudly.

Guilt ate at me as my sneakers squeaked against the linoleum. Fiona’s questions about Professor White lingered in the back of my mind, and I couldn’t shake the heavy weight of my answers. I hadn’t said anything damning—just observations, facts—but even those felt like betrayals when stacked against the backdrop of a student found dead. The thought sent a shiver down my spine.

I was just past the dimly lit rows of lockers near the lab rooms when I heard voices—familiar voices. I slowed my steps,my heart skipping a beat. Around the corner, just at the edge of the hallway leading to the lecture halls, Joe stood with one of the football players who was also in my entry-level science TA session. My brows furrowed. Joe was usually the epitome of easygoing—sarcastic and teasing in that big-brother way—but his posture was stiff, his body angled slightly away like he was trying to hide whatever was happening.

I shifted to the side, staying hidden in the corridor’s shadows.

Joe’s hand dipped into his sweatshirt pocket, emerging with a small baggie. My stomach dropped as he passed it to the football player, who accepted it with a glance over his shoulder before shoving it into his pocket.

It wasn’t vitamins or supplements—it was drugs. It had to be. And Joe wasn’t just involved, he was the one supplying them. A cold certainty settled in my chest. Joe was the dealer. The signs had been there all along, but now, there was no mistaking it. The question wasn’t whether he was guilty—it was how far this went.Who else is involved? Megan? The research group? The entire department?

I covered my mouth with my hand, willing myself to stay silent. This couldn’t be happening. The athlete—what’s his name? Tyler? No, Marc—his effort in class had always been mediocre at best, but recently, something about him had shifted. His performance on the field had caught the coaches’ attention, drawing praise that seemed too sudden to be entirely earned.

I didn’t want to believe it, not about Joe. But he was standing there, casually handing off something to a student athlete like it was nothing.

A sick sort of dread curled in my stomach. Joe’s words from a few weeks ago echoed in my head, his tone sharp with concern as he warned me about getting too involved with Liam.“Guys likethat will ruin you, Skye. They take what they want and leave the rest in pieces.”How hypocritical could he be?

I stepped back, the motion too quick and clumsy, and my sneaker squeaked against the floor. Both of their heads whipped in my direction.

Panic surged through me as I spun on my heel, forcing myself to walk—no, run—down the hallway. My pulse thundered in my ears as I reached the building’s exit, shoving the heavy glass door open and practically bursting into the cool night air.

The dark campus stretched before me, the faint hum of a streetlamp overhead doing little to calm my nerves. I didn’t stop moving until I reached the parking lot, ducking behind my car to catch my breath.

What the hell did I just see?

I leaned against the cold metal, my hands trembling as I pressed them to my temples. Joe wasn’t just my friend—he was one of mysafe places.The one person I trusted to have my back in this hectic world of school, TA-ing, and balancing motherhood.And now…

My stomach churned. I couldn’t go back inside. Not tonight.

Sliding into my car, I locked the doors. My forehead rested against the steering wheel as I tried to steady the wild thrum of my heart. I whipped out my phone and called Fiona, quickly relaying everything to her about what I’d seen, and what it could’ve been about.Maybe. Maybe I was mistaken and it was an innocent mistake?God, I hoped so, but it was unlikely.

After she thanked me for the information, she told me under no circumstances to go near the suspects.

I needed to figure out how deep this went and who else was involved—from a distance. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was teetering on the edge of something far more dangerous than I’d ever anticipated.

The stadium buzzed with energy that seemed to pulse in time with the music blasting through the speakers. Fans waved banners and screamed themselves hoarse as the game unfolded under the stadium lights.

My camera was a comforting weight around my neck as I moved along the sidelines, snapping shots of the action.

I let the excitement fill me, chasing away some of the worry. This was my element—the organized chaos of the game, the tension hanging in the air like static electricity. It was exhilarating, the perfect distraction from the tangled mess of emotions I carried like an overstuffed suitcase.

But no matter how hard I tried, my gaze returned to Liam. His sharp focus on the field mirrored the stability he’d started bringing to my life—a stability I desperately needed with everything else spiraling out of control.

Through my lens, I captured him in motion—cutting through the defense with a sharp precision that made my breath catch. His attention was razor-sharp, his body coiled with strength and determination. It struck me then how Liam’s unwavering commitment wasn’t just about the game but about who he was. And despite all the doubts swirling in my head, I found myself trusting him in a way I couldn’t with anyone else. I’d seen him play before, but this was different. Or maybe I was different.

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