Coach cleared his throat. “I’m not kicking you off the team.”
I blew out a breath. I grinned and stared up at the ceiling afraid that I would tear up with relief in front of the two men I respected.
“Holy hell, that was intense.” Kane laughed and slapped me on the back. “Glad you’re not going anywhere.”
“Same, man.” I glanced at Coach, resisting the urge to hug him. “Thanks, Coach.”
“Quinn, keep your shit together or you’re off the team. Don’t fuck up like this again. Learn from your mistakes and realize how your rash decisions not only impacted you, but Wynter and everyone on the team.”
“Yes, sir. Thanks for meeting me on a Sunday.”
“I appreciate that you owned up to what you did and wanted to get ahead of the situation. Keep me posted.” Coach stood. “I’ll walk you two out.”
As my feet slapped against the marble floors of Coach’s home, I desperately searched for a solution to the nightmare I’d created. Fifteen hours ago, I’d had one of my closest friends play a video that had now spiraled out of control. Despite my plans to fix it, I wasn’t sure if any of it would work. But there was one thing I knew with absolute certainty—I couldn’t let Wynter go. We had forged a unique bond that seemed almost impossible given our traumatic pasts. Yet in a single night, we had shared everything—the good, the bad, Bell and Kyler. Somehow, fate had found a way to bring us together. Our trauma had tied us together in a strange environment of distrust and vulnerability, yet we’d prevailed.
I told Kane and Coach goodbye and stepped outside into the warmth of the sunshine. Soaking it up, I took a moment to breathe the crisp autumn air and looked at my Apple Watch. Adam and Brody weren’t due home until later that evening, which gave me an opportunity to take care of one more thing on my fix shit list.
Chapter33
Quinn
After I left Coach’s house, I sent Wynter a message and she replied almost immediately. When I arrived, she was even more beautiful than the last time I saw her. Wynter’s long strawberry-blonde hair was tied up in an effortless bun that was just begging to be unraveled. She was wearing an oversized grey hoodie and black yoga pants that displayed her gorgeous curves. The sight of her sent my blood simmering and my cock standing to attention, yet I reminded myself that a relationship with Wynter wasn’t meant to be.
Maybe she can forgive me. Maybe she will be mine soon. Regardless, I have to set things right.
“What was so important that you interrupted my sleep?” Wynter yawned as I led her through the front door of my place. To my surprise, the football team had cleaned up the house after the party ended on a quick note. I owed them big time.
“If I’m going to learn the truth, I need to show you what was in the file before Adam and Brody come home.”
Her nose twitched, and I resisted the urge to kiss the perky tip of it.
“Are you hungry?” I wasn’t sure if she’d eaten with all of the excitement.
“No. Just tired, but if you have a soda, that would be nice.”
“Yup. Come on.” I took her hand and showed her to the kitchen. Her eyes widened as I opened what appeared to be a lower cabinet.
“The cabinet is a fridge for drinks?” She peered over me, perusing the selection. “Dr. Pepper, please.”
“You have excellent taste.” I grabbed two of them. “Glass or can?”
“Can is fine.” She folded her arms across her chest as if it would protect her from allowing me in.
“We don’t have a lot of time, so we should dive in.” I led her down the hall to Adam’s office. When we reached it, I tested the doorknob. As I suspected, it was locked. “Can you hold these for me?”
“Sure.” Wynter held her hands out for the cans.
I dug into my front pocket, locating the lockpicks I’d started carrying with me for when opportunities to snoop in Adam’s office presented themselves. In seconds, the lock popped. I pushed the door open, motioning for Wynter to go in, then turned on the overhead light, flooding the dark room with brightness.
She watched me as I walked around to Adam’s desk and flipped open his laptop. He had one for work and one for the house, which ended up being a blessing in disguise because Adam rarely took his personal computer on business trips. I wouldn’t either considering the websites he frequented.
“What are we looking for?” Wynter whispered.
“No one’s here. We don’t have to whisper.” The machine whirred to life, and I typed in the password. “Adam was the one who gave me the file on you. I’ll show it to you, but I wanted to check his search history. Then … then you should know something else.”
She set the sodas on his desk before she popped hers open. The crack of the tab and hissing of the soda filled the room. From the desktop, I clicked on the path to the hidden files on Wynter. “I’m sorry. Adam has been following you on Dimitri’s website for a long time.”
Wynter’s face turned ashen as I began showing her a few of the images that Adam had saved.