Page 88 of Twisted Assist

“As far from here as I can get.”

That was fair because he probably had no clue. He was running, and I didn’t blame him one bit. Even if he wasn’t the villain we thought he was, he wouldn’t be able to move past it.

“No,” I answered his question. “We wouldn’t have stood a chance.” I didn’t owe it to him to let him know my sexual preference. It wouldn’t change my answer, anyway.

He nodded and slid his hands into his pockets. “Not sure why I thought there was something there.”

“Because there was,” I admitted. “In League One, we were a good duo. This past week at camp, we were volleying assists to one another like old times, and our connection showed. But it was only on the field.”

“So what are you going to do? How is this going to end?”

“I don’t know,” I confessed, turning back around to walk away. “But I know I’m not losing her.” I added before getting too far away.

* * *

When Tatum texted me to meet her at Lummus Park, I didn’t realize I would learn that her brother was the missing piece of the puzzle. It wasn’t confirmed, but she suspected, and Hunter seemed to be able to verify that. It made everything more complicated because I wanted to kill Colton, and she would want to protect him.

What should I do?

Letting her go was my only option that night, but I meant what I said to Hunter, that I wasn’t losing her. It just may take some time before we untie all the knots that were tangled up between us.

That night, I barely slept, which worked out well because my phone rang at seven with a call from the front offices of the Inferno. My agent had flown in from New York and was supposed to meet me there to discuss what had happened, but I didn’t feel ready to discuss it.

Nonetheless, I hopped in Shelly and drove to the stadium, mentally preparing myself for a trade or release from contract. After the negativity that would come bearing down because of my actions, I expected nothing less.

“Sit,” my agent, Max Higgins, motioned to an empty chair around a large table. “Let's talk this out before they get here.”

I took the seat, but my mouth didn’t move. If I had to tell the story twice in one day, I would lose it, so I just shook my head at Max. “I’ll talk when they get here.”

He wanted to argue; it was his job to know things and protect me, but the doors opened again before he could lay into me for being irresponsible.

“Morning, Tripp,” my coach mumbled alongside the owner of the team, Mr. Brent, and the lead medical doctor for the team. They all sat down around the table and dropped a folder into the middle, making Max reach out to grab it.

“What’s this?” He asked, looking through everything.

“It seems as though the agency we hired for marketing the kids’ camp had been doing a little homework on the side. Last night, we got this email from Ms. O’Neil.”

Shit, she did it. Sent in everything that I wanted to hide. Those pictures would never go over well, and even though she probably assumed that it would explain things clearly, I was mortified that they had now seen me in such a compromising position.

“Look,” I started to say, not even bothering to look at the file. “There was—”

“You were drugged?” My agent stood up, yelling at me for not having ever mentioned that to him in the first place. “Tripp! This is serious. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Mortification? Humiliation? Shame? Pretty sure they all mean the same thing here, and honestly—”

“Stop,” Max cut me off again. Sliding the papers in front of me, he pointed at the drugs found on my piss test. “Look.”

Glancing down, I saw the test and the pictures Tatum had taken of Hunter and me on the field. But the images of us in the club were nowhere to be found.

“Do you know who did this to you?” Coach asked, clearly concerned.

“Because we will be pressing charges,” Mr. Brent added. “Without a statement from Ms. O’Neil, this could have cost not only our team, but you, and your well-being as well.”

Glancing up, I looked into the eyes of everyone that was there. Each one looked concerned for me, which was the opposite of what I had expected when they tossed that file down.

“I’m good. But only when I did the drug test did I know I had drugs in my system. It was weeks ago, and honestly, I thought I had drunk too much.”

“Hunter Ward had the same drugs in his system, but at a much lower level. We called and asked him to come in for this meeting as well, but he declined. He did, however, agree to sign a statement that he was the one responsible for whatever happened that night.”

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