Page 10 of Alive At Night

“Look, they only picked me because of the experience I have from my internship,” Juniper said, her voice softening. Was shepityingme? “Cameron doesn’t even have much background with the type of case we’re working on. But I played a pretty big role in winning a malpractice suit against McKinley Medical,” she added, suddenly sounding smug as all hell.

Yeah, never mind. There was no pity there. Not that I wanted it.

I sighed, inwardly realizing that beneath the attitude, she had a point. My internship experience consisted mainly of family law, one of Gardner’s other specialty areas.

“Fine.” I dragged a hand over my face. “Go deliver your donuts, then, if you feel like it will help win cases.”

I didn’t bother looking back at her. But I could tell she hadn’t moved from her spot beside me. Mostly because her presence was like a weight on my shoulders. But it also had to do with her perfume giving me a headache. Or maybe that was the donuts.

Finally, I felt her shift.

“I was going to offer you one, but I think I’ve changed my mind,” she said before picking up the pastries. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her fly through the door—as fast as someone holding two dozen donuts could fly through a door, anyway.

Kicking myself beneath my desk, I refocused on my laptop. I had a lot of shit to read before lunch. Better get started.

* * *

I almost didn’t seemy former teammate Grayson when I walked into the Bellflower Bar.He’d camouflaged himself with a ball cap and sunglasses while lounging in a booth at the back. But when he tipped his head to thank the waitress for bringing over his drink—likely nonalcoholic; Grayson never drank when we lived together—I noticed that recognizable sharp jaw and five-o’clock shadow.

Sometimes I forgot he was fucking famous now.

While it’d been fun over the last six or so years to watch many of my college teammates go pro and start successful careers, it also stung. It was a bittersweet reminder of what I’d missed by moving home after graduation.

Grayson rose to his feet when he saw me, pulling off his shades before enveloping me in a gruff hug.

“You can keep the glasses on if you wanna lie low,” I said with a crooked smile.

“Nah.” He waved the idea away. “People don’t usually come up to me if I’m with someone else. It’s when I’m sitting alone that they think it’s fair game. Plus, we’re in Knights territory now.”

“You had that game-winning interception last year when LA matched up with the Knights, remember? Trust me, people know who you are. If anything, you gotta be careful ‘round here.”

Grayson chuckled, and we both squeezed into the booth. This was one of those places that put more tables on the floor than there was room for.

“No Nessa on this trip?” I asked. “Gabriel?”

“They haven’t come to many away games this year,” Grayson said, glancing to the side. The way he did it made my stomach sink.

“Why not?”

Last season, Grayson’s wife and four-year-old son traveled all over to watch his games. We had a hell of a time at the last one out here; I carried Gabe around on my shoulders and ignored Nessa whenever she glared at me for swearing at the field in front of her son.

The waitress took that inopportune moment to swing by to get my order, and my impatience ticked up while I waited for Gray to reply.

“That’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about,” he finally said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What’s going on?”

“They lied, Jules.” Only a few times throughout our friendship had I heard Grayson sound so tired. “Or they just plain fucked up.”

“Who?”

There was a brief pause while Grayson gathered his thoughts. When he began talking, it was with slow, measured words. To most people, he’d likely sound collected. But he was barely holding his shit together—I could tell.

“I transferred Gabriel to the clinic in Modesto because I wanted him to be seen by the team of doctors who treated me growing up. I requested imaging. Just to check, now that he’s older. And it’s showing that his heart—”

Grayson broke off, dropping his head into his hands. He didn’t have to say more for me to understand, though.

My fingers curled into fists below the table as I realized.Shit.

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