Page 102 of False Catch

"I know." I slump against the trailer. "I fucked up. But I didn't cheat. That video is from January, before Reese even transferred. Kinsley must have recorded it without me knowing and held onto it."

"The audio?"

"Edited. Spliced. Fucking AI. I don't know. But I haven't touched her since Reese joined the team. I haven't wanted to."

"Then tell them that."

"You think they'll believe me? After I hid the gala? After I showed up with scratches I couldn't explain?" I laugh bitterly. "I couldn't even tell them where I was Wednesday night."

"You were at practice Wednesday."

"After. I went to the gala after. Got back at three AM, slept in my car because I couldn't face going to the house."

Cameron studies me for a long moment. "You're an idiot."

"I know."

"She deserved the truth."

"I know."

"They all did."

"I KNOW." The words come out as a roar, all my frustration and self-hatred boiling over. "I know I fucked up. I know I should have told them. But I was trying to protect her from my world, from my father, from all the shit that comes with being a Lockwood."

"That wasn't your choice to make."

He's right. God, he's right.

"The final race is in twenty minutes," Cameron says. "You can either explain now and hope they listen, or we lose this one too and destroy any chance of salvaging the season."

"They won't listen. Not with Kinsley's poison in their ears."

"Then make them." He turns to go, then pauses. "I believe you, Gray. The man I know who’s been falling for Reese all season wouldn't throw it away for Kinsley Adams. I’ll figure out a way to help you prove it, but you’ve got to man up to your part in this."

He walks away, leaving me alone with the truth that might be too late to matter.

I find them gathered by the dock, preparing for the final race. Reese is adjusting her cox box, surrounded by the others like a protective wall.

"We need to talk," I say.

"No," Jackson says immediately. "We don't."

"Two minutes. That's all I'm asking."

"You don't get to ask for anything," Bo says.

"Please." I look directly at Reese. "Just listen. Then you can hate me if you want."

She finally meets my eyes, and the hurt there pierces my chest like an arrow, settles in my stomach like poison. "You have two minutes."

I tell them everything. The gala. Sophia. My father's expectations. Kinsley's ambush. Why I hid it all. The words pour out in a desperate rush, trying to make them understand.

"The video's from January," I finish. "Before you were even at Sable Ridge. She edited the audio to make it sound recent. I swear on everything, I haven't touched her since you joined the team."

Silence.

"You went to a society gala with another woman," Reese says quietly. "After I had dinner with your family. After you called me your girlfriend."