Page 198 of Forever Relentless

“Your taste in friends is lacking,” Dante barked, and when he saw my surprise, he didn’t look the least apologetic.

“He can move again?” I asked carefully. I knew football well, but college transfers weren’t my strong suit; Mason only ever wanted to play here.

“Yeah, he could,” Dustin acknowledged. ”He could help them win the championship, then he’s won it twice with two different teams,” he speculated while talking to Dante. “He’s all in for the Draft.”

“When was the last time a linebacker was the number one pick?” Dante mused. “But it could happen. If it did, it would be for him, especially if that happened and he won it twice.” He inhaled deeply. “What the fuck was he thinking going to them?”

Whoa, where did that come from? “Um . . . isn’t that good though?”

They both looked at me.

“Not for us.” Dustin saw my surprise. “No, I mean, we’d be happy for him, but our team wouldn’t be the same.”

“Happy for him?” Dante asked with scorn. “Not the adjective I’d pick.”

“So you’re both okay to stay here with Sutherland?” I asked.

Dante shook his head. “None of us are happy with Sutherland. Of course we aren’t. But Savannah is here.” He gestured to Dustin. “And Hadley.”

They’d stay for their girls. Which was very much not eyes on the prize if you asked me. Whereas I was fully supportive of Noah walking away from here and putting distance between himself and Sutherland. I didn’t think about why I was so certain about supporting what made Noah happy.

“I just wanted to know if you knew,” I said lamely into the silence.

The front door swung open, and Noah walked in, stopping abruptly in the doorway when he saw us.

He closed the door slowly. “What’s this, an intervention?”

Ha. If only he knew.

He kept walking to his room. “I’m twenty-one, I can get drunk if I want to.”

“Cardinal Saints?” Dante’s voice was calm but cold. He was reacting to this worse than the deal Noah made. What was I missing?

Noah hesitated and then turned. “Wow. I hadn’t even replied yet.” His eyes flicked to mine. “Mason?”

“Kind of . . . He didn’t say which team, just that there may be a team.”

Noah’s mouth twisted, but he didn’t say anything about it. “And?” he looked between his two friends. “What of it?”

Dustin didn’t speak.

Dante moved forward, and I had to step aside before I was knocked aside. “The Saints?” he asked, his voice tight with fury. “The deal I can understand now I’ve had time to digest it, but this? This? This is bullshit. Utter bullshit. Why not look me in the eye as you twist the knife?”

Noah stepped closer. “Me? Me twist the knife?” He looked ready to throw down. “They’re a good team—”

“We’re better,” Dante cut him off.

“They only focus on football, not all the other noise, nothing that gets in their way of their game.”

“You think—”

“Actually, that’s not true,” Dustin cut in calmly. “Mayhem. They get involved in all kinds of shit.” He looked between his friends. “They just don’t get caught.” The twin glares he received for his input were enough to make him throw his hands up. “Jesus, I’m not the one signing to another team!”

Dante stepped back. “Going rogue with Sutherland, I get. This, no.”

Noah scoffed as he looked away. “Going rogue with Sutherland saved your ass.”

“My ass?” Dante looked skeptical. “And how’s that?”