Page 202 of Forever Relentless

“Because I—” She stopped herself.

I watched her carefully. “Because you what?”

Briar looked down at the floor for a second before lifting her eyes back to mine. “Because I thought you knew me better than that.”

I looked at her in confusion. “Better than what?”

“Better than going to Hadley for social media help. Better than making deals with him.” She shook her head and turned away.

That spurred me into movement. I reached for her arm and guided her back a step. “Let me explain something to you, Briar.”

She didn’t shift as I moved closer; only inches separated us now. “You came here with a plan,” I said slowly, anger keeping my emotions tight. “Expose the coach, the program. Clear your brother’s name. Take them all down if you had to.”

Her gaze didn’t waver from mine. “Yes.”

“That’s admirable.”

Her brows drew together.

“But I live here,” I continued. “My football career lives here. Dante’s career lives here. Dustin’s career lives here.”

“I know that.”

“But did you care?”

She tried to pull away from my hold, to create some space between us. Her chin lifted in defiance when I didn’t loosen my hold. “I wasn’t trying to ruin you. I didn’t know you then!”

“No,” I agreed quietly. “You were just willing to do what it took to get your revenge for Mason.” I kept my gaze steady on her. “I did the same, but I got judged for it. By you, by them. Hell, even my brother.”

She flinched as if I’d slapped her. My words were harsh because they needed to be said. She’d have done anything for her brother. “But that’s not why I made the deal,” I continued.

Her eyes searched mine. “Then why did you?”

I held her gaze. Why couldn’t she see it? “Because he would have destroyed you. He wouldn’t have stopped at a simple police escort to the station. He would have torn you down, your family down. He would have made you an example. He would have done it not because he cares about you or Mason, but because he wanted to show everyone else who has all the power. And you know I’m right.”

Her breath caught. For a second, she just stared at me, like she hadn’t heard me right. “Noah?”

“I told you that he had pictures, Briar.” My voice stayed flat, and I let her go. “Of me leaving your place that morning. He knew you weren’t Briar Holmes. He knew so much more about what happened the night of Tiffany, and he would have used it to his advantage. Neither you nor Mason were getting out of this without consequences.”

Her face flushed. “We would have been fine.”

“Would you?”

She took a step back, shaking her head slowly. “You didn’t give me the chance to find out! He could have been bluffing!”

“Men like him don’t bluff,” I said quietly. “They collect insurance, and trust me, he had plenty.”

She wrung her hands together. I wasn’t sure she even knew she was doing it.

“And even if you got off with most of it, he’d make sure your job prospects were zero. He has the reach,” I continued softly. Briar’s eyes snapped back to mine. “So yeah, I know exactly how it would’ve ended, and I wasn’t willing to risk it.”

She opened her mouth and closed it again. “It wasn’t your risk!”

“Of course it was,” I said calmly. “It involved you.”

Her jaw clenched. She stared at me, the anger in her eyes flickering into something else. Something softer. “I know you did this to protect me. Them.”

I didn’t answer. Because hearing her say it out loud made it sound much nobler than it had felt.