Page 44 of Forever Relentless

There was no sign of Dustin, and the shared look between Dante and me said more than words needed to. Dustin was with Hadley, and it was unlikely that he’d be in the dining area.

“At least we don’t need to lie to him,” Dante muttered as he opened the door to the athletes’ cafeteria.

“Just lying by omission then.”

Dante frowned, but he never denied it. We barely spoke during our meal, then wordlessly gathered up our trays afterward and left the building.

“Your brother really found her?” he asked me on the way to Briar’s.

I gave a slight smile. “My brother’s a genius — scary smart.”

“Handy.” He looked up at the sky as we walked. “How much did you tell him?”

“Very little, it’s not for him to get mixed up with.”

He gave me an amused look. “Not so low on the smarts yourself, Noah.”

As we rounded the corner to the street where Briar lived, Dante glanced at me quizzically.

“We’re getting Dust? We won’t be able to avoid telling Hadley.”

“Nah, to both.”

I opened the door to Briar’s building and heard Dante’s low whistle behind me as we climbed the stairs.

“Right next door?” I could hear his grin. “She is going to be so pissed she missed that.”

I couldn’t help it; I laughed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”

The door opened before Dante cleared the last step. Briar looked up at me, her eyes fierce and narrowed in irritation.

“You’re a pain in the ass.”

“Evening to you as well.” I brushed past her as I walked inside, seeing Diana already sitting on the couch, a glass of wine in her hand. “Hey,” I greeted.

“Hey,” she said back. She nodded to Dante, who gave a casual wave in return.

Briar closed the door with more force than necessary, in my opinion, but I didn’t comment.

She walked past both of us without offering us a seat and sat beside Diana.

She gave me a pointed glare of accusation. “You hijacked a treatment session?”

“I . . . what?” I glanced at Diana, who took a sip of her wine, her eyes dancing with amusement. “You didn’t tell her the whole story?”

“I—”

Dante blew out a breath. “Diana was clearly uncomfortable with Coach Sutherland. I needed a treatment, and Noah stayed. Diana doesn’t like a one-on-one.”

Briar looked at her friend. “You need a chaperone?”

Diana leaned forward and put her glass on the table. “In that building? Damn right I do.”

Briar rubbed her friend’s knee. “I’m sorry it’s so shitty.”

I caught Dante’s eye, and his eyebrows lifted slightly; he was as surprised as I was.

“So—”