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“I think that backfired.”
“If we’re being completely honest,” he paused, as if he wasn’t sure of my reaction, “she tasted like absolute sin seeped with trouble. And I was fucked the second my mouth touched her.”
Something I couldn’t describe slithered through my chest, weighing me down and pushing a barrier between me and my best friend for the first time ever. It was a foreign feeling, and I wasn’t fucking liking it at all.
“She’s using you,” I reminded him, refusing to acknowledge how my dick reacted when I’d walked in to see her spread on the desk. Her muffled cries were already playing on repeat in my head.
“I know,” he snapped.
“We already have enough shit to deal with. The meeting we have tomorrow night will be stressful enough. We don’t need her messing with our heads.”
“And why is River coming?” he asked, looking relieved to change the subject. “Since when are we allowing him to be part of business? He just got back.”
My jaw ticked. “Wasn’t my choice. Eleanor used the small pull she has. She wants to make sure her son is included, and she got Richard to agree.”
“I don’t trust him.”
“None of us trust him. Including Kat. That works in our favor.”
“She’s hiding something too.” West grabbed his pants off the floor and pulled a key out of the front pocket. “I caught her with this, heading to William’s office.”
I thought for a moment. “We need to get into her phone.”
“You think she’d actually keep something on there?”
“Maybe. There’s a reason she went to that hotel after she saw Noah. And I bet it wasn’t for sex.”
West nodded. “She’s not going to give it up easily.”
“We’ll get it. And we’re going to flip this game she’s playing with us.”
Curiosity flashed in West’s eyes. “How?”
I grinned. “We’ll have a talk with her after practice tomorrow.”
West returned my grin, even though tension was lingering between us. I still trusted him with my life, and I had no intention of letting Kat create a wedge larger than she already had. It was time for her to learn that she wasn’t going to get her way now that she was home. And we weren’t going to give her a choice about it.
CHAPTERTWENTY
Sitting on the bench,I gritted my teeth as I looked at my phone. James wasn’t letting up. Five missed calls in the few hours I’d been in class. I scoped out the gym, not seeing my coach anywhere. I still had a few minutes before practice started. Hitting his number, I raised the phone to my ear, keeping an eye on the boys’ team shooting around. The gym we were in had two basketball courts right next to each other. It was the largest gym I’d ever practiced in, and this wasn’t even for official games. This school had another court for that.
West and Eli hadn’t been lying when they told me the teams did everything together. We practiced at the same time, and anything else that had to do with basketball was done with both teams present. Practices had started last week, even though the season didn’t start for over a month. There was a reason Braidwood had held the state title for years. They treated the game like the world revolved around it. Which was fine by me. I loved being on the court. It was the only time I could forget my pile of problems and clear my head.
“About time you called me back.” James answered the phone, not hiding his annoyance that I hadn’t been in contact with him.
“Sorry,Amanda.” I kept my voice bubbly as one of my teammates sat next to me. “It’s been a busy week.”
“Have you found anything?”
Standing from the bench, I walked away from everyone, making sure no one could overhear. My voice was just above a whisper as I answered. “No. I haven’t had a chance. I told you I’d be watched. And I can’t come meet you anymore.”
“Bullshit,” he hissed. “If you’re changing your mind—”
“I’m not. I don’t have a car to drive that isn’t being tracked.”
“Then I’ll come to Braidwood to see you.”
“Are you insane?” I tried keeping my face neutral as my anger and fear skyrocketed. “If they find out who you are, we’re both fucked. Do not come here. I’ll call you the second I have anything useful.”
