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“It was faint,” the trainer explained. “Meaning it wasn’t recent. But we can still see it, Tripp. So you need to head out.”
What was happening?
The visitor’s locker room door opened as I stood there stunned, but when I saw Hunter walk out, I leaped toward him. His face was full of anger as I grabbed his neck and pushed him against the wall. Pulling my arm back, I took a shot to his jaw, landing a hard punch as he tried to fight back.
Arms were wrapped around me, and I was dragged away from Hunter as I yelled. “Now leave her alone. Keep taking all you want from me, but leave her the fuck alone.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Coach said in my ear as he pulled me back. Both locker rooms were emptied, and there was a crowd watching us. Hunter just looked toward me and spit, missing but sending a clear message.
“Get off me!” I yelled, tugging my arms out from the tight hold Coach had on me. If I tried to get to Hunter again, I wouldn’t make it before being held, so I shoved past my team and into the locker room. Grabbing my keys, I raced for the exit and hopped into my old Bronco just as Tatum showed up for the day.
My phone immediately started ringing, and I answered because I knew it was her.
“Where are you going?”
“Put it this way, I just figured out why I can’t remember anything about the night Hunter and I went out, and it just ruined my career. That motherfucker won before I even knew there was a fight.”
ChapterThirty-Six
Tatum
Waking up in Tripp’s bed made me smile. He had left a note explaining his random drug test and that my car was in the parking garage. My keys were next to the note, and I gripped them, realizing he had the tire fixed and my car brought to me at some point in the night.
With a little extra time, I got home, changed for the workday, and then went to the stadium just in time to see Tripp speeding away. Thankfully, he answered my call, but he wasn’t making any sense, so instead of going into the stadium, I followed him, tracking his every turn until he was in the parking garage of his apartment. The day was overcast, with rain on the horizon, but instead of going inside, he walked out toward the beach.
Taking my shoes off and leaving my phone in my car, I started walking toward the waves behind him in the sand. It had been less than twenty-four hours since my last trek across the sand, frantic and trying to get to him. My dress wasn’t as tight as the day before, so it flew up in the wind as I ran.
“Tripp!” I yelled, knowing he could hear me, but he didn’t turn around. He did stop walking, though, and flexed his hands at his sides.
Slowing down, I walked the remaining ten feet between us and touched his back. It was still early in the day, and the wind without the sun was cool since it was late in the year.
“What happened?” I asked, then pressed my head to the middle of his back.
“He drugged me.”
My head came up, and I rounded the front of him, looking up into his grim eyes. “What?”
“I failed my drug test and it all clicked into place. That night I agreed to help him with you, the night that picture was taken, the night I don’t fucking remember…he drugged me.”
Tripp wasn’t looking at me, but he brought one of his hands to my head and pulled me into his embrace. He was so much bigger than me, and it made consoling him hard, especially on the uneven sand.
I held him the best I could for a while as he rested his chin on my head. But as the rain got closer and the lightning in the distance strengthened, I knew we needed to get inside.
“Take me home.”
He snorted and shook his head, letting his hands drop from around me. “You need to get back to work. Maybe this is your chance to do damage control, get on your boss’ good side for having dirt that needs your hand in managing.”
“No.”
“There’s another picture as well. He pinned it to the fucking team announcement board and Luca found it. Different picture but same thing.”
My gasp made him finally look down at me. His eyes were like fire, and I felt I could melt with that look if I stood still too long. Behind him, I could see lightning, and it snapped me into action, making me push his chest a little.
“I don’t care what happened today, Tripp. Take me home. We can figure out how to deal with it after we both calm down.”
It took him another few minutes, but then he turned around and walked toward his building. Following behind, I watched the tension in his body pulse with every movement. Just like he had done with me, I was going to make him forget. Make him feel. Then, after our heads were clear and our bodies were free from the tension, I was going to help him figure out what to do next.
Before we could get inside, the rain started, and Tripp stopped, letting it soak into his clothes, hair, and skin. My work clothes were officially ruined, but it felt therapeutic to let the mix of wind and rain seize my pulse.
