16. Grayson

16

GRAYSON

I stared at the words, block capitals scrawled in black ink, scratched deep into the torn paper.

DOES COACH PIERCE KNOW WHO HIS STAR PLAYER WAS HANGING OUT WITH AFTER THE GAME?

They'd been here. They knew which locker was mine.

"Fuck. They're watching us," I whispered. "Whoever they are, they've got eyes on us."

Micah came to stand next to me, and it was only when he gripped my arm that I realized I was shaking. No, he was shaking. Or we both were.

"They're sending a message," he whispered. "They want you to know that they can access your locker. That they've been watching us. That they could go to my dad with the information about where we were after the game."

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. When we'd first started getting the texts, yeah, I'd been afraid and fucking worried about the situation, but now I was gripped with an icy terror. We had to find out what had happened that night, to piece it all together, and maybe then, we could work out who was behind this all.

"I'm scared," Micah confessed, and that was what broke me. Twisting around, I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his hair and taking comfort from him, just as he was taking comfort from me.

"It's gonna be okay," I said, even though I didn't believe it. At least my captaincy had been good for one thing—being a strong leader, supporting my teammates when they were having a hard time. Now, I had a new team, made up of four people that would never have come together if it hadn't been for this incident, and it was up to me to be strong for them.

Micah hugged me back just as hard as I was hugging him. When we'd both calmed down and it seemed like his breathing was back to normal, I pulled away from him, clearing my throat.

"Okay. Let's get to the library. Did you hear back from Ava or Mart—Cruz?"

He checked his phone while I carefully scooped up the note using another piece of paper I tore from my physiology course notebook. I then placed the note in between the pages of my notebook and tucked it into my duffel.

"They both replied. Ava said she'll meet us there as soon as she can, and Cruz said he's busy."

"Fuck that." Pulling out my own phone, I hit his number. I clenched my jaw, thinking about the fact that the only reason I had his number was because Ava had tracked it down for me. The second the call connected, I growled, "Cancel your plans. Shit just got a whole lot worse."

"Hello to you too, Cross," he drawled.

"I'm not fucking playing. Get to the library. Now. I got a note."

Before he could waste time questioning me, I ended the call, pocketing my phone and grabbing my clothes from my locker. Micah let out a high-pitched noise when I dropped the towel, and I smirked as I tugged on my boxer briefs. If I hadn't been so fucking stressed about the note, I might've teased him a little. As it was, though, I pulled on my clothes as quickly as I could, and then scooped up my duffel.

Micah stuck close to me as we made our way across campus as quickly as we could. When we reached the library, we both breathed a sigh of relief, agreeing without words to head for the farthest, quietest corner.

Micah texted Ava and Cruz to let them know where we were, and then we settled in to wait. It took me a minute to realize that our legs were pressed together under the table where we were both sprawled out. I glanced down, raising a brow, and Micah flushed. He started to draw his leg back, but I hooked my ankle around his, holding it in place.

"Don't." I didn't add that it was a comfort, and also that it made my heart beat a little bit faster for some reason.

My heart rate increased again when Ava showed up, looking sexy as fuck in tight workout pants and a sorority sports bra, with an unzipped hoodie thrown on over the top. Then it increased again for a whole different reason when Cruz showed up, scowling at us all. The asshole increased my blood pressure to dangerous levels, I was sure of it.

"Nice of you to join us," I said as he dropped into the seat next to Ava.

"I couldn't deprive you of my presence, Cross. You'd miss me too much." He smirked at my eye roll. "You two are looking cozy over there. Guess that means I get to cozy up with Ava here."

Micah and I both gave him the finger at the same time, which made me grin despite myself, and Ava just shook her head. "Boys. I can't believe I'm surrounded by boys."

Cruz ducked his head and murmured something to her, and a gorgeous, reluctant smile curved over her lips. Why didn't I get those smiles? Why did Cruz fucking Martinez get them? As far as I knew, they'd never even spoken before our little field trip to the racetrack. Yeah, okay, he was good-looking, if you liked that type, but as far as I knew, Ava had never had a thing for bad boys. Or hockey players, sadly.

We weren't here for flirting. It was time to get down to business. "There was a note in my locker," I announced, sliding my notebook across the table. "Careful. Don't touch the paper in case we need to get prints off it or whatever."

"Prints?" Cruz stared at me with raised brows as Ava opened the notebook. "Look at Detective fucking Cross over here. I never knew you were studying for a degree in forensics."

"Fuck off."

His attention was diverted by Ava's gasp, her eyes widening as she scanned the note, reading the words that had imprinted themselves onto my brain. Cruz was forgotten, that same icy terror gripping me once again, and I pressed my leg harder against Micah's in a futile effort at comforting myself.

"Be back in a minute," I muttered, pushing back from the table and heading into the stacks, where I could take a moment to get my shit together in private.

"Gray." A slim hand landed on my arm, stroking lightly. "Are you okay? It must've been scary finding that note in your locker."

I looked down at Ava and nodded once, biting down on my lip. She sighed, stepping right up to me, and the next thing I knew, she was in my arms.

"This is so messed up," she whispered.

"I know." I ran my hand down over her silky hair, and she pressed closer to me. Fuck, she felt so good in my arms, and my dick was taking an interest. While I would give literally anything to take things further with her, now was not the time. And she wasn't interested in me, anyway. Not in the way I wanted her to be.

"Gray," she murmured, and I drew my head back, looking into her huge blue eyes. Her lips parted, and—fuck, I didn't think she was interested, but the way she was looking at me right now?

Taking a chance, I lowered my head, our noses brushing against each other's, and she gave a breathy sigh, winding her arms around my neck.

"Ava," I rasped against her lips, and then we were kissing.