Chapter 5

I stayed late after practice, going through last year’s game tape for plays to add to my highlights. I was actually shocked at how much we were able to pull. While I’d been in freefall emotionally last year, I’d left it all out on the field, using it to drive me through the games. My highlight reel I’d put together before was going to be nothing compared to what this new one would be. I had a few spectacular moments to still pull from sophomore year, but damn. Going for a football scholarship was now starting to look like something stupid not to do.

Wow. I was starting to hear myself. I wasn’t God’s gift to football by any means, but I was still impressed. Last year on the field had been good, damn good, even if I barely remembered it.

“See here, how you dodged that tackle to still make that pass? That was a damn good play.” Coach jotted down another note for which seconds to pull as my phone buzzed in my pocket for the fifth time. “Got somewhere to be?”

“No. It’s probably just Annie checking in. I’m her ride. She stayed to watch practice.”

“Yeah, I saw her up in the stands. Let’s go ahead and finish up for today. Can you stay late tomorrow? I want to put this together as quickly as possible. Get your name out there now that your head’s in it.”

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Great.” Coach grabbed the remote to cut off the TV. “We’ll keep updating your highlights this semester, too.”

“Sounds good.” I stood, grabbing my bag, and headed out the door, sliding my phone from my pocket. My eyes widened when I saw the texts.

Tucker: My cousins are about to be dead. Are you out of practice?

Tucker: Jet, pick up.

Tucker: Shit, man. I need you to have my back. Wtf?

I quickly called him back as I pushed through the metal door to the outside. Annie was waiting a few yards away on a bench, a book in her hand, but she hopped up as soon as I came out to run over and frowned when she saw the look on my face.

“Tucker,”I mouthed as my phone started to ring, lacing her fingers through mine so we could head to my car.

“Fuck, man. Are you still at fucking practice? I’m losing it here. All that shit Zane said today was true, but it’s so much fucking worse.”

“What? How?”

“The shit Ryder did…I can’t just let it go. Not this time. But I need you to have my back, or I might just fucking kill him.”

Shit. What all did he do? What Zane said was bad enough.I looked at Annie, wondering if she knew. She just looked back, an eyebrow raised, clearly hearing everything Tucker was saying, he was talking so loud.

“I just got out. Where are you?”

“I’ll be in the parking lot in less than a minute.”

He hung up. Shit. Okay. I squeezed Annie’s hand and pulled out my keys. “Here. I’ve got to go with Tucker.”

Looking confused, she held out her hand. “What happened with Zane? And Ryder?”

“I don’t know all of it, but you can ask Izzy. Apparently, she didn’t tell us everything.”

I leaned down, planting a quick kiss that told her everything I wished I could say, and then I sprinted out to the parking lot just as Tucker pulled in like a bat out of hell from the street. He screeched to a halt a few feet away from me, and I hopped in.

“Took you long enough.”

“Don’t start.” I shook my head, grabbing the dash as we sped off so I wouldn’t slide from the seat, still trying to get my seatbelt on. “I was working on my highlight film with Coach. How was I supposed to know you needed me?”

Tucker’s jaw ticked, his hands white knuckling the wheel. The fact that he didn’t say anything told me he was warring between reason and being too pissed for a decent reply.

The buckle finally clicked, and I sat back. “Wanna fill me in now what they did? Besides what Zane said?”

Tucker’s head tossed back with a barked laugh. “What the fuck didn’t they do? Ryder fucking threw a bag over her head and pinned her down. Grabbed her wrists. He threatened her. Promised her she’d wish for what he was doing then if she told. Fucking kissed her. He’s fucking lucky that’s all he fucking did, or my uncle would be planning a goddamn funeral after today.” His teeth ground, that muscle in his jaw ticking. “He might fucking anyway. Micah might live because he at least pulled Ryder off.”

He took a turn too fast, and I grabbed the bar above the door. “Fuck, man. Watch it. You wreck and it’s us that gets hurt and not them.”

“Sorry,” he grated, rubbing his gripped fist on the wheel. “You’ve got to have my back, though.”

Was he kidding? After everything they’d done to Izzy?

“Always.”

I slammed the door when I pulled up to the Thanos’ curb, praying Archer and the kids were still over there with Harper. I didn’t know how bad things were about to get, but I knew from that short convo with Jet that Izzy owed me an explanation. I wasn’t even sure who I was more mad at. Ryder for always finding a way to hurt my sister, or Izzy for hiding it from me. Okay, fine, Ryder, but still. Izzy and I didn’t hide shit from each other. Not like this.

Trying to curb my anger, I sprinted across the lawns to my house and threw open the door, the sound of music blaring from the garage already pumping through the walls.

Shit, it’s pretty bad then.Seriously, why in the hell hadn’t Izzy told any of us? Or at least told me?

A quick sweep of the first floor assuring me that no one else was home, I headed to Izzy’s makeshift studio and stepped inside, finding her immersed in whatever latest dance she’d choreographed. I took a few seconds to watch because, despite my anger, my sister truly amazed me with her talent. She was so incredible.

I waited for the song to stop before cutting the music, and Izzy looked up, surprised to see I was there. My arms crossed over my chest.

“You lied.”

She bit her lip, so much in her expression I didn’t know how to unpack, which was seriously unnerving. “I know.”

“We need to talk.”

She nodded. “Where?”

“I don’t care. Here. Upstairs. On the fucking roof, sis, as long as you tell me the truth. What happened with Zane? And Ryder, apparently?”

She took a deep breath, releasing a long sigh, and ran a hand back through the damp strands of her hair that she’d pulled back into a messy bun. “Crap. So much.”

I walked over to the side of the garage and pulled out a couple of folding lawn chairs, handing one to Izzy. Once we settled, I waited, taking in everything she had to say, everything she’d held back from me. By the time she was finished, I was furious, pissed, livid, except the tears falling down my face were from the pain of having to watch hers.

“I swear if they ever touch you again–”

“You’ll what? They’re how much bigger than us? Tucker’s dealing with it.”

“Jet, too. He grabbed him after practice for backup.”

Izzy groaned. “I’m so sorry, sis. I never wanted any of this to blow up like this.”

“Of course not. I just don’t get why you hid it. Just because Ryder made some stupid threat?”

“It’s not stupid to me.” Izzy’s voice became small. “I hate feeling weak, but that’s how he makes me feel. I fought him, Annie, and he still had me pinned. You don’t know what it’s like. You didn’t see the look on his face. He meant it. And now Tucker’s heading over there to freaking spill that I told.” Her face crumbled again, and I quickly snatched her up in a hug.

“I’ll text Jet. Tell him to talk to Tucker. Maybe he can talk him down. And if not, then we deal with this. You didn’t want to tell Mom or Jenna and Chuck last time, but–”

“No.” She pulled back, determination blazing through her eyes. “I’m not. None of us are saying a thing. Mom has enough to deal with, and she’s back at work now. I’m not putting any more on her plate, and if we tell Jenna or Chuck, you know they’ll say something to her. I’d rather let Tucker handle it and just put it behind us.”

I rolled my eyes. “Izzy–”

“No, Annie. I mean it.”

And they call me the stubborn one. “Fine. We’ll talk more about it later when maybe I can make you see reason.”

Izzy rolled her eyes this time. “I am seeing reason. Can we drop this now? Besides, I have news.”

I perked up, hearing the change in her tone. “Well…” I waved her on.

“Tucker told me he loved me today. And I said it back.” She pressed her lips together, trying to hold back a massive smile, while my jaw dropped.

“Wait. Seriously?” She nodded. “Oh, my God.” I squealed, the two of us jumping up in a giddy hug. “That’s so amazing. I’m so happy for you. But still so freaking mad at you.” I pretended to glare.

“I know. I know. I’m sorry. But oh, my God, sis. It was so amazing.”

“Okay, wait. Let me text Jet like I said before our boyfriends do something stupid, and then you’re going to tell me every freaking second and detail about it.”

“Annie texted. She wants us to turn back. Izzy’s afraid of Ryder finding out you know.”

I shook my head. I was still so beyond pissed. There was no chance I wasn’t dealing with this shit tonight.

“I’ll make sure Ryder can’t put anything back on Izzy, but you know I can’t turn back, man.”

Jet nodded, his thumb flying across his screen to text Annie back. “I know. And if I’m honest, I don’t want you to. What they pulled was over the line. We need to deal with this. Not kill them like you’ve threatened, but we can’t just let this slide.”

My head jerked in a nod, glad that my best friend was on my side.

We made the rest of the drive with mostly silence between us, hard rock on my Bluetooth to match my mood. When we finally made it to Austin, I took the exit for UT, knowing the route well from past visits to the campus.

A party was in full swing when we pulled up to the football house, and I found a spot along the curb to park, barely putting my truck in park before hopping out. Jet followed, taking my right flank. Music was blaring from inside the house, and guys gathered on the front porch with girls on their laps or under their arms, beers in hand.

“Hey! Baby Pierce!” A burly guy with a buzz cut and a wide smile I recognized as the team captain stepped out from the crowd to greet me.

“Hey, Bradley.” I tried not to make my voice too rough. “I need to talk to Micah and Ryder. Are they here?”

“Somewhere inside. You wanna head in?” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder, but I shook my head. About all I could manage. My fingers twitched in anticipation at my sides.

“Sorry. Would you mind asking them to come out? Family business.”

“Oh.” His thick brows furrowed. “Yeah, no problem. Hey, y’all, head on in. Micah and Ryder have got family business to deal with out here.”

“Well, that worked out,” Jet mused at my side.

Definitely.

It took a few minutes before the door swung open, and my cousins filed out. Micah shut the door behind them while Ryder’s face immediately split into a shit-eating devilish grin. “Didn’t take long for her to spill, did it?”

He turned back with a grin at his brother while I walked up, my arm pulling back. “No, it was her fucking ex that spilled.” I slammed my fist into his face as he turned back around, and he fell, instantly going limp in one knockout punch.

“Shit,” Jet murmured.

Micah’s eyes shot wide, but he quickly put up his guard while I flew forward, grabbing his shirt to slam him back against the door. “Either of you touch or threaten or scare her like that again, in any way, you’ll regret it. I was just pissed when I said it last time, but I will make her go to the police or do it myself. Do y’all get it? She’s mine, and if y’all don’t want to completely fuck up our family, worse than you already have, you’ll lay off.”

My anger too fucking prevalent in my eyes, my entire body thrumming with it, Micah nodded, not saying a word.

I released his shirt and stepped over Ryder, who was now drooling, blood swirling with his saliva as it trailed onto the porch steps. Fuck, my knuckles were going to hurt when the adrenaline wore off.

“Let’s go.” Jet followed right by my side as we headed back to my truck.

It was nearly midnight when we pulled up to my house, and Jet pointed through the windshield to where the twins were waiting on their front porch swing, the porch light bathing the night around them.

I took a deep breath, the two of us hopping out to head over. As soon as we reached the edge of the light, they came running up to us, leaping into our arms. And I had to admit, it felt damn good. Like the four of us together were fucking meant to be.

Izzy wrapped her arms around my neck while I scooped her up, and I tucked my nose into her neck, drinking her in, this woman that I was in love with. That loved me. I was still wrapping my head around that. That I was in love. That I got to have her.

“How did it go?” she asked.

Instead of answering, I carried her up the porch steps and flipped her around, pulling her into my lap as I sat on the swing. Annie and Jet followed, nestling together on their end.

Annie grabbed Jet’s hand, inspecting his knuckles. “You’re fine?”

“Never better.” He grinned. “Tucker knocked Ryder out in one punch.”

The girls’ shocked faces turned to mine.

“Don’t look so surprised.” I feigned hurt, and Izzy rolled her eyes, grabbing my hand next to inspect. She ran her thumb gently over my fingers where they’d started to swell.

“Are you okay?”

I shrugged. “I’ll be fine. I warned them off. Micah knows not to let Ryder get out of control again, or we’ll be going to the police.” Izzy stiffened. “What?”

“I don’t want that.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and Annie rolled her eyes.

“Here she goes again. She doesn’t want to tell anyone. Not even the parents. Someone make her see reason, please.”

“I am seeing reason. Tucker, they’re your family.” She looked up at me. “Whether you’re furious with them or not, I refuse to be the reason to cause a rift with your family. Your Uncle Drew is your dad’s only brother. How messed up would that be to cause friction just because Ryder is being a dick?”

“I think it makes a damn lot of sense,” Annie cut in.

“And I don’t,” Izzy snapped back, fire crackling between the sisters’ glares.

I grabbed Izzy’s chin between my thumb and index finger, bringing those emerald eyes back to mine. “And I say they’re not worth having as family if they hurt someone I love.”

Izzy’s eyes shimmered as she blinked back unshed tears. “Please.” She looked around at the four of us. “Not this time. Not with everything Mom is going through. I told you that earlier, Annie. She’s got so much on her plate.” She looked back at me, imploring. “You dealt with them. Let’s give it the benefit of the doubt that they got it, and if they do it again, I swear we’ll talk. And I swear I won’t ever hide anything they do from any of you again.”

“You promise?”

“I do.”

Against my better judgment, I nodded.