Page 1 of Let You Love Me

Chapter 1

TEAGAN

One year ago, ifyou would’ve told me I had my own personal Judas Iscariot living right under my nose, I would’ve told you to get the fuck out.

My band of friends were loyal. Solid.

Raised on the football field together, we grew up with a ball in our hands.

Broken bones, concussions, girls, and our first can of beer, we did it all together. We weren’t just friends or teammates, we were brothers. And although we didn’t share the same blood running through our veins, it sure as hell felt like it.

So when I found out Knox—my boy—was the one who assaulted my sister in high school, I lost it. I almost fucking killed him. Some days, I wish I would have.

This is one of those days.

I stare down at the news article on my phone, oblivious to the men around me, too lost in my own thoughts and the conflicting emotions at war inside of my head to focus on anything else.

Gripping the phone tighter in my hand, I skim the article as a combination of relief and anger swell inside of me.

After my family—a.k.a. my parents and Brynn—decided not to pursue criminal charges against Knox, I tried to find peace with it, but the fact that his actions would go unpunished didn’t sit right with me. Every time I picked up a football or spoke with my sister or saw her face, I imagined that fucker putting his hands on her, and I lost it.

I know Brynn is happy now. She’s healing, has closure, and is at peace; it’s everything I could ever want for my twin sister, but it wasn’t enough forme.

Ineeded more.

Ineeded him to pay.

The boys—Atlas, Graham, and Jace— and I were all in agreement. The asshole needs to be taught a lesson.

So, a couple of weeks ago, we solicited Calvin Scott, Graham and Atlas’s dad, for help in getting Knox relieved of his position at Virginia Tech. Since fucking up his relationship with Graham, Mr. Scott has been clamoring to make amends, and this was the perfect opportunity. As a former NFL-star with money and connections, he had all the pull we needed.

He made some calls and two weeks later, Knox was no longer playing for the Hokies.

Fuck me, it worked.

My gaze continues to scan the article and my mood darkens.

As it turns out, once Calvin Scott informed the administration of Knox’s questionable past, several reported assaults from girls on Knox’s campus started to make a lot more sense.

I read the last line of the article, and my jaw clenched.

“Though the investigation into several sexual assaults on the Virginia Tech campus are still ongoing, Knox Brian is being questioned as a prime suspect.”

Yep, should’ve killed the fucker when I had the chance.

We let him get away with what he did, and, lo and behold, he did it again.

But this time, he’ll pay.

Still, that shit doesn’t sit right with me.

I quickly forward the link to the news article to the guys in our group chat, typing out a quick message—Did you see this shit?—then hit send.

“Nichols, eyes up here!” a voice snaps.

I grit my teeth and lift my gaze, stuffing my phone back into the pocket of my joggers, as I meet Chance Lockhart’s cold stare with one of my own.

I know he’s our quarterback, but something about the fucker rubs me the wrong way, and I’m not in the mood for his shit tonight.