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I take one final stride, but Archer makes it to me first with Sawyer hot on his heels from the shower.

“You—you broke my fucking nose!” Tyler screams.

No regrets. Not fucking one.

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY TO HER?!” I’ve never felt this kind of rage—I’m uncontrollable, seething.

Archer’s grip around my waist tightens. “Breathe, Jack. For fuck’s sake, breathe.”

I genuinely think if anyone else had said it, I wouldn’t havelistened. My anger would still be rising as the voice of reason washes over me.

But this is Archer—the guy who’s usually all jokes and playtime—now asking me to cool it.

I pause on trying to hit him again when Tyler spits blood in my face.

I smirk, raising the hem of my jersey and wiping at my cheek. “Like I said before, sloppy seconds never felt so good.”

He growls like some kind of fucking Doberman. “She read the messages then,” he says, blood streaming down his face and over his jersey.

“Fuck, Tyler. What have you done?” Sawyer comes to stand beside me.

“What I should’ve done months—no, years ago.” This time, he steps toward me, and Sawyer gets between us both. “You really think I didn’t know your game back then? How desperate you were to get under my skin? I told you this has never been about Kendra. It’s always been about me.”

None of that is true, but it shakes me to my core regardless. I couldn’t give a fuck what Tyler thinks. Except he’s poisoned an already-vulnerable and heartbroken Kendra against me.

She needs me now more than ever, and there’s nowhere else I want to be.

Panic overtakes me as I hold Tyler hostage with my glare. We’ve always had a rivalry, never been able to stand the sight of each other. Though this time, he knows he went too far. As I said to my dad, I’d burn anyone who hurt the girl I loved.

And I’m in love with her. It didn’t take the thought of losing her to conclude that. But it did take this moment right here to realize I can’t live without her.

I refuse to let my idiotic teenage behavior be twisted and used against me.

My molars are practically dust as I fight against Archer’s grip, ready to hit Tyler again. “You and I both know that text thread was clipped to make it look even worse. You know whatmy next message said—that she deserved better. She deserved to have a guy who’d show her what it was like to be worshipped. Even at nineteen, I could see that, and you knew I could make her happy. The truth in my words threatened you. Why didn’t you send the full thread, Tyler? Not man enough?”

“Fuck off!” he spits.

I’ve seen and heard enough.

When I turn away, Archer releases me, and I rip off my jersey and pads, throwing them down on the bench.

“Where are you going?” Sawyer asks, one brow raised with worry. “You can’t go after her. We’re in the middle of a series.”

I snatch up my bag. “I’d say, the second I hit him, I landed myself in hot water with the GM. Nothing—and I mean,nothing—is going to stop me from going to her. She didn’t make the national squad, her career is imploding, and now I’ve just broken her heart.”

He claps a hand on my shoulder and squeezes—his way of asking me to take a second. “My Papa always told me to fight battles I know I’ll win, and I can see my chances aren’t good with this one.”

My jaw tics, Sawyer’s absolutely right, he can’t stop me. “She’s going home to Ohio and that’s where I’ll be in a matter of hours,” I reply.

He reaches into my bag, fetching out my phone and handing it to me. “Send me Kendra’s number.”

I take it from him. “Why?”

“Just send me her number.”

Hitting forward on her contact, I tip my head over my shoulder and watch as Tyler attempts to stem the bleeding from his nose. “Where’s Jon?”

Sawyer runs a hand across his jawline. “Prepping a debrief a few rooms down.”