Page 108 of Playing Dirty

Hayes’s face gives away every bit of disappointment he must be feeling right now, and honestly, I kinda feel bad for the guy. But seeing as Phoenix has this handled and I don’t really need to be here for this conversation, I should probably head back in—

“The guy who just left. Is he…was he here for Kason?”

My stomach clenches involuntarily at the mention of Madden, because there’s literally no one else Hayes could have seen leaving the house within the minute Madden did.

I’m about to lie through my teeth that no one was here, but I don’t get the chance before Phoenix asks, “What guy are you talking about?”

“Dark haired, lots of tattoos. His name is Madden.”

Fuuuck me so fucking hard right now.

Phoenix has a shit-eating grin on his face when he looks at me. “That’s a question for you to answer, Theo.”

I grimace, feeling the weight of the lies and secrets crashing down around me beneath Phoenix’s scrutiny, and I offer the best explanation I can on the spot.

“Madden’s my stepbrother. He was just here to deal with…parent stuff.”

Phoenix hums, and I can hear the amusement in his voice when he murmurs, “Parent stuff. At barely eight in the morning. Sounds logical.”

I don’t even have to look at him to know he’s not buying what I’m selling. Hell,Iwouldn’t buy it, becausewhat the fuckkind of excuse was that? A toddler could come up with something more believable.

My flight instincts kick in, and I take the only path of escape I can think of: deflection.

“I’m gonna let you two talk,” I murmur slowly before slipping back into the house.

Deep down, I know it’s only delaying the inevitable, but I need a second to gather my thoughts. Because right now, the only thing they’re screaming is that I’m screwed.

Twenty minutes pass before the sound of the front door clicking draws my attention up from where I’ve been cooking breakfast. As expected, it’s Phoenix coming back in from his chat with Hayes, and the moment he spots me in the kitchen, he heads my direction.

“So what was that about?” I ask, arching a brow.

“Oh no. That little disasterpiece can wait,” he says, tossing a thumb over his shoulder at the front door. “You, on the other hand, need to spill. Right fucking now.”

I was expecting him to give me the third degree once he got back inside, but it doesn’t stop my heart from racing now that the moment is here. Yet I still do my best to play off the dread pumping through my veins.

“What?” I ask, mustering the best laugh I can.

He pins me with ayou’ve got to be kidding melook and rolls his eyes. “You’re honestly gonna pretend like Hayes didn’t just let slip that he sawMaddenleaving here this morning? And I’m sorry, don’t give me thatsomething to do with our parentsbullshit you tried earlier.”

As I stare at him, waiting for me to offer some kind of reasonable explanation, I find myself caught between a rock and a hard place.

Continuing to hide what’s happening with Madden will only put more pressure on me, and I can already feel myself starting to splinter beneath the weight of all this sneaking around. But telling Phoenix is a risk—not only to our friendship and the team, but to this buddingthingthat’s happening with Madden. It could burst the bubble entirely, causing all thecomplications we’ve been blocking out to rush back in all at once.

And I’m not sure I’m willing to risk it.

“You’re the one who told me to, how did you put it?” I pause, searching for the phrase he used. “‘Make nice with my brother,’ was it?”

Phoenix frowns briefly, only for the lightbulb moment to hit him harder than a Mack truck. His eyes widen and he hops up on the kitchen counter beside me.

“Oh,shit. You’re working the Penny Play?”

Keeping my eyes on the stove, I reply, “You’re the one who told me to.”

“Okay, well you said shit went south in Vermont, so I didn’t think you’d still be trying.”

Because I’m not…

But instead, I pray like hell I have the poker face to pull off this level of deception.