Page 11 of The Defender

The mental spiral I suffered every October third was the most wallowing I allowed myself.

“Better hope not, or I’ll haunt you forever,” I said. “If you think I’m bad now, wait until I’m a ghost. I’ll be insufferable.”

A grin touched her mouth before she quickly flattened it into a straight line. But the sparkle of laughter remained in her eyes, and that was enough to make me smile back.

When I returned my attention to the rest of the table, our friends had stopped talking and were staring at us with varying degrees of amusement, exasperation, and curiosity, respectively.

“If you’re done bickering, let’s get back to the issue at hand,” Scarlett said dryly. She was used to my verbal sparring with Brooklyn. “I still don’t like the idea of you going back home, even with added security. Are there other friends or teammates you can stay with? I still think a hotel is too public.”

She had a point. I’d already been recognized twice in the lobby, despite my attempts to go incognito. “Unfortunately not. No one else has a living situation that would work for a flatmate.”

“I would let you sleep on my couch, but it might be too uncomfortable,” Carina mused. “It’s a cheap couch.”

I patted her shoulder. “It’s the thought that counts.”

I’d known Carina for years. She was like another sister to me, and there was zero chance either of us would develop an attraction for the other. Staying with her wouldn’t be weird, but she lived in a one-bedroom flat and I couldn’t sleep on a couchduring football season. Our physical performance team would kill me.

“If you don’t know anyone who has a spare room, maybe I do,” Scarlett said thoughtfully. “It has to be someone who’s vetted, lives alone, and won’t freak out over the fact that you’re, well,you. Someone like…” She trailed off.

A beat of silence passed before every head swung toward Brooklyn.

Her fork froze halfway to her mouth. She lowered it slowly, her eyes darting around the table. “No. Absolutely not.”

“You said you were planning to rent out your second room anyway,” Carina pointed out.

“I never said that.”

“You should’ve.” Asher dumped fuel on the fire like the bastard he was. “A spare room in London is too valuable to leave empty. Vincent is annoying, but at least you know he’s not a psycho.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Anytime.”

“This is ridiculous. He’s not moving in. He wouldn’t want to live with me anyway.” Brooklyn turned an expectant gaze my way. “Right?”

It took me an extra second to respond. “Right.”

On paper, it was a terrible idea. If Coach would kill me for looking at her the wrong way, he would torturethenkill me if I shacked up with his only daughter—his ridiculously beautiful, sharp-tongued daughter, who knew exactly how to get under my skin and who somehow managed to make me want her more with every insult she threw my way.

On the other hand, Brooklyn’s setup was pretty perfect per Scarlett’s specifications. She lived alone in a big flat that was close to our training grounds, she wasn’t a serial killer, andshe smelled nicer than anyone else I knew. That last point was weirdly prominent in my mind.

“No, wait, I really think we’re onto something.” Carina wouldn’t let it go. “Vincent needs a place to stay; Brooklyn will get extra cash. I don’t see what the issue is. It’s a win-win.”

Pink blossomed across Brooklyn’s face. “The issue is wecan’tlive together. We’ll drive each other nuts.”

“How do you know? You’ve never lived together before,” Carina said. “It’s better than finding some rando from Gumtree.”

“I just know.” Brooklyn released an exasperated sigh. “Vincent, back me up here.”

I opened my mouth to do exactly that, but the words that came out weren’t the ones I’d intended. “Carina has a point.”

“What?” She gaped at me. “You just said you didn’t want to live with me!”

“I don’t.” I sniffed trouble from a mile away, but the more she pushed back, the more I wanted to prove her wrong.

What could I say? It was the contrarian in me.

The wheels in my head spun. The Coach threat was significant, but as far as I knew, he and Brooklyn didn’t spend much time together. The chances of him randomly dropping by her flat were slim.