Page 82 of The Defender

“I tried to veto you, but I was overruled,” Asher said. Scarlett elbowed him with an exasperated laugh.

“Wait.” I held up a hand. “You’ve had a separate chat going thiswhole time? I’m the captain!” I didn’t actually care that much about the chat, but it was the principle of the matter. “How the hell did Noah make it in before me? No offense, man,” I added.

“None taken,” Noah said, his tone dry. “Trust me. I didn’t want to be there in the first place.”

“Shocker,” Carina murmured under her breath.

His mouth tightened, but he didn’t acknowledge her comment.

“Well, I started the chat when you and Donovan hated each other,” Adil explained. “He was being shunned. I felt bad, so I added him to our bromance.”

“We do not have a bromance,” Noah said.

“Yeah, what the fuck?” Asher crossed his arms. “Don’t make it sound like a pity invite. You begged me to join.”

“Uh, negative. I don’t have to beg anyone to join a group chat. I can just add them,which I did. You’re welcome.”

“What’s the difference between this chat and the book club one?” I asked. “Besides the number of people.”

“Nothing,” Noah said. “You just get double the notifications.”

“It’s a sign of prestige—oh shit, Samson’s back.” Panic spread across Adil’s face. “Tina, don’t tell him about the chat. I don’t want to exacerbate his feelings of inadequacy, or he’ll try to overcompensate on the pitch, which never ends well.”

“My name’s Tamara.”

“Whatever.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I won’t tell him.” She returned to taking selfies on her phone.

We used to try and keep up with Samson’s dates, but we eventually gave up. The guy went through girlfriends faster than Adil went through erotic novels.

Dinner ended with Samson being none the wiser about Blackcastle Baddies. I’d successfully avoided looking at Brooklyn throughout the meal, but I could hear her from all the way down the table.

Her laugh when Seth made a bad joke, her excitement when Scarlett started planning forherbirthday trip next year, her disbelief when Noah said he had to take part in the bachelor auction.

It was infuriating.

“I’m so excited to go out with you guys,” Seth said when we left the restaurant. The limo was waiting for us a little further down the street. “I’ve never been to a proper club.”

“Never?” He was young, but there were plenty of eighteen-plus clubs in London.

“No.” He flushed. “My friends aren’t the clubbing sort.”

“That’s a tragedy.” Samson overheard him. “Seth, mate, we gotta show you a good time tonight and get you laid. Tell me. What’s your type?” He slung an arm over the kit manager’s shoulder. “I’ll wingman for you at the club. You can’t work for Blackcastle with no game—it looks bad for the rest of us.”

Seth was still stuttering and fumbling his way through a response when they disappeared into the limo.

I glanced at the restaurant entrance. Brooklyn and Carina were still in the restroom. I should?—

My phone pinged. I checked it, expecting another birthday message from a friend. I was only half right.

Unknown Number

Happy birthday

Unknown Number

I hope you had a nice dinner in Budapest :)