Player(80)

“It…it’s not what you think—” I started.

“So you didn’t have a bet with Ian about me?”

I opened my mouth to argue but closed it again.

She took a deep breath, her eyes gleaming with tears. “At least you didn’t lie to me about it.” Her eyes dropped when her feet moved, and before I could stop her, she was brushing past me. “Goodbye, Sam. Please don’t ever fucking speak to me again.”

I watched her helplessly for a moment with her birthday cake in my hands before shoving it at some faceless guy standing nearby.

“Wait,” I called after her, reaching her easily. When I touched her arm, she jerked away from me. “Please, I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Then you shouldn’t have taken out a fucking bet on me,” she shot, turning to me with hurt etched into every line of her face, shining in the tears collecting in her lashes. “I thought…I thought this was…” She shook her head, her chin flexing. “It was all a game to you. You never wanted me. I should have known.”

Guilt. Horror. Complete abhorrence ripped through me like thunder. “That’s not true. Val, you have to believe me—the way I feel about you is not a joke or a game.”

“Believe you? How can I trust you when everything that’s happened is a lie? I was a fool for ever thinking we could be more. I was a fool for ever wishing for more.” She backed away, her arms around her waist. “Well, you’ve won your bet. I hope it was worth it.”

“Please,” I begged, my throat closing up. I reached for her, and she let me pull her into my arms. “Please, Val. I only wanted to protect you. I didn’t want to hurt you, and now…now, I—”

“It’s too late,” she said softly, her cheeks wet with tears. “Let me go, Sam.”

Never, my heart called.

But my arms did as she’d asked.

I swallowed the stone in my throat.

“I’m sorry.” The words were low, heavy with a thousand regrets.

She met my eyes with infinite sadness and said, “Me too.”

And then I watched her walk away.

“Shame, isn’t it?”

His voice flipped a switch in me, a murderous switch with a razor’s edge. I turned. I took a breath that gained me an inch of height. And with a roar, I cocked my fist and let it fly.

The crunch of his nose and the searing crack of my knuckles did nothing to satisfy me.

Ian wheeled back, clutching at his ruined nose, the word, “Fuck!” muffled by his hands. Crimson streams ran down his lips and chin, and when his hand moved to his side to reveal a snarl, his teeth were ringed with blood.

“Fuck you, Jackson. How could you do this to me? To her?”

“Cry me a fucking river, you high and mighty son of a bitch. You thought you had it all figured out? Well, go ahead and fix this, asshole. Shouldn’t have taken the bet if you weren’t prepared to lose.”

“I didn’t have a choice!” I raged, reaching for his shirtfront again. “It was either take the bet or subject her to you, and I’d spare her that any fucking day, at any fucking cost. I can’t believe I thought you’d let me win. That’s not how you roll, is it, Ian?” I shook him. “Is it? I should have told her from the start. I should have blown this whole thing up in your face. I should have known you’d fucking double cross me the second you could.”

“The second I could?” He laughed. “You don’t even know how long I’ve waited. This is so much fucking better. I knew it would be, if I waited long enough. How’s it feel, Sammy boy? How’s it feel to be the villain? How’s it feel to be the bastard everyone hates? How’s it f—”

This time, my fist connected with his eye in a shock that shot up to my elbow in a blinding burst of pain.

When I let him go, he dropped to the ground in a heap. A laughing, manic heap.

“Poor fucking Prince Charming.”

“Fuck you, Ian.” My aching fingers clenched. My pulse charged. My vision dimmed. My heart was already broken. “I want you to remember when your life falls apart that you fucking asked for this. You asked for this.”

“Hey, Haddad?”

I turned to Dante’s voice without enough time to duck his fist. He caught me in the jaw with a hook that sent me spinning. My vision darkened, flashing with my pulse against the pain.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” I choked, hand on my aching jaw. When I stood, my fists rose halfheartedly. “I don’t want to fight you, Dante.”

“I don’t want to fight you either, you stupid son of a bitch, but I made you a promise, and I keep my word. I knew you weren’t for real. I fucking knew it.” He stepped into me, his face hard as steel. “Don’t you ever fucking come near my sister again. I’d hate to permanently fuck up that pretty face of yours, but I will.”

“You don’t understand,” I croaked.

He folded his arms. “Enlighten me.”

“I can’t lose her. This whole thing was Ian…I was trying to save her, but I didn’t…I didn’t know. I didn’t know she was everything I wanted. I didn’t know I’d fall in love with her.” The words were past my lips before I could reel them back in, the admission hitting me deep in the empty cavern of my chest.