Page 15 of Broken

“I swear if they ever touch you again–”

“You’ll what? They’re how much bigger than us? Tucker’s dealing with it.”

“Jet, too. He grabbed him after practice for backup.”

Izzy groaned. “I’m so sorry, sis. I never wanted any of this to blow up like this.”

“Of course not. I just don’t get why you hid it. Just because Ryder made some stupid threat?”

“It’s not stupid to me.” Izzy’s voice became small. “I hate feeling weak, but that’s how he makes me feel. I fought him, Annie, and he still had me pinned. You don’t know what it’slike. You didn’t see the look on his face. He meant it. And now Tucker’s heading over there to freakingspillthat I told.” Her face crumbled again, and I quickly snatched her up in a hug.

“I’ll text Jet. Tell him to talk to Tucker. Maybe he can talk him down. And if not, then we deal with this. You didn’t want to tell Mom or Jenna and Chuck last time, but–”

“No.” She pulled back, determination blazing through her eyes. “I’m not.Noneof us are saying a thing. Mom hasenoughto deal with, and she’s back at work now. I’m not putting any more on her plate, and if we tell Jenna or Chuck, youknowthey’ll say something to her. I’d rather let Tucker handle it and just put it behind us.”

I rolled my eyes. “Izzy–”

“No, Annie. I mean it.”

And they call me the stubborn one. “Fine. We’ll talk more about it later when maybe I can make you see reason.”

Izzy rolled her eyes this time. “I am seeing reason. Can we drop this now? Besides, I have news.”

I perked up, hearing the change in her tone. “Well…” I waved her on.

“Tucker told me he loved me today. And I said it back.” She pressed her lips together, trying to hold back a massive smile, while my jaw dropped.

“Wait. Seriously?” She nodded. “Oh, my God.” I squealed, the two of us jumping up in a giddy hug. “That’s so amazing. I’m so happy for you. But still so freaking mad at you.” I pretended to glare.

“I know. I know. I’m sorry. But oh, my God, sis. It was so amazing.”

“Okay, wait. Let me text Jet like I said before our boyfriends do something stupid, and then you’re going to tell me every freaking second and detail about it.”

TUCKER

“Annie texted. She wants us to turn back. Izzy’s afraid of Ryder finding out you know.”

I shook my head. I was still so beyond pissed. There was no chance I wasn’t dealing with this shit tonight.

“I’ll make sure Ryder can’t put anything back on Izzy, but you know I can’t turn back, man.”

Jet nodded, his thumb flying across his screen to text Annie back. “I know. And if I’m honest, I don’t want you to. What they pulled was over the line. We need to deal with this. Notkillthem like you’ve threatened, but we can’t just let this slide.”

My head jerked in a nod, glad that my best friend was on my side.

We made the rest of the drive with mostly silence between us, hard rock on my Bluetooth to match my mood. When we finally made it to Austin, I took the exit for UT, knowing the route well from past visits to the campus.

A party was in full swing when we pulled up to the football house, and I found a spot along the curb to park, barely putting my truck in park before hopping out. Jet followed, taking my right flank. Music was blaring from inside the house, and guys gathered on the front porch with girls on their laps or under their arms, beers in hand.

“Hey! Baby Pierce!” A burly guy with a buzz cut and a wide smile I recognized as the team captain stepped out from the crowd to greet me.

“Hey, Bradley.” I tried not to make my voice too rough. “I need to talk to Micah and Ryder. Are they here?”

“Somewhere inside. You wanna head in?” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder, but I shook my head. About all I could manage. My fingers twitched in anticipation at my sides.

“Sorry. Would you mind asking them to come out? Family business.”

“Oh.” His thick brows furrowed. “Yeah, no problem. Hey, y’all, head on in. Micah and Ryder have got family business to deal with out here.”

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