Page 31 of You Owe Me

“He said what?” My voice is calm. Perfectly calm. The kind of calm that makes smart people leave the room.

“Just stuff, man. That you’re old news. That she’ll come around eventually. Typical cocky shit.”

Sebastian coughs.

Rowan mutters, “Fuck.”

I press my thumb against the edge of my chip stack. Not hard. Just enough to feel the resistance. My watch vibrates again—122 BPM.

Of course, it is.

My eyes stay on the felt, but my focus is narrowing in on Carter’s name. The tone Tweener used. The casual way he brought it up, like it was gossip. Like it was nothing. Like I haven’t already spent the last two weeks watching Carter circle like a well-dressed vulture with a father-shaped safety net.

And Ainsley?

She hasn’t said a word.

Not about Carter in the library. Not about the fake “accidental” run-ins near her marine bio building. Not about thequestion he asked her at the coffee shop, the one my guy near the register overheard and texted me about the minute she left.

She hasn’t said a thing.

And I’ve been letting it slide.

Because I trust her.

Because I don’t want to be the guy who interrogates her over every guy who breathes near her.

Because part of me thought maybe she hadn’t told me because it didn’t matter.

But now?

Now Carter’s out there running his mouth like she’s a prize he’s already claimed. And she still hasn’t said anything.

That silence?

That matters.

Not because I don’t trust her.

Because I don’t trust him.

And because I can’t stop wondering if she’s trying to protect me from myself. From what I’d do if she handed me the full truth and gave me permission to act.

“Big blind.” Rowan’s voice is stiff as he pushes two chips forward without looking at anyone.

I match the blind automatically, the movement mechanical.

Across the table, Tweener chuckles to himself. “Dude’s got balls, I’ll give him that. I mean, going after your girl? That takes some serious?—”

I look up.

Just once.

Just long enough to meet his eyes.

That’s all it takes.

His voice dies in his throat.

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