Page 84 of Payback
My head is spinning, my vision blurred, and all I hear is the muffled sound of Mac shouting in front of me like a watchdog ready to rip the faces off a band of burglars.
When my ears stop ringing, I hear Mac say, “You don’t even know the whole story!”
“What do you mean?” Gareth’s voice booms.
“It was your—”
I grab Mac by the shoulder and shake my head in warning. “Don’t say a word.”
His eyes go wide as he silently compels me to tell them what happened. To tell them that the video had nothing to do with me. That it was all Allie’s fault. But I won’t give these guys the satisfaction. And if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t mind if all four of them kicked the living shit out of me. The physical pain on the outside would be a hell of a lot easier to manage than the emotional torment I’m feeling on the inside.
“We fucking trusted you,” Gareth growls, still being held back by Tanner while Booker and Camden stand nearby, rocking back and forth on their feet like they’re ready to attack. “How the fuck could you do this to her?”
Mac opens his mouth to speak again, but I grab his shoulder and squeeze him hard into silence. He bites his fist, looking like he’s going to explode from frustration, but I don’t give a fuck. This isn’t his fight. And no matter how hurt, and angry, and confused I am about what Allie did, I won’t be the one to call her out to the only family that knows how to love her properly.
“You never trusted me,” I state through clenched teeth. “You tolerated me at best.”
“For good fucking reason!” Gareth snaps and then backs off enough for Tanner to let go of him.
Tanner turns and steps up to me so we’re only a foot apart. He looks more serious than I’ve ever seen before as he says, “I trusted you. You’re my teammate, Roan. My fellow striker. My bloody partner. Why would you do this?”
I shake my head. “If you think I could do this, then we were never fucking partners.”
Tanner’s brow furrows in confusion, but he juts his chin out and adds, “And next season? You’re willing to throw it all away for this?”
“If that’s what you need to believe, believe it,” I state flatly, turning my icy gaze at all of them. “I’m done caring about what you fucking Harris Brothers think. I played your games. I jumped through your hoops. I tried to get you all to accept me. Christ, I’ve been kissing Harris ass since the second I stepped foot in London. But I’m done with all that now. If I never see a Harris again for the rest of my life, it will be too soon.” I point my finger to their cab. “Now, I would appreciate it if you’d all get the fuck away from my property.”
Tanner stares back at me like I’m Brutus who’s just betrayed Caesar. Maybe I am. Maybe I was an idiot for getting involved with my teammates’ cousin. Maybe it was ridiculous for me to think she was worth the risk.
Booker shakes his head, pulling Tanner away from me. “Come on, man. Allie deserves better.”
“She’ll find better,” Camden adds, narrowing his eyes and turning to walk away.
Gareth points his finger at me and adds, “You stay the fuck away from her.”
The four of them slide back into their cab and take off down the road, out of my sight. They love her blindly, I’ll give them that. I only wish I was capable of doing the same.
