Chapter 31
Nik
I’m halfway through the parking lot, earbuds in, hoodie up, doing my best to blend in, which is laughable when you're six-two and built like I am. I didn’t want to leave Noelle this morning, but I have to get to training.
We talked for another hour before I left, and we came up with a plan.
We’re going to go about our days like normal.
I’m going to trust that between myself and Stone, we can keep her safe.
She’s right. It’s not fair that I keep her locked away.
And it will look more suspicious if she did just disappear.
So I went to the gym, she went to the coffee shop with her laptop, and then I met her there afterwards.
We made it appear as though we were working on the interview so she could meet with her editor and provide some notes.
She promised she wasn’t going to give any context, but she had to turn something in.
We had flirty banter that we thrive on. The push and pull of her wanting to fight with me, yet wanting to drop to her knees, too, is fucking hot.
I had to control myself, sit on my hands, and bite my tongue, because all I wanted to do was shout that this woman should be mine.
And I've no right to do it. We’ve only slept together a few times, but each time brings us closer to a point where I don’t know if I'm going to be able to let her go.
Noelle presses the record button, her tone smooth. “I’m told you don’t open up easily. Should I be flattered you're talking to me at all?”
I lean forward, eyes locked on hers, my voice low. “You keep showing up in that dress, asking me questions with that mouth of yours, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
She blinks, her pen pausing mid-note, her face flushing instantly. “This is on the record, you know.”
I flash her a smug grin. “Good. Let them hear how you make me lose focus.”
I’m lost in remembering how she squirmed around in her seat, and as I rounded the corner near the entrance to the training room, I don't see the camera until it’s too late.
A woman steps in front of me, mic already up, her badge swinging off a lanyard with some third-tier gossip site I’ve never heard of.
“Nik Papas! Quick question for The Drift, any comment on the rumors that Trevor Raines might speak out about what happened during the 2021 ZU Rivalry game?”
I freeze, her words hitting like a punch to the gut.
I blink. “What?”
She smiles, like she knows exactly what she’s doing. “Is it true you two were questioned separately about the game in your sophomore year? Why wouldn't you have the same story?”
I don’t answer. I just keep walking away from her as fast as I can without looking guilty.
Behind me, I hear her call out, “So that’s a no comment?”
I duck into the gym, my pulse slamming behind my ears. Am I a complete idiot? Is Noelle letting someone in on these secrets? Nothing is happening by coincidence—none of it. I just don’t understand why.
As I put my stuff away, my phone goes off.
Eva: Why is the name Trevor Raines coming up?
Me: What? Where?
Eva: Ask your reporter friend
I grip my phone tight. The timing of this is so strange.
Me: She didn’t say anything
Eva: You sure about that?
No, but I can’t tell Eva that. Noelle said she was going to speak with her editor, she had to show face at the office, but she promised she wasn’t writing anything.
Me: A different reporter was just waiting for me outside the stadium, and threw his name at me
A minute ticks by. Then two.
Finally, the screen lights up.
Eva: I can bury it
My stomach doesn’t settle, even after the message.
I tell myself she’s protecting me. She always has, she’s always been ready with a perfectly worded quote.
But there's something off. I felt it after she lied about that text being from mom last week. I know she wasn’t on the phone with her.
But whatever she was doing, it was business, and I’m not privy to it.
I pocket the phone and head for the locker room, but Raines’ name and EP INC bounce around in my head.
~~
I stop by Eva’s office after practice. I don’t plan to.
I tell myself I just want to check in, but the closer I get to her building, the clearer the truth becomes.
I want to catch her in something. In what?
I have no idea. But since Noelle told me about EP INC, I’ve realized something’s been off since the night of the league dinner.
And after running into that reporter and Eva's quick dismissal of it, something isn’t adding up.
I want to ask about her company, but I don't have enough to go on yet.
And for the first time in my life, I'm leery of her.
I know my sister, and she's smart as fuck. She’s good at covering and manipulating facts when needed.
I saw it as a smart businesswoman technique, but I know if I came to her with something half-assed, she'd turn it around, and I'd never get the truth.
And I hate that I know that.
Eva’s assistant waves me in without looking up. She always does. The entire floor is silent; it’s late, so most have gone home.
But not Eva. She lives and breathes this shit. I take the hallway to her corner office and hear her on the phone. I pause in the doorway, waiting for her to end the call.
“It wasn’t supposed to be traceable,” she says. “I handled the file. If it’s able to be found, then someone got sloppy.”
I frown. Her back is to me, fingers drumming lightly on the edge of her desk. Whoever she’s talking to, she’s not rattled. She’s managing.
“It’s going according to plan. You know it’s always answered.” She shifts tone suddenly. “Then try harder. You know the players involved. Leak something to flush it out, place doubt. Fuck, send another message to make it stop. This isn’t your first time. Don’t act brand new.”
My chest tightens. I knock lightly, just enough for her to turn.
Her expression flips like a switch, cool and confident. “Nik! Perfect timing.”
She ends the call without missing a beat. “PR firm out of Dallas. They’re running damage control on a different client. It’s no big deal, but they just won’t do what they’re told. So many questions instead of just listening and doing.”
I nod slowly, pretending to buy it.
“What’s going on? Oh shit, we didn’t have dinner plans, did we?”
I shake my head. “No, I was just leaving the stadium, and today’s run-in is bothering me. You said Raines wasn’t a concern, right?”
She shrugs, already standing like she’s trying to push me out of her office. “He’s not. But his name creates questions; it always has, especially since he’s coaching a few towns over. Don’t worry, people like to stir embers, but that doesn’t mean there’s fire.”
I watch her for a moment too long. Her hands are steady, her voice smooth. But something about the way she told the person on the phone to “send another message” still clings to me.
I almost asked her what file she meant. I almost brought up what I heard. But I don’t.
Because it’s Eva. My sister.
She’s handled everything for years. She stepped up with Mom, let me stay and play.
Handled our dad’s disappearance, even though I’m the one who caused it, and told me to focus on football only.
She's my big sister; she knows better. Plus, she knows how this shit works. She’s been in it longer than I have and knows how to do damage control.
She's never made a mistake, so why am I doubting any of this now?
“You're right. They just caught me off guard.”
“You’re always so professional when you leave the stadium.
” She comes close, standing in front of me, brushing my shirt down my shoulders, and straightening my tie.
“I know that game haunts you, but look at where you are now. One bad game and you still made it to the NFL. Your team is on a win streak, and there’s a good chance you’re heading to the Super Bowl.
One loss never mattered in the scheme of things.
You’ve done well, Warrior.” She waves her hand and walks me to the door.
“Aren’t you used to reporters' questions? I bet your new girlfriend asks a thousand a day.”
I roll my eyes. “Leave Noelle out of this. She doesn’t know anything.”
“Everyone knows something, Nik. It’s just a matter of how much is true and how much isn’t.”
Those words bounce around as the smell of stale cigarette smoke invades my senses.