Chapter 15
brANDON
Thirty minutes earlier…
I’m early.
Arriving at the LA Sharks arena, I want to make an impression on my first day. I’m not here for a free ride. I’m here to work and help them get a championship we all dream about.
Coach is holding a meeting to introduce me to the team, mainly the rookies, since the senior guys know me and thought that by being early, I’d have the court to myself.
I walk directly into the locker room, hang my clothes in cubicle twenty-two, and sit on the chair to tie my laces.
“You’re the new dude.”
I glance up at a young guy with his dark hair pulled back into a bun, who appears to be in his early twenties. “Yeah, kinda.” I stand and hold out my hand. “BJ.”
He taps my hand, front, back, knuckles twice, hand slap, elbow tap, chest bump. Same team handshake from before I left. “Stefan.” He takes a step back. “I’ve heard good things about you. Fastest pass in the league. Sweet hook shot.”
I smile. “Ah… you’re wearing number seven.” I tap his shoulder. “I hope it serves you as well as did me.”
“I didn’t get to hit the court much, but yeah, it’s an honor.”
“You will. Continue arriving early and do the hard yards. Your time will come.” I leave him to change, and I head out of the tunnel to the court.
There are now three guys training at the opposite end.
Rather than interrupt their routine, I stay to shoot hoops alone, level my thoughts, and prepare myself for what’s to come.
Nothing prepared me for this trade—especially how I reacted to seeing Charlotte and every cell in my body screaming to touch her. When I saw her eyes, I immediately knew not all was lost. But the first meet-up with Byron will be at another level.
Weeks ago, he wanted to smash me on the court. Now, we’re expected to play alongside each other. Gel, as though the past hasn’t influenced us at all.
My stomach turns over, thinking about his reaction.
He doesn’t trust me.
None of them do.
I rebound the ball as Simpson strolls onto the court, wearing a grin ear to ear. “I’ll be damned. Never thought I’d see the day Brandon Johns was back in the shark tank.” He pulls me in for a bear hug.
“Thought you’d be retired, old man. How you keeping?”
“Mighty fine, brother. I’m still here, am I not?”
I nod. “And I’m back. The universe has a plan for us, mate.”
“Yeah, a championship.”
“Fuck yeah.” We bump chests.
“I want to see it, not hear ya shit talk.”
I turn around to a guy with dreads. Inked dark skin and a face that tells me he doesn’t tolerate bullshit. “You’ll see my skill soon enough.” I hold out my hand. “BJ.”
He knuckles my hand, but there is no shake. “I know who you are. Stay outta my way.” He bumps my shoulder as he pushes past, and I give a questioning look to Simpson.
“Meet River. Not everyone is glad you’re back.” He nods over his shoulder, but it’s not in River’s direction.
I turn just as Byron barrels toward me, his wide shoulders squared, his expression dark and furious—a storm I’ve been dreading.
His glare pierces through me, and I instinctively raise a hand to calm him, but he swats it away with a sharp slap.
The sting jolts through my fingers, forcing me to pull back, my heart pounding as the moment unravels.
“A word,” he grunts out.
I want to flick the pain away, but I don’t know if the guys are watching. So I follow him back into the tunnel, passing Leroy, who offers a smile.
“No one is to come in here,” Byron snaps.
Leroy nods obediently. “No worries, man.”
Byron enters the locker room first and yells, “Out. Now.” A few of the younger guys I haven’t met scurry past.
Christ, should I call Ewan in case he takes this too far?
He closes the locker room door when the last dude runs out. “Take a seat, BJ.”
BJ, not Brandon. A positive sign.
“I’d rather—”
“Sit.” His eyes rage, so I do what he asks and not poke the bear.
“Someone up there likes you.” He points up, and I know he’s not talking about heaven. “My guess is it’s slime bag, Walter.”
I don’t agree or disagree.
“On paper, it makes fucking sense, but in here…” he thumps his chest, “… none.” The way he is staring, it’s like laser beams in an execution. “The way I feel about you doesn’t compare to how Lottie is feeling when the only guy she loved destroyed her.”
I pep up a little. We will get through this. I can fix whatever I broke.
“Don’t fucking look at me like that because there is no second chance. If you go near her again, I will fucking end you.”
Jesus.
There are so many things I want to say. We are adults. Charlotte can make her own decisions. But the right thing to say is, “Sorry.” His fiery gaze meets mine. “For everything.”
“A little too late.” He paces back and forth. “While we are professionals, and we’re playing for the same goal, I’ll do what is expected and treat you like any other teammate. The moment we walk out those doors… we. Are. Not. Friends.”
I nod.
My heart fucking pounds.
My throat filling with infinite apologies.
If only…
Two words that could have changed my world.
He rips open the door with force, then turns back to me. “You better help get us a championship, or your return will be for nothing. And then I’ll ensure you are discarded in the way you abandoned us.”
“Byron…” His name comes out steady, but his blazing eyes remain unchanged, the fury still simmering beneath the surface.
I know that fire—it’s the same look his sister has when she’s angry. Those blue eyes, so striking and unrelenting, have always been a strange source of comfort for me. Even now, raging or not, they feel familiar.
“Lottie is our governor,” I say firmly, holding his gaze. “There will be times I have to talk to her.”
“Charlotte or Ms. Hendricks to you. Only our friends call her Lottie.” He raises a brow. “I’ll know the difference if it’s a business conversation or not. This is your only warning. If you fuck up, you won’t see me coming.” He yanks the door closed behind him.
Hell, I need a minute because it’s a death wish to stay.
The door clicks again, and I spin to Charlotte, quietly closing the door behind her.
The fuck? “Are you mad? Did you not hear your brother?”
“Oh, I heard him.” Like a tiger in a cage, she restlessly walks back and forth, frustration and anger suppressed.
“If you have something to say, then say it.”
“I have plenty I want to say,” she growls out, then closes the gap between us. She is close enough that I could reach out and touch her as she looks directly into my eyes. “You left. Just like Byron said.”
This is not about business. “Did you hear what he said about talking to you?”
Her chin lifts. “I did.”
“Are you trying to end me, Lottie?”
Her eyes narrow. “Did you hear his warning about calling me that?”
Is she defying him?
“I did. But this is you and me now.”
She smiles, but not in a trusting way. “You and me.” She shakes her head and looks down with a grin. When her eyes meet mine, something has snapped. “You don’t get to associate us like we go together like yin and yang.”
“I’m sorry, Lottie.”
Her brows tighten. Beautiful blue eyes flick over my face.
“I’m sorry for everything. I never intended any of it to go down the way it did.”
She steps back as though I’ve wounded her. The movement causes her to stumble, and without thinking, I reach out, wrapping an arm around her waist to stop her from falling. Then, before my brain can catch up, my lips go to her ear. “Let me fix what I broke.”
In that moment, she springs from my arms, shaking her head. “Get us the championship, BJ. It’s the only reason you’re here. Fix the team you broke when you left.” She rushes to the door.
“Lottie,” I call out, and she turns. “I’ll fix everything, I promise.”
She shakes her head, her smile filled with sarcasm.
“Always the dreamer, BJ. You don’t even see it when you’ve become the nightmare.
” She closes the door behind her with a quiet click, but if there’s one thing I understand about her surprise appearance, we are not over, and the off-court battle has just begun.