“Oh look, Zane Washington to the rescue.”
My eyes narrowed to thin slits as I glared at him, past him to his friends. Denby was there watching, a smug expression on his face as if he was waiting for me to fuck up.
He wanted this. He’d orchestrated this. The constant taunts and discreet jabs, the way his defense marked my every move on the field. He was baiting me, trying to push me to do something stupid.
“Nix, don’t do this, man.”
“Do it, Wilder. You know you want to. Hit me.” The guy smirked. “Show me and my guys just how much of a tough guy you are.”
I shoved him hard and backed the fuck up.
“Walk it off,” Zane said.
“We know she’s here, you know. Your little pet.” I froze, fury licking up my spine. “Maybe if Denby plays his cards right, Miller will let him have a taste. See what all the fuss is about. We’ve all heard the stories about girls from The Row.”
Zane grabbed me before I could get to the motherfucker. “Be cool, Nix. Be fucking cool,” he growled in my ear. The rest of the team ran over, shielding me from forty-four, Denby, and the rest of the Devils.
“He’s dead,” I yelled, kicking the ground, sending grass and mud flying everywhere. “He’s fucking dead.”
“Nix, get the hell over here.” Coach Farringdon whipped his ball cap off and threw his arm around my shoulder. “What the hell happened out there?”
I unclipped my helmet and pulled it off, tucking it under my arm. “He said some things…”
“I don’t care if he called your stepmom a dirty whore, I told you to stand the fuck down tonight.”
“He’s still in one piece, isn’t he?” I glared back at him, and his lip twitched.
“Yeah, I guess he is. I was going to congratulate you on keeping your cool tonight, but you came close to ruining it all, real damn close, son.”
“Yeah…” I loosened a breath. “He hit a nerve.”
“If you want to play for the Albany Falcons one day, you need to learn to control that temper of yours.”
“I know.” Fuck, I knew that. But it wasn’t easy when your default setting was attack as the best form of defense.
When you constantly got judged for where you came from and how you lived, it changed you. Made you harder around the edges. Like a neglected animal ready to lash out.
At least, that’s how it had always been for me.
Coach gripped my shoulder and squeezed. “We got the win, Nix. That’ll hit them where it hurts most.” He winked. “Now go celebrate with the team. You deserve it.”