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Dedication

For the Carmcats.

You guys are the best street team any author could ask for. Thanks for loving these characters, making Friday the best day of the week, and always being there in the middle of the night when I want to procrastinate.

Slow claps for everyone!

Contents

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Epilogue

Author’s Note

Acknowledgments

Coming Soon

About the Author

Also by Cora Carmack

Credits

Copyright

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

Silas

The flash of a camera blinds me as I take my seat at the front of the room. I scoot in my chair, and the scraping sound grates on my nerves. A second flash. Then a third. Then I lose count. Sweat gathers at the back of my neck, and I struggle to keep my breathing slow and steady.

Fuck this shit.

I don’t want to be here. I play football so I don’t have to think or talk. As a general rule, I prefer to do my talking with my body whenever possible.

Football. Fighting. Fucking.

That’s what I know how to do. Not this.

Coach has finally taken his seat, and I feel the tension in my spine lessen as he begins talking to the press. He’s in the middle with me, Carson McClain, Jake Carter, and Mateo Torres surrounding him, the team leaders. Coach covers the niceties and starts talking about his plan for preseason camp, while I survey our group. Everyone looks calm but me.

McClain is a freaking choirboy. He probably lives for this kind of shit. Torres has never met an argument he can’t talk his way out of or a skirt he won’t try to talk his way into. And Carter is so full of bullshit, he has no trouble spewing it to others. And me? My hands are shaking beneath the table like an addict in need of a fix.

If Coach weren’t so strict and observant, I would have tried to calm my nerves with a little weed prior to this whole media day circus. But there’s no way I could have slid that past him. And I’ve been trying to cut that out since Levi was busted. Coach has become like one of those sadistic teachers that love to give pop quizzes .  .  . only with drug tests.

“We’ve got a young team. McClain and Moore both still have two years of eligibility,” Coach says, slamming me back into the present. “Torres has three. And though this is Carter’s last year with us, we’ve got a solid group of linemen coming up. We’ve got our foundation, and I think we’re going to surprise people with what we manage to build this season. ”

Coach opens up for questions, and even though I know what’s coming, my body still locks up at the first one. “Coach Cole, your team was rocked by scandal last year with the arrest of starting quarterback Levi Abrams. The team snagged a few impressive wins despite that, but ultimately things fell apart in the latter half of the season. Mentally, where is your team at right now?”