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My heart thudded in my chest.
Words flew out of my mouth. “You can’t.”
“I can’t?”
“No. Please.” I tried to steady my voice, like panic wasn’t creeping in. That was the mistake that could cost Adam his place on the team. “Just leave. I promise, no more phone calls. Nothing else will happen.”
Because even if it meant the harsh messages would return and my days would be ruined every time my phone vibrated again, that was better than the alternative. Adam couldn’t get kicked off the team.
I wouldn’t let that happen.
Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck and my eyes flickered to the rotating doors of the saloon.
Adam.
Still in his cowboy gear, Adam froze by the entrance, a stuffed animal in his hand, a bright green turtle.
I spotted him too late. Adam had already seen Thomas. I could see it in the way his jaw tightened, the way his body stiffened. Adam could be a lot of things, but I’d never seen him so angry. His expression darkened, clouds over a usually sunny day.
No, no, no.
In a straight line to the blackjack table, Adam was a flash across the floor, faster than I’d ever seen him walk off the field, while Thomas kept up the low threats under his breath, unaware of what stalked from behind. He must’ve seen the look on my face because he glanced over his shoulder.
Not fast enough.
The linebacker grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and my heart leaped to my throat. This wasn’t a toe out of line. This was bad. This was career-ending bad.
“Adam!” I bumped into the table trying to get to them and the chips went flying. “Wait, wait!”
“What the fuck are you doing here, KYU?” Adam snarled.
The saloon wasn’t as full as it’d been earlier, but it was still busy enough for heads to turn and cards to be dropped. Chairs scraped across the floor. Everybody wanted a good look at what exactly was going down.
“Marrs—fucking—Manwhore,” Thomas said, enunciating with disgust. “You asshole. I thought we were friends. What happened to the code?”
“What—the bro code?” Adam demanded, hoisting him up. "Here’s a new one. If you don’t get off my campus in five seconds, we’ll see how fast you regret it."
People jumped up from their chairs and whipped out their phones, ready to get a sight of the next event of the day. This was bad. This was worse than bad - these were all people from campus. If this got back to Cleo or Coach Lawson or Ryan, there’d be consequences I didn’t even want to think about.
“Adam!” I shouted.
His dark eyes flickered over to me.
“Adam,” I tried again, softer. I shook my head. “Don’t do it. Don’t get in trouble. No toe out of line, remember?”
“Do it,” Thomas egged him on. “Punch me. What are you—pussy?”
Adam tightened his grip on Thomas’s shirt and my blood ran cold.
“He’s goading you, Adam,” I raised my voice. “Adam, please. You’re better than this.”
His eyes went to mine again, staying there.
I mouthed only one word. Please.
I couldn’t lie, part of me wanted to see Thomas get what was coming to him, but that wouldn’t come at the expense of Adam’s good track record for this semester. Nothing was going to jeopardize it. Especially not something as stupid as Thomas Sullender.
“Okay, ice princess,” Adam muttered loosening his grip on Thomas’s shirt.
