The Game You Play (Rixon Raiders 2)

Asher grinned. “Only the bright and beautiful. Who’s beautiful?” he yelled and everyone went nuts, screaming and cheering. Always the showman. I rolled my eyes.

“Where’s Chase?” I asked.

“Inside with Hailee, but I’d steer clear of them if I were you, seems like there might be trouble in paradise.” Asher took a long pull on his beer.

I was already out of my chair though, stalking toward the house. The last thing we needed was our star wide receiver to lose his cool over some shit with my step-sister. The team needed Cam in the play-offs.

I needed him.

“Your funeral, man,” he yelled.

Inside wasn’t much better; bodies packed into every corner of the Bennet’s huge house. They were rich—filthy rich compared to the rest of us—and they didn’t mind Asher using the place for party central given they were out of town a lot. I couldn’t figure which was worse: having parents who cared but were never around, or having a dad you didn’t see eye-to-eye with who refused to stay out of your business. It seemed like parents were a pain in the ass whichever way you looked at it.

I searched the ground floor for Cam and Hailee before moving upstairs. Cam hadn’t always had it easy growing up, and since the Bennet’s had enough guest rooms to open a motel, they had given him his own room. He didn’t use it much anymore, but I knew if they were anywhere, that’s where they would be.

Raised voices made me pause when I reached his door.

“Tell him, Cameron.”

“And then what? What do you think telling him will do except incite war?”

I crept closer, straining to hear, the hairs along the back of my neck standing to attention.

“So what do we do? Wait until Thatcher really hurts one of—”

I burst into the room, my eyes narrowed to slits. “Tell me what?”

“Jase, man, we didn’t know—”

“Tell. Me. What?” I focused on Hailee since she was the only one who thought telling me whatever the fuck had happened was a good idea.

“Thatcher was at the game last night.”

“What the hell did you just say?” I saw red, my fists clenched, liquid fury coursing through my veins.

“We saw him before the game and again after...” Hailee’s eyes slid to Cameron who was deadly still.

“And why the fuck am I only just finding out about this?”

“Hailee only just told me. I swear, man.”

“It’s true,” she added. “I didn’t know what to do and Flick—”

“What does she have to do with all this?” Hearing her name set off my pulse, my heart jack-hammering in my chest.

“Thatcher’s friend...” She hesitated, my mood darkening by the second. “He...”

“Hailee, spit it out or so help me—”

“Jase, man, you need to calm down,” Cam offered, but I levelled him with a cold look.

“They really scared her, Jason. He had her pinned to the wall and he tried to—”

I couldn’t hear anything over the roar of blood pounding between my ears.

“You okay, man, you look a little white?”

“H- he touched her?” The words almost choked me.