This bitch knew who I was. Knew who Logan was. I assumed she knew who Mason was, and she even knew Park Sebastian, the asshole who once tried to recruit Mason into his fraternity and hadn’t taken rejection well. At all.
She’d done her homework.
“So this is how it’s going to go? Full-out war between us?” I asked. “Why?”
Sighing, Faith grabbed her bag and stood up. Raelynn was behind her. Faith raised her chin, like she was too dignified to breathe our same air.
“If you’re expecting a team welcome hug, it’s not going to happen. This is my team. Those winning times are mine, not yours. And today was just a small sample of how I can make your time on the team a living hell. Stick around. I’ll turn destroying you into a hobby.”
She started to leave, but I grasped her arm. When she tried to pull away, my fingers tightened. She gasped, her shocked eyes finding mine.
I didn’t take threats lightly.
She was only a few inches from me and I said, in a low, soft, and somewhat lethal tone, “You’re going to find out what I can do now. And I almost feel sorry for you.”
Her eyes widened.
I let go, and she was gone in an instant. She started to shove past Mason at the door, but thought better of it and went around him with Raelynn hot on her heels.
Logan started laughing. “Ice-Cold Strattan is back. This’ll be good. But remember, none of this can blow back on Mason.”
I frowned. It wouldn’t. I wouldn’t let that happen.
I went back and sat with Logan and Taylor for breakfast. Nate arrived not long after, and Mason joined us when the football team was told they could do their own thing. The rest of the girls from my team left the restaurant as Mason settled in. I caught their looks. Several glanced over, and I recognized the wistfulness and jealousy. Grace and Nettie didn’t look. Courtney did, but she seemed somber. She lifted a hand in an awkward wave as she followed the rest of the team out.
“You have another run today?” Logan asked.
I nodded, slipping my hand in Mason’s. “At three.”
“We’re there.”
“No.” I shook my head. This was my fight. I had to be the only one involved. Which led me to Taylor. “You shouldn’t come today.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Are you kidding? I joined because I wanted to, and because I wanted to do something with you. You need me there for backup.”
“They can hurt you to get to me.”
She shook her head. “You’re jumping to conclusions. You have no idea what they’re going to do.”
“If I run with them, I can beat them. They won’t be able to catch me.” I let the rest hang between us. Taylor wasn’t as fast. They could get to her. “I don’t want them to hurt you,” I added, flattening my hand on the table between us.
“This is stupid.” She swore. “Nothing could happen. Have you thought of that?”
Nothing wasn’t in my history. “I’ve learned to take threats seriously. I got jumped in a bathroom one time.”
Mason’s hand tightened around mine. “This is ridiculous. You didn’t join the team to deal with this bullshit.”
“Oh, you mean it’s more ridiculous than the bullshit we normally get involved in?” Logan retorted.
I looked between the two. “Don’t get involved. If you guys get involved with girl drama, all bets are off. That could bounce back on you and make you guys look really bad.”
“We know,” Mason said softly. “I just don’t handle it well when my girlfriend is getting jerked around and I can’t do anything about it.”
“You and me both, brother,” Logan added.
“Wait.” Nate leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “What are those girls’ names?”
I tried to remember what Courtney had said. “Faith . . .”
“Shaw,” Taylor supplied. “And Raelynn Quang.”
“Shaw. She’s a junior?”
“I think so.” I nodded.
“She has an older sister,” Nate said. “I think I slept with her when I was with the fraternity. Yeah . . . Hope Shaw. She told me her mom named all of her sisters like that. Hope. Faith. I think Charity is the youngest.”
“What was the sister like?”
He smirked.
Logan chuckled. “She’s not asking about the sex.”
“Oh.” The smirk vanished. He lifted a shoulder. “Hope was cool. I remember she talked about her spoiled little sister, said she was one of those types who has her own coach and everything. She must’ve been talking about this one.”
“You think we could talk to her? Just try to see how far her sister might go with this whole thing about pushing me off the team?”