But I had gained nothing. Aspen had still been kicked out of Ellamore. And she’d known it was going to happen, had even taken measures to keep me from getting caught with her.
I whirled around to growl at Hamilton. “You don’t even have one of these fucking tattoos.”
He grinned and shrugged. “The coach didn’t notice, though.”
I shook my head and stalked toward the door.
“Hey, where’re you going?” Ten raced after me.
I spun to point an ominous finger at him. “Just stop right now. You might’ve kept me from confessing, but you’re not stopping me from this. I have to find her.”
“But what about training?”
“Fuck training.”
***
I tried her office first. Save for a desk, computer, and empty bookshelves, the room was completely bare. Cold, hard dread settled in the pit of my gut as I glanced around for even the slightest sign of her existence. But even her quote board was gone.
God, how long ago had she been dismissed? She couldn’t have cleared out her office in a few minutes.
Sick to my stomach, I combed the halls until I found the name on a door I was looking for. Shoving it open, I barged inside, making Dr. Frenetti glance up in surprise.
“Noel! What brings you by?”
Narrowing my eyes, I glowered. How dare he act nice to me after what he’d done to her? “You need to bring Dr. Kavanagh back. Today. She is the best damn teacher your department has ever had.” I let out a harsh laugh. “I mean, the woman actually taught me to appreciate literature. And I hate literature.”
Expression frosting with ire, he slid his gaze over me. Then his eyes widened as they paused on my tattoo. I flexed the muscles under it, fisting my hands at my sides.
So the dick finally realized who I was. Good for him.
Mouth puckering with distaste, he looked up at my face. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gamble, but Dr. Kavanagh resigned. She wasn’t let go. I’m afraid we have no control over bringing her back.”
Resigned?
I blinked, thrown off by that piece of information. But something in Frenetti’s smirk let me know it hadn’t exactly been a voluntary resignation.
“No,” I said through gritted teeth. “I think she left because you made her go. And if you think I’ll be okay with you chasing her off because of my involvement with her, then you seriously underestimate me, pal. Right now, I could kick your ass without a second’s regret.”
Frenetti jerked back in his chair. “Excuse me?”
“Bring. Her. Back.”
“Threats will not work with me, Mr.—”
“I’ll leave,” I said softly, stepping close. “I’ll leave this whole fucking university, let you all scramble to find a new quarterback next year. Are you prepared to give up a very real shot at the championships...just like that?”
Glaring back at me, Frenetti pushed to his feet and kept his voice just as ominously low. “You leave this school, and we’ll take it public, make sure every radio and television station in the country knows exactly why you and your little whore were kicked out of Ellamore. She’ll never find another job in education anywhere, and you’ll never get accepted into another university. Both of your lives will be over. So, just try it, Gamble. We have no problem destroying you.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Choosing Simplicity
~NOEL~
And that’s how I lost the woman I loved.
After outplaying me and figuratively handing me my ass, Frenetti ordered me from his office. I hiked to Aspen’s house next. It was about two miles from campus. I’d made the trip a number of times before, but today, I couldn’t move fast enough, couldn’t reach her soon enough.
Her place was quiet and abandoned when I got there, her car gone and all the shades drawn. I pounded on the front door anyway without any success. I’d also texted and called her phone, but the line went straight to voice mail.
If it weren’t for the gaping hole in my chest, I might’ve been able to convince myself she’d never existed at all.
***
I skipped the rest of my classes that week. The semester was rapidly coming to a close; I knew I really shouldn’t have ruined all my forward progress. But I couldn’t function properly. I wanted Aspen back.