Offside playing for keep.., p.16
Offside (Playing For Keeps Duet Book 1), page 16
“We’re down a halfback and tight end,” I snap my gaze up to meet Corvin’s in the rearview mirror.
“What?” I grit out.
“I tested positive as well.” I turn to the side and look at Saint who looks fucking crushed.
“How the fuck did this happen?” I roar. I may not be as good as Saint, Corv and Crue but I fucking love the game. When I had nothing I knew I could always count on football and now that has been ripped away from me.
“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out, I swear it.” Beckett’s words don’t bring me any comfort. I get out of the car and slam the fucking door as I storm inside the house. I head straight for my room and that’s when I let all the anger out. I start smashing shit and throwing it around my room. Why can’t I ever have one thing, one fucking good thing in my life? Corvin comes crashing into my room and wraps his arms around me from behind so I’ll stop destroying everything.
“I got you, D. We all got you, brother.” I’m breathing so fucking hard I can hear the blood rushing in my ears.
“I didn’t fucking do it, Corvin.”
“I know you didn’t, D. Someone fucked with us and we are going to find out who it is and end them.”
“I broke my vow,” I whisper. He spins me around to face him and wraps me in a hug.
“You didn’t break shit, brother,” he says in a pained voice. I vowed the night I moved in with Corv that I would never touch any type of drug, it is the one cardinal rule that I live by. I stand here hugging my best friend trying to think of how this happened, when I start to think about how I haven’t been able to sleep, can’t sit still for long and have been spending more time than usual in the gym just to try and curb the edge off how I have been feeling.
Holy fuck!
I pull back and stare at Corvin, his eyes widen when he sees the look on my face. “I know who drugged us.”
“Who?”
“Your sister.” He stumbles back a step, shaking his head.
“Nah, man. Leah would never do that, are you out of your mind?” he yells. I spy the other three standing in the doorway but keep my focus on Corvin. Leah’s words to me tonight make sense now, she doesn’t want me to hate her because she knew what she had fucking done to me!
“It was her, Corvin,” I yell.
“Fuck you, I know your angry but–”
I cut him off. “Pull your head out of your ass, Corvin, you even said yourself she’s been acting strange and something is up with her. Leah fucking did this to us.”
“Where’s your proof?” he snaps.
“I’ll get your fucking proof for you and when I do, I never want your sister near this house or near me again. As far as I’m concerned, Leah is dead to me.”
CHAPTER 28
Darius
It’s game day and I am fucking raging.
Corvin and I have been at odds since Wednesday night. I know I’m fucking right and my point was proven when he tried to call her that night and she sent him to voicemail. He has rose-colored glasses on when it concerns his sister. He needs to realize she is a lying, cheating bitch. How I let myself fall into her orbit again I’ll never fucking know!
I skipped yesterday and spent the day fixing my room and didn’t bother going today as well. I didn’t want to run the risk of bumping into her and strangling the fuck out of her. Sitting on the bench with Saint is fucking killing me, the both of us are itching to be out on that field with our team.
“Fuck, man, we’re getting slaughtered!” Saint hisses. I grunt my agreement. Corvin may not think it was Leah but Saint, Crue and I do. She is the only one who had access to our house. The thing that is tearing me up inside is not knowing why the fuck she would do this. What does a dancer gain out of getting two football players benched, but what if it isn’t about football and this is just her way of getting payback for me ghosting her?
“I’m gonna kill her,” I snarl as the buzzer sounds to signal the end of the third quarter. The defensive and offensive teams huddle around our coach as he tears them a new asshole. Saint and I are banished to the end bench, away from the team so we can’t hear shit. The stands are packed with people, there isn’t an empty seat in sight. I tear my gaze away from the team as streak of blonde in the stands catches my attention. I grind my teeth so fucking hard when I see it’s the bitch who tried to ruin me. She races down the bleachers and runs onto the field.
“What the fuck is she doing?” Saint says as we both climb to our feet. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket with a text. Saint’s phone also pings with and incoming text but we’re both too focused on watching her storm toward the Dolphins, or more to the point toward Gary fucking Hayes! My fists clench at my sides as I begin to see red.
“Motherfucker!” I snarl as I stalk across the field. I’m too far away to see what she is saying but she shoves her phone in his face. The fucker laughs and shrugs before saying something back, then out of nowhere, she slaps him across the face.
“Shit!” Saint says in awe, my vision blurs when I see him cock his arm back and punch her in the face. “You’re fucking dead, cunt!” Saint screams and he and I break out into a sprint as the crowd goes nuts.
“I’ll fucking kill you!” I hear shouts from behind us. Fuck, Corvin saw what just happened. Before we can reach him the huge screen behind where the Dolphins are switches from displaying the score to a… video. Leah is sobbing on the ground, Gary’s team mates have gathered around him and are shoving him while a few others crowd around Leah. The video comes into focus and I freeze, my blood runs cold at the sight in front of me. Leah lays naked sprawled out on the bed with a guy whose face you can’t see pounding into her. Tears roll down her cheeks, her eyes are open but glazed over, her mouth opens and she whimpers out a name.
My fucking name!
The tone of her voice in that video, it’s filled with fear and confusion and that is what has me snapping out of it and charging after Gary. I know it’s him in that video, I recognize the fucking room as the one I walked in on and found her in that fucking bed! Corvin blitzes past me and tackles Gary to the ground. His arms start swinging as he lands punch after punch. Gary’s team mates pull him off their captain but I’m on him next, landing right hook after right hook to his fucking face. I shrug off the fuckers who try to pull me off him. This isn’t how I wanted to take the fucker down but it feels fucking marvelous to finally get my pound of flesh.
“You’re gonna kill him,” someone shouts, the moans coming from the videos around the field fueling my need for his blood. An arm wraps around my throat and waist and yanks me off the bastard. He’s groaning on the ground like the fucking piece of shit he is… Piece of shit.
I still in Beckett’s hold as I turn my head to see Crue holding Leah as she sobs into his chest. It all clicks into place as I dart my gaze between her and Gary. He’s the one who was blowing up her phone, he told her she had until game day, she did this for him. I break free of Beckett’s hold and march over to her. Crue shoots me a warning look but I ignore it as I look at Leah. Her cheek is red and already starting to bruise, her eyes plead with me to understand.
“You drugged me for him?” I shout as she flinches at the harsh tone of my voice. “Why the fuck did you do it?” I yell.
“I… I didn’t have a choice!” she cries, assuming she did it is one thing but hearing her admit it out loud cuts me so fucking deep. “He said if I didn’t, he would post that video everywhere.” Said video is playing on repeat in the background, it’s then I realize that the message Saint and I got earlier is probably from an unknown number with a link to the video of him fucking her.
“You could have come to me!” I roar.
“And tell you what, Darius?” she screams. I feel Beckett and Corvin behind me but I keep my focus on her.
“The fucking truth, Leah! You could have told me the fucking truth.” She throws her hands in the air.
“Fine. You want the truth here it is. Gary Hayes spiked my drink at that party and raped me to get one up on you.” The air whooshes from my lungs. “I found out when I overheard him bragging to his friends at DCU. When I confronted him, he showed me the video and threatened to post it unless I took the five of you out. I didn’t even know it had happened until I saw the video!” Crue steps away from her as Corvin comes to my side.
“Why the fuck didn’t you say anything?” Corvin shouts. I ignore him as I address her, letting her see all the anger in my eyes.
“You could have come to me the moment you found out, I fucking told you I loved you!”
“You what?” Corvin snaps but I push on.
“I would have fucking ended the son of bitch before this ever got out.” I wave my hand around the stadium gesturing to the screens displaying the video. “But no, you wormed your fucking way back into my life like the snake I always knew you were and fucked me over so good. You broke my cardinal vow and I didn’t even have a fucking say in the matter!” I scream in her face. “You are done, Leah, there will never be an us again. You know better than anyone what drugs mean to me and still you fucking played me. Well done, baby, that was the one play I didn’t see coming.”
“You’ve been fucking my sister?” Corvin pushes in front of me, blocking his sister from my view. I take a shuddering breath as I brace for this shit show to blow up in front of everyone, except I don’t get a chance to answer.
“Your sister is a fucking slut and has been fucking your best friend for years!” I whirl around to Gary using the bench seat to try to push himself to his feet. I don’t think, I just act. I close the space between us, and hold his hand on the bench with my own as I apply all my weight to stomp down on his elbow relishing in the scream that tears from him when his bones break.
“You’ll never throw another fucking ball again, your career is over, you cunt.” I’m rushed from all sides, coaches and players step in to break up the fight. Shouts are heard from all around but I can’t keep the smile off my face knowing I just ended the fuckers dream of making it big in the NFL.
“You’re done!” The sound of his voice has the hairs on the back of my neck rising, I turn my head to the side to see Victor Hayes standing right there. The bastard looks murderous, he stands there in his thousand-dollar suit, brown hair slicked back to try look young but his brown eyes betray him and show his age. I feel Saint and Crue stiffen on either side of me as they let go of my arms, they know what this means for me. “You are going to fucking pay for that, you have no idea what the fuck you have just done!”
Thank You!
Well shit, do ya hate me a wee bit?
I know I suck but cliffhangers are a must and book 2 will be out next month!
God, I hope you loved these two because I am head over heels for them, how about that scene with Beck though? Got to admit that one nearly didn’t make it in here but I thought it was fitting to chuck Mr tall dark and broody in the mix for you, you’re welcome.
You may have thought Darius was an asshole in this book, just wait till you see what he does in book 2.
Seriously though, thank you so freaking much for reading Offside. I always knew I wanted to write a bully duet and just now had the gumption to do it. I am so in love with this world and these characters, I never want to leave it!
I hope you are ready for Touchdown because holy shit balls I am! Just wait till you see the damage and chaos that ensues in the next one, I swear the wait is worth it.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for ready Darius and Leah’s book it means more than you will ever know xxx
If you loved Offside, please leave a review on Amazon, Bookbub or Goodreads.
Reviews are like tips for us authors, the more reviews we get the more exposure the book gets.
Also by Samantha Barrett
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
The Dream Series
The Dream Trilogy
A Beautiful Dream
A Twisted Fate
A Beautiful Nightmare
Redemption
Anarchy
Brutal Savages
Savage Lies
Brutal Truth
Savage Beast
Brutal Beauty
MAFIA ROMANCE
Murdoch Mafia Series
Played By The Bishop
Tormented By The King
Tortured By The Knight
Tempted By The Queen
Turned By The Pawn
Ruined By The Rook
Fairytales With A Twist
Condemned Beast
SPORTS ROMANCE
Playing For Keeps
Duet
Offside
Touchdown
End Game
Hail Mary
RH SPORTS
Hate Us Like You Mean It
Acknowledgments
Leah, my girl this duet wouldn’t be here without you and your crazy story! Thank you for trusting me and allowing me to tell your story with a few twists and making it dark. Thank you for the amazing cover for these books and all the graphics, ILY.
Marcus, baby daddy, my nightly D ride. Thanks for helping me plot out the sex scenes in this book and still not sorry you have blue balls.
Tash, thank you, thank you, thank you. I don’t know what else I can say aside from that. No words can describe how grateful I am for you, thank you for letting me use your maiden name for Leah. Xxx
Clare Bear, Sarah, my beta girls, thank you both so much for loving Darius and helping me rewrite the ending until it was perfect. You, ladies, are amazing and I adore you more than you know.
My main team, there is too damn many of you to name lol I love you so freaking much, you ladies always keep me humble and make sure my ass writes these books on time. I love you all so much and thank you for being a part of my team it means the world to me.
Lizz, my amazing as fuck editor, you are the best and I cannot thank you enough for all the work you put into these books and for always slotting me in when I need it. Thank you xxx
My babies, you both inspire the asshole side of Darius with how often you fight and constantly make me want to tear my hair out. I love you both but for the love of God please stop fighting like a pack of girls on PMS week.
Last but not least, my amazing readers,
Thank you from the bottom of my cold dead-ass heart for loving all these books and taking a chance on me. Your support and love is the reason why I get to live out my dream of being an author, I appreciate each and every one of you.
I love you.
Sam
Xxxx
About the Author
Samantha Barrett is a dark romance, PNR author who loves to write out-of-the-box stories. She is originally from the land of the long white cloud, New Zealand. She is totally fluking her way through this whole author gig, if she isn't writing you can find her kicking back with her kids and husband with a bag of chips and a glass of wine in her hand.
Sam loves Twilight and is a TWIHARD proudly.
Samantha Barrett, Offside (Playing For Keeps Duet Book 1)
