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He looks at me, his eyes serious and sad. “It’s not only about me, Alycia. I want him gone, I won’t pretend I don’t. But it’s also about what’s right.”

“What’s right?” I echo, raising my voice. “You didn’t think it was right when I told you what he did to me. You chose him over me.”

“I was wrong. I see that now,” he says. “I was blinded by my ego. Fuck, call it whatever you want. Pride. Ambition. I thought I could control him, same as I thought I could control Caleb. I thought I could keep Declan loyal to the club at least. To me.

“But I was wrong. He’s a snake who bit me in the back. A lot of it is my fault, but he’s also the reason why I lost more than I should. Ultimately, it was him who cost me the chance to get the club back, and with it, everything else. My reputation, my family. He cost me you.”

My throat tightens, but I don’t let it show. I don’t want to forgive him. He needs to work for it.

“You should have known better,” I say. “You should have been better.”

“I know,” he says, his voice breaking. “I’m sorry, Alycia. I’m so sorry. I want to make it up to you, to all of you. That’s why I’m giving you this. I want to help you take him down. I want him to pay for what he did.”

I look at the box, then back at him. He’s in pain and truly regretful. He seems to mean it. There’s desperation in his eyes. Sincerity. But I also see the fear, the selfishness, and the weakness that led him into this mess.

I sigh, close the box. “Thank you for this. I’ll look through it and I’ll let you know what I find. But I’m not making any promises. I don’t trust you, not yet.”

He nods. “I understand. I don’t expect you to. But I hope you’ll give me a chance to earn it back.”

“We’ll see,” I say, turning around.

“Wait,” he calls after me. “How are you? How’s the baby?”

I stop, resting a hand on my belly. My due date is coming in December, and I can feel the baby kicking under my hand. I already love my child.

I’m not sure why I tell him, but I do.

“I’m good,” I say. “The baby is good. Everything is good.”

He smiles, and I can see a hint of joy on his face. “I’m glad. I can’t wait to be a grandpa.”

I don’t respond, I just walk away. He has a long way to go before we’ll let him be a part of our lives again.

CHAPTER 21 – Raul

Sunday, November 2

Ilove playing home games. The fans are loud, and the field is in better shape than it’s been in years. There’s no divot by the left corner flag anymore. I couldn’t ask for more.

This week, we’re playing against Atlanta City Rovers, a team that’s been struggling lately. They’ve lost three matches so far, but they’re sitting in the middle of the standings.

We, on the other hand, have climbed up to third place. We have a good chance of winning this one, but we’re not taking it for granted.

I gather the girls in the locker room before the match for my speech.

“Ladies, this is our chance to show everyone how far we’ve come,” I say, looking at each of them. “This is our chance to prove that we belong at the top. That our wins aren’t flukes. That we’re a force to be reckoned with. And that we have what it takes to go all the way.”

They cheer, full of energy and confidence.

“But we can’t let them get under our skin. They’re going to be aggressive and maybe even dirty. They’re going to try to provoke us. We have to stay calm and focused. We have to play our game, not theirs.”

They nod. We’ve talked about this before, and we have a plan.

Then I go around the room and give each of them one instruction, quietly, the way I’ve done since March.

Rebecca gets the near post. Bernie gets their number seven, who cuts inside every time and has been doing it for three seasons. Lexa gets told to stop checking where Valentina is, because Valentina will be there.

“Let’s go out there and kick some ass,” I say, raising my fist. “Breakers!”