All Chapters of Masked: Ruin Me, Daddy (MM Taboo collection): Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Noah BennettThe new coach did not smile.That was the first thing I noticed. Not the clipboard. Not the whistle hanging from his neck. Just the way he stood at half court like the gym already belonged to him.Adrian Cole. Thirty-seven. Hired two weeks ago after Coach Harmon got pushed out. Nobody on the team had practiced under him yet. We only had the photos from the athletic site and the rumors. Former point guard. Torn ACL that ended him early. Came from a mid-major that actually won games.He looked taller in person. Broader in the shoulders. Dark hair cut short. Jaw that did not move much when he talked. His voice was low and clean. It did not need to get loud.“Bennett. You’re late.”I was not late. The clock on the wall said 5:58. Practice started at six.I dropped my bag anyway. “Traffic.”He looked at me like traffic was a word he did not respect.We ran.Not the usual warm-up. No easy laps. He put us in lines and made us sprint until two freshmen bent over and one of them t

Noah BennettWe won at home on Friday.I played the way he wanted. Set my feet. Did not force the highlight. Fifteen points and eight assists. The gym was loud when the buzzer went. The team wanted to go out. Somebody already had a house lined up.I said I was tired.I was not tired.The parking lot emptied. I sat in my car until the last headlights left. Then I walked back inside.His office light was still on.I knocked once and opened the door.Cole sat behind the desk with the same game tape paused on his laptop. He looked up like he had been waiting and like he wished he had not been.“You should be with your team,” he said.“I played the way you told me to play.”“That is not an answer.”I closed the door. The lock clicked louder than I meant it to.He watched my hand leave the knob.“Bennett.”“Noah.”He said my first name like it cost him something. “This is a bad idea.”“Then tell me to leave.”He did not tell me to leave.I walked around the desk. He stood. We were too close

Noah BennettSaturday the gym was loud before tip-off.I saw the scout in the second row. Notebook. Neutral face. Cole did not look at him. Cole looked at us.In the huddle his voice was the same as it was in an empty gym at 8:30.“You know what to do. Do it.”I did it.I did not force the first open look. I hit the extra pass. I set my feet on the ones that were mine. At the half we were up nine. I had eight points and six assists and my jersey was already stuck to my back.Cole did not smile. He never smiled. When I came off for a minute he only said, “Stay in it,” and his fingers brushed the back of my arm like an accident.It was not an accident.Second half I wanted the ball more than I should have. I took one bad shot. He pulled me two possessions later. I sat. I watched. When he put me back in I passed first.We won by eleven.The locker room was noise and ice bags and somebody yelling about going out. I sat on the bench and untied my shoes slow. Cole stood in the doorway with

Elias’s POV“Who sent you?”Dante Moretti’s cold voice sent a shiver down my spine.I sat frozen in the back of his expensive black SUV, staring at the phone in his hand.One stupid message had ruined everything.“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied.Dante raised an eyebrow.“Really?”“Yes.”He turned the phone toward me, displaying the message.Did you get close to Moretti yet?“Then explain this, pretty boy.”I swallowed nervously.“It’s a wrong number.”For a moment, he simply stared at me.Then he laughed.“Do you seriously expect me to believe that?”“It’s the truth.”“You’re a terrible liar, Elias.”“And you’re a terrible kidnapper,” I snapped.His smile disappeared.“Careful.”I folded my arms and turned toward the window.I couldn’t tell him the truth.Not when my younger brother’s life depended on my silence.Three weeks ago, Adrian Russo had approached me outside the hospital where my brother, Noah, was receiving treatment.He offered to pay Noah’s medical bills

Elias’s POVI was in love with a dangerous man.And tonight, I was going to betray him.Again.The realization made my stomach twist as I stood beside Dante’s bedroom window, staring at the beautiful gardens below.Only yesterday, I had kissed him.Only yesterday, I had allowed myself to believe that perhaps something beautiful could grow between us.But I had forgotten one important thing.Men like Adrian Russo didn’t allow people like me to have happy endings.My phone vibrated.I glanced at the screen.UNKNOWN NUMBER: Midnight. Don’t disappoint me, pretty boy.My hands trembled.Another message followed.Bring the black flash drive from Moretti’s office. Or Noah dies.I closed my eyes.God.What was I supposed to do?If I refused, Adrian would kill my brother.If I obeyed, Dante might never forgive me.And the worst part?I wasn’t even sure which possibility frightened me more.“Elias?”I quickly hid my phone.Dante stood in the doorway, wearing a fitted black shirt and dark trouse