The next morning, Pace woke up and actually felt halfway human. It was either the orgasm, or the fact that the Heat had won last night with Ty pitching. Yep, things were looking up. Or they would be, if the media wasn’t still crucifying him for testing positive for drugs.

Red and Wade stopped by as they had every day they hadn’t been on the road, and brought McDonald’s.

“Your damn woman put me in the hospital,” Red said.

“But not the fifty years of smoking?” Pace asked. “It was the damn woman?”

“That’s right.”

“You know it’s your lifestyle,” Wade said.

“Bullshit.” Red munched defiantly on a hash brown patty. “She’s nosy.”

“It’s her job,” Pace reminded him. “And you know you’re not supposed to eat those.”

Red popped the rest into his mouth with defiance. “You defending her?”

“I’m just reminding you that we all have our jobs to do and she’s doing hers. If someone on the team is up to something that they shouldn’t be—”

“Like what?” Red pushed back from the table. “You got something to say, say it.”

“Actually, I have plenty to say—”

“Okay, whoa,” Wade said easily. “Don’t make me put the two of you in separate corners.”

“She’s just doing her job,” Pace repeated to Red, as stubborn as the old man. “And the rest of us should remember that. If someone needs more strength and endurance, they need to try the gym instead of whatever new trick Tucker has for sale. And if someone, even a coach, has a fucking disease that’s threatening his life, he needs to fucking stop smoking and retire before he fucking dies and pisses me off.”

Red set down his food and crossed his bulldog arms. “I don’t like where this is going.”

“Yeah? Well, neither do I. And I sure as hell don’t like wondering how the hell I got tainted with a stimulant.”

Red stared at him for a long moment, then slowly stood. “I’d do anything for you,” he said. “Anything.”

Pace’s chest tightened hard. “You don’t think I know that? But I didn’t want this.”

“Are you blaming me?”

“Should I be?”

Red jerked as if he’d been sucker punched, and Pace immediately opened his mouth to apologize, but with a shake of his head, Red slammed his way out the door.

Pace felt the wave of helplessness and frustration roll over him, and picked up the McDonald’s bag to chuck it across the room.

“Wait.” Wade rescued the last Egg McMuffin before handing the empty bag back to Pace. “Okay, go ahead.”

“Goddammit.”