Play Hard

by V. K. Sykes

  “Hon, it’s about time we did this,” Martha exclaimed in her southern drawl, kissing Maddie on both cheeks before sliding gracefully into her seat at the cozy little table. “You look utterly fantastic, girl. Positively glowing! Is that a new haircut?”

  Maddie grinned, knowing Martha wasn’t someone prone to insincere flattery about how women looked. If Martha said you looked good, she meant it. “Nope. No new haircut. I feel really good, so I guess it shows. You look beyond fabulous yourself, as always.”

  After the usual rapid catch-up, they both ordered lunch, and then Maddie decided to jump right in with her news. Doing her best to look deeply serious, she said in a low voice, “Martha, I shouldn’t be telling anybody about this, but you’re a dear friend and I know you’ll keep this secret to the grave if you have to. Am I right?”

  Martha cocked her head to one side, her lustrous blond hair falling across her slender shoulders. “Whew. To the grave? Maddie, honey, I’m pretty good with a secret, but I do hope the grave is still a few decades away.”

  Maddie grinned. “I’m exaggerating, of course, but this is good stuff, and I’m not going to tell you until you promise right now that your lips are sealed.”

  “Well, now that you’ve thoroughly whetted my curiosity, I guess I have to promise.” She crossed her heart and assumed a soulful expression. “If anybody wants to know, I can tell you they’d get more out of Mount Rushmore than they will out of me.”

  They both laughed, although Maddie was actually starting to feel a little nervous about telling her friend. Right now, it was her precious secret—hers and Jake’s. Once they told anybody, even close friends, it could very well start to impact their relationship.

  “Now, come on, spit it out!” Martha prompted.

  Maddie sucked in a deep breath. “Well, I guess I might as well just say it. Jake and I have been seeing each other for about ten days now.”

  Martha’s eyes practically popped right out of her head. “No way! You’re serious?”

  “I’m completely serious.”

  “Hon, that’s way past fabulous!” Martha leaned over the table and hugged her enthusiastically, almost knocking over the wine glasses. “For gosh sake, you’ve got to tell me all. Don’t leave out a single thing!” She ran a finger across her lips in a zipping gesture. “And these lips are totally sealed.”

  Maddie let some of the tension ease from her shoulders. After taking a healthy gulp of wine, she launched into the whole thing, ending with their hot night at the Madison—minus the salacious details, of course. “It was a totally amazing night,” she finished, knowing she sounded like a sap, “and it’s just kept getting better and better. It’s knocked me completely off my feet.”

  Martha gave her a saucy, conspiratorial look. “Hon, I’ve just got to ask this. Is Jake as incredibly hot in bed as I’ve imagined?” She tried to look serious but started to giggle when she saw Maddie’s startled expression. Then Maddie started to laugh, too.

  “God, Martha, do you fantasize about every good-looking guy you meet?”

  “Not really. Just every good-looking guy in a uniform.”

  “You are totally incorrigible, Martha Winston. And you better be kidding when you talk about Jake like that, or else,” she warned in a mockingly severe voice. “But to get back to your rude question, let me just say that Jake did not disappoint me in any way, shape, or form. Not that night, and not since. In fact, quite the contrary.” She couldn’t help blushing, especially when the memory of exactly how creative Jake could be popped into her brain. She would not, however, be sharing those details, not even with Martha.

  Especially not with Martha.

  Her friend laughed. “Look at you, all red-faced and shy! Okay, now that the good stuff is out of the way, tell me what else is going on. There has to be more to it than just the sex, right?”

  “You’re right,” Maddie admitted. “I’d be the happiest woman in the world right now, if it wasn’t for the little problem we have.”

  “I know what you’re going to say, don’t I?”

  “Of course you do. Jake and I can’t be seen together, at least not for the foreseeable future.”

  Martha smiled sympathetically. “You sure can’t. But, Maddie, you know you’re not going to be able to keep your relationship secret for very long, right? Jake’s a celebrity. People recognize him wherever he goes. You can hide for a while, but not forever. Maybe not for very long at all. You’ve got to have a plan to handle that.”

  “I know.” She fiddled with the stem of her wine glass. “I hardly think about anything else, except when we’re making love. Every other moment, I’m wondering how this is all going to turn out. Jake and I have been skirting the subject, trying to pretend we’re not both obsessed by it. We’re so happy with each other that we don’t want to let thoughts of the future get in the way. But I have to admit it’s really getting to me. I can’t bear the thought of having to give up my career at the Post, but Jake’s not about to retire, either. Not by a long shot. He’s playing great again, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Patriots dangle a multi-year contract in front of him sooner or later.”

  Martha narrowed her eyes in thought, and when she did that, Maddie knew it was time to listen carefully. “Hon, I’m probably not the best person to be giving you advice…”

  “No,” Maddie interrupted her, “go ahead. I’ve always relied on you for wise words. You know that.”

  “Well, then, for what it’s worth, I think maybe you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself. You’ve only been together about ten days or so. I don’t think you should spoil a perfectly fabulous romance by trying to somehow control the future. These things have a way of working themselves out if you give them time. But if you try to force it, well, chances are it’ll come to grief. Only time will tell if this thing between you and Jake is real, and if it actually requires that kind of sacrifice on either or both of your parts.”

  Maddie was struck by the fact that Martha’s advice echoed what Emma had said. And it was the truth. As hard as it was for her to do, there was no point stewing about events beyond their control. And Maddie didn’t even know for sure if Jake wanted a future with her. Since the idea of a future without Jake was too depressing to even contemplate, she decided to ignore it.

  She saluted Martha with her wine glass. “You’re right, as usual. Sometimes all it takes is a good friend’s advice to help get your head back on straight. And you come so much cheaper than a shrink.”

  Her friend grinned broadly. “It’s not often somebody says I come cheap.”

  They clinked their glasses together, but then Martha’s face turned serious again. “Here’s to good luck, hon. All good things aside, I think you’re going to need it.”

  ***

  As Jake waited for his turn in the batting cage before the start of the afternoon’s game, Nate Carter ambled over. “Can we talk for a minute?” Nate nodded toward the visitors’ dugout, now empty as the Washington Nationals waited in their clubhouse to take their turn at batting practice.

  Jake frowned at the odd request. “Okay.” As they headed toward the steps of the empty dugout, he studied the troubled expression on his friend’s face. “What’s wrong?” he asked before Nate had a chance to begin.

  “Man, we need to talk,” Nate said, his eyes darting around. “I’m pretty sure something really bad is going on with Robbie.” He finished his observation with an unhappy grimace.

  Fuck. Not again. Why the hell couldn’t Robbie stay out of trouble?

  Jake shot a quick glance to where the man in question and a few of the other players were standing on the far side of the cage. “What’s he done now?” he asked in a resigned voice.

  Nate’s gaze also slid over to the batting cage. “Not here. And let’s not make it obvious we’re talking about him, okay? I need to tell you about something I’ve found out. Can we meet someplace after the game?”

  “I guess so,” Jake said. “But now I’m going to be thinking about this fo
r the whole damn game. I know Robbie can be an asshole, but he’s been a good friend to me.”

  Nate gave a sympathetic nod. “He trusts you, which is why we need to talk. But obviously not anywhere around here.”

  Jake gave an impatient sigh. “My place, right after the game?”

  “Sure. Sorry, man, but when you hear me out you’ll know why I had to talk to you.” Nate strode away, giving the guys at the batting cage an easy smile for the benefit of anyone who might be watching.

  As Jake had predicted, his focus was shot for the rest of the practice and right through the game. It was stupid, but he thought of Robbie almost like a little brother, and the idea that he might be in trouble again worried the hell out of him. That worry dogged him onto the field, and he wound up going 1 for 4 with just a sickly dribbler for an infield hit to go along with two strikeouts. Worse yet, the Patriots lost 2-1 to the Nationals. After his ninth inning strikeout, Jake had uncharacteristically tossed his bat and kicked his helmet toward the dugout. His immature gesture had prompted a warning from the home plate umpire.

  By the time the game ended and he made it into the clubhouse, Jake felt like strangling Nate Carter. Nate always meant well, but he had a habit of charging into unknown situations like a rampaging bull. But Jake had a bad feeling that Robbie probably was in trouble. The guy’s behavior had been erratic the last few months, and although Jake had tried to ignore it his gut was now telling him that something was there, after all.

  Jake headed back to his condo feeling pissed off about pretty much everything except Maddie. When he had an afternoon game, like today, it was an opportunity for Maddie and him to get away somewhere early and then spend the whole evening together. They’d made plans today to drive out to a restaurant in a little town in Lancaster County—only an hour away—where he thought they were unlikely to be recognized. Now he’d have to change those plans, and that rankled, especially since he and Maddie hadn’t been getting nearly as much time together as they wanted.

  But Nate had looked uncharacteristically grim when he’d asked to meet, and Jake didn’t have the heart to say no, especially since he didn’t want to reveal his plans with Maddie. Not even to his best friend. Instead, he called Maddie, and together they came up with Plan B—he’d head to her condo after meeting Nate and they’d stay in and order Vietnamese takeout. A pretty damn good Plan B, actually, but it nagged at him because Maddie had really looked forward to getting away for the evening. She never complained, but he hated not being able to give her what she wanted almost as much as he hated sneaking around. The woman was the best thing to have come his way in forever, and it was ridiculous that he couldn’t be with her in the way she deserved.

  A few minutes after he got off the phone with Maddie, Nate buzzed up. Jake met him at the door and his heart sank again when he took in his friend’s unsettled and anxious expression. Nate Carter didn’t do anxious, so whatever it was it must be bad.

  He shoved a beer into Nate’s hand before the guy had even sat down. “Okay, so what the hell’s going on? I’ve been pissed at you all day, but I know you wouldn’t have done this unless you thought you had a damn good reason.” Jake sat back on the sofa, feet up on the heavy glass coffee table.

  Nate frowned. “What’s your problem, dude? Got a heavy date tonight or something?”

  If you only knew, pal.

  “I’m getting a mani-pedi at the spa,” Jake returned dryly.

  Nate laughed, almost spraying out his beer. “I hope they charge you at least double with those oversized mitts and size fourteens of yours.”

  Jake gestured with his beer bottle at the tattoo snaking out from under the cut-off sleeve of Nate’s shirt. “Peanuts compared to what you shelled out for that stupid body art. A freaking tornado, for fuck’s sake.”

  Nate rolled his eyes. “You’re just jealous that fans don’t call you something cool like The Tornado.”

  Now that the macho prelims were over, Jake figured it was time to get on with it. “Just spit it out, man. What the hell’s up with Rob?”

  Nate nodded, his expression going dead-serious again. “I think he’s in a whole mess of trouble. And I’m coming to you not just because you’re his friend, but because you’re the team leader again, too.”

  “Bullshit. No way—not after all the time I’ve been out.”

  Nate snorted. “Wrong again, dude. I’m telling you—the guys all still look up to you. They always have. You’re the veteran, and you’ve led the way. Besides, you’ve probably had experience dealing with something like this over the years.”

  “Over those many years, you mean. But go on, I’m listening.”

  Nate fiddled with his beer bottle. “I’m sure Robbie is gambling heavily,” he said cautiously.

  Jake felt a small measure of relief. “Not exactly earthshaking news. That’s not great, but it’s not exactly a capital crime either.”

  “It is when you’re gambling on baseball, maybe even on your own team,” Nate said in a grim tone.

  Jake felt his mind go blank. He sat up straight, pulling his legs off the coffee table.

  “You know what happens to guys who get caught,” Nate went on, the distaste evident in his voice. “Their careers are over, and they’re disgraced. Even worse, the whole damn team can be tainted by it. And even worse than that, I’m pretty certain Robbie’s involved with one of the most hard ass bookies in the city—Joey Nazarian. Sorry, but I think your buddy is in big trouble.”

  Jake was floored. Betting on your own team was criminally insane, even for a guy as careless about his rep as Robbie.

  He sat in silence for a full minute before speaking. When he could finally get it going, he had to talk through clenched teeth. “Tell me everything you know.” His throat and chest tightened as he tried to contain his anger.

  Nate sat forward, resting his forearms on his thighs as he stared across the coffee table at Jake. “I went down to Angelo’s last night after the game. You know, grab a beer or two and hang out with some of the regulars. I hadn’t been there more than a few minutes when Robbie waltzed in by himself. He didn’t see me, though. I was in a booth and he went straight to the bar and sat with his back toward me. I was going to talk to him, but decided to leave him alone for a while. He looked like he needed some space, especially since he’s had a couple of pretty bad weeks.”

  Shit, shit, shit. Jake just knew this was going to be bad. “Go on.”

  “The guy looked totally agitated. All tensed up and jittery, sucking away on beer like he couldn’t get it down fast enough. Anyway, maybe five minutes later, Joey Nazarian came in with some bulked-up thug who was obviously his bodyguard, and he looked pissed as hell. As soon as he spotted Robbie, he headed right over to the bar, kicked a guy out of the next chair, and sat down beside him.”

  Jake needed more than one beer to get through this bullshit. He got up to get another, motioning an offer to get one for Nate, too. His friend gave him the thumbs up sign and continued while Jake listened from the kitchen.

  “Nazarian was in Robbie’s grille from the get-go. They weren’t exactly yelling, but they were going at it pretty good. Next thing I know, Robbie gets up and heads toward the john, way across the other side of the bar and down the hall. Nazarian and his muscle stayed where they were for maybe thirty seconds, then got up and took off in the same direction. That got my antenna up big time. I figured I’d better head down that way too, to get the lay of the land.”

  With a brusque nod of thanks, he took the beer from Jake’s outstretched hand. “When I got near the john, I could hear Nazarian and Robbie inside, yelling at each other. I decided to just listen, and only go in if it sounded like Robbie was going to get hurt. I figured I might have to even up the odds a bit, though I wasn’t exactly looking forward to taking on the gorilla bodyguard.”

  “Smart,” Jake said dryly, sitting back down.

  “Anyway, I heard the whole fucking story. The gist is that Robbie’s been betting big time with Nazarian, and it was cl
ear he’s been putting money on some of our games. Nazarian was telling him he was going to make sure the word got out about it if Robbie didn’t pay up, and he’d ruin his career.” Nate let out a heavy sigh. “I couldn’t believe it. You know I’m not a big fan of Rob’s, but I never would have taken him for such a total dumbass.”

  Jake’s entire body ached with tension. Robbie had always been impulsive, but he couldn’t believe the jerk would be so goddamn stupid. He wasn’t just putting his career on the line, he might be putting his life in danger, too. Jake had heard about Nazarian before, and none of it was good.

  “He’s in hock to Nazarian,” Nate added. “And Nazarian was making it clear that his time to pay up was running out. Then I heard a big thump, like a body slamming into a wall. I figured it was now or never, so I pushed the door open hard and went in ready. Robbie was on his ass on the floor, and Nazarian was leaning over to help him up. Nazarian just grinned at me and said his little pal was a bit loaded and fell over as he was trying to get his zipper down.”

  “Asshole,” Jake snarled.

  “No kidding. Well, I looked at Robbie and he nodded like a scared little kid. Then Nazarian and his hired prick chuckled and left, and I helped Robbie up and out to his car. His lip was bleeding, but he wouldn’t tell me a damn thing. Not even when I said knew something was seriously wrong. He told me he could handle his problems himself, and that I should mind my own fucking business and keep my fucking mouth shut. Quote, unquote.”

  “Christ, I’m sorry. You sure as hell didn’t deserve that.”

  Nate shrugged. “I wish I could have done more. I don’t care all that much if the little asshole gets his ass kicked a bit, but I don’t want to see him offed. And if he gets caught betting on baseball, it’ll be a disaster for the team. I had to talk to somebody about it. Unfortunately, pal, you’re it.”