“I want to know how the fuck my sister had multiple chances to flinch around your ass, Parker?”
Shit! If I kept my eyes closed, would he let it go, I wondered?
“Was wondering the same shit myself,” Lance added.
“Shouldn't we concentrate on Jeff?” I asked, not opening my eyes.
“I've been thinking about his ass for hours,” James stated.
“It's not what you think,” I said. “You know me, James. You know where I've been. You had a front row seat to the whole thing. The last thing I want is some materialistic woman coming in and taking what little that bitch left me with.”
“That's my sister you're talking about,” he snapped.
“I know it,” I said. “Not a single one of you can deny that shit. She's as materialistic as they come. She was at Sammie's place many times. That's how I saw her.”
“I get that,” he said. “What I don't get is how you were alone with her enough for her to flinch multiple times with you. I'm not buying what you're selling, Parker.”
“Listen,” I said, but he instantly cut me off.
“Wait!” he hissed. “How the fuck did you know she met with Jeff after Thanksgiving?”
“She told me,” I said, as I finally opened my eyes to find James glaring at me. “Look, James, I'm not into her. She's cocky, and she's a total pain in the ass.”
“Hey,” Scott snapped out. “That's my little girl your talking about.”
“She is not cocky,” James said, defending her. “She keeps to herself.”
“I don't think we're talking about the same person,” I said.
“Seriously, Parker,” Lance warned.
I held up my hands, let my head fall back again, and closed my eyes.
“I think you should stay in the car,” I heard Lance say.
I opened my eyes to find him looking at me.
“You were talking to me?” I asked.
“I was,” he said. “You're a Pirate, and you want to stay one. The last thing you need is for your face to show up in the paper for being part of a beat down.”
“I won't do anything but stand in the background so the fucker knows how many of us there are,” I said.
“What's up with you not wanting to be traded anyway?” Scott asked. “You could be going someplace warmer. There's nothing wrong with that.”
“I don't want to leave my kids,” I answered.
“I thought you barely got to see them,” Lance Jr. piped in.
How the fuck did he know that, I wondered? Were they sitting around talking about my life?
“Can we please change the subject?” I asked.
“Sure,” James began, “we can get back to how close you've become with my sister.”
“We're not close,” I said. “We can barely even stand being in the same damn room together. She might be yours, but she's a pain in my ass.”
“Let's talk about the Pirates,” Lance Jr. said.
“You don't give two shits about the Pirates,” his dad said, with a laugh.
“It's better than hearing about Cassie and Parker,” Lance Jr. replied, with a laugh of his own.
They started talking about the game, and I closed my eyes again. I have no idea how much time passed, but I opened my eyes when I heard the car stop. That was when I saw the house in front of us.
“Damn!” I let out. “This place is huge.”
Everyone got out and began walking. I got out and shut the door behind me.
“I'm surprised she didn't comment more on my place,” I whispered, as I followed the rest of the guys up the walk.
Stay in the background, I thought, giving myself a silent talk. Think before you act. He's an asshole, but you have way more important things to think about. Just be a number. Do not speak. Do not do anything. Just exist.
Scott stood in the front of the group and pushed the doorbell. When the door opened, I took in the guy on the other side, and I let out a loud breath. It was Jeff. They knew it would be. It was the weekend and not early in the day, so his staff was already gone. I looked him over, wondering why him? He was tall, but he was small too. The man hadn't hit a gym in years. There was no missing that. No wonder she'd looked at my naked chest the way she had, I thought.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” the guy barked out at Scott. “I don't have to see your face anymore. That's one of the perks.”
For a little guy, the fucker sure had balls, I had to give him that. There were five guys, much bigger than him, standing there, and the dude was talking shit.
“Did you touch her?” Scott asked, with anger in his tone.
“What?” he asked. “Did she tell you that?”
“Did you touch my daughter?” Scott asked, with his voice raspy and much deeper.
“When would I do that?” he asked, his tone filled with sarcasm. “I haven't seen her. She doesn't even turn her damn phone on anymore. If she told you that, she's trying to get attention. You know how she can be, always needing to be in the center of everything.”
Scott lunged forward, took Jeff with him, and slammed him into the first wall that came up. We all followed him in and stood with our legs apart and our arms over our chests. The door clicked as it closed behind us, closing us in the house Cassie had shared with the asshole.
“You will take care of your kids, and you will give her this house,” Scott snapped out.
“You're right about part of that. I will take care of my kids right here in this house. If she wants them, she can come back too,” the fucker spewed out.
The little punk was insane. Either that, or he had a death wish.
“That's where you're wrong,” Scott growled out into the guys face. “She will never come back to you, and neither will the kids. You kept them away from me, you dumb fuck. That will never happen again. If I ever hear that you talk to, threaten, or touch her again, I will kill you with my bare hands. You don't touch a woman. Do you hear me, you little piece of shit? I kept quiet for years so I could at least see my little girl sometimes, but I am done.”
Scott let the guy go and took a step back.
“I will spend every penny I have taking you and your precious company down,” Scott said, so calmly that it even freaked me out a bit. “Add in all of their money, and you won't have a fucking penny left. I know you think you're all that, but between us, your money won't even come close. We don't flaunt the shit we have, but that doesn't mean we don't have it.”
Scott took a few more steps back until he was standing with us.
“I wonder how good it would look for your precious company to find out that their fearless leader put his hands on his wife,” Scott added.
“Fine,” Jeff hissed out.
Just as we turned to leave, the asshole spoke again.
“Who's he?” he asked. “You fucking her now?”
I turned back toward him and took a step around the guys.
“What?” I asked sternly.
“She's still my wife,” he said.
“The day you put your hands on her and your dick in someone else, you lost the ability to call her that.”
He laughed. The fucker actually laughed. I was holding on by a thread. It was taking all I had not to go after him.
“She's a good fuck,” he said, with a smile. “Just make sure you keep her happy and pampered. As long as she's spoiled, she'll suck your cock.”
That was it. The thread holding me back snapped, and so did I. I lunged forward, grabbed him by the neck with my left hand, slammed him into the wall behind him, and held him in the air. A smile crossed his face, and I lost it. My right hand came back, and I let go. I felt the crunch of his nose at the same moment I heard him cry out. Blood poured from his face and from my hand. The second I saw it, I let go of him. He hit the ground, and his hands covered his face.
“You have two weeks to get back to her and her lawyers,” I growled out.
“Lawyers,” Jeff said sarcastically, from under his hands.
I
turned and walked back to the guys. Lance narrowed his eyes at me. Lance Jr. shook his head. James nodded his head in approval. Scott reached for the handle on the front door.
“Two weeks,” Scott said, “or you're fucking done.”
“You're going to side with that guy?” Jeff asked, with anger in his tone. “You never fucking liked me.”
“No, I did not,” Scott said. “You were never good enough for her in my eyes. That guy has never touched my little girl. She is never coming back here, and neither are my grandchildren. You better think this through, Jeff. Your team of lawyers have nothing on ours. Neither does your bank account. You'd probably do good to remember that. How much of that precious money of yours do you want to waste trying to hurt my daughter. I'm willing to waste all of mine to keep her and the kids away from you. You won't win. I promise you that.”
Scott pulled the door open and motioned for us to leave. As soon as the last of us was out, Scott turned back to look at Jeff.
“Two weeks,” Scott warned, “and not a moment longer. We can both play your game.”
With that, Scott closed the door and walked away.
When the last door of the vehicle closed with all of us inside, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. We were moving, but I could feel eyes on me.
“Not a fucking word,” was all I said, as I tried my hardest to fall asleep so I could drown out the damn pain shooting through my bloody hand.
It hurt like hell, but it was totally worth it. I just wasn't sure the team, coaches, and manager would agree.
Chapter 9
Cassie
We got through lunch, dinner, and putting the kids to bed, and the guys were all I could think about the entire time. When the door finally opened, Parker was the first one I looked for. I thought for sure he wouldn't still be with them, but he was. He was the last one through the door, and he looked exhausted, almost as if he'd just woken up.
“How was your day?” grandma asked. “Did you guys have a good time? I told the women to leave you alone, and they actually listened. Are you all hungry?”
“It was good,” my dad said. “We just needed some guy time.”
“See,” grandma said, as she turned toward me. “That's exactly what I said. Right, Cassie?”
I nodded but didn't speak.
“Parker,” Lauren gasped. “You were hanging with the guys?”
“Parker,” my mom said, as she got up and hurried over to hug him. “I haven't seen you in so long. Sammie was just talking earlier today about how much you help her.”
Just as she released him, his hand went up and ran through his hair. What the fuck was he nervous for, I wondered? That was something I was quickly learning about him. Hand in the hair meant he was nervous. When his hand came away from his head, I saw it and gasped.
“Shit!” Sammie snapped out before I even had the chance.
“I had a little mishap while we were out,” he said, quickly shoving his bloodied hand into his jeans pocket.
I got up, hurried to the kitchen, and came back with a bag of ice. Then I grabbed his hand and pulled it out of his pocket.
“A mishap?” I asked. “It looks like your hand had a run in with a brick wall.”
“Believe me,” he said, with a laugh, “it was no brick wall. More like a soft lump of shit.”
His hand had dried blood all over it, and it was swollen.
“How long ago did this happen?” I asked.
“A few hours ago,” he answered.
“Were you fucking drunk or something?” I snapped out.
“No,” he answered sternly. “I knew exactly what I was doing. The fucker is lucky. He got off easy if you ask me.”
“What were you doing?” I asked. “Defending one of your groupies? Is that what they call them in baseball?”
“Enough,” James barked out, and I froze.
“Sorry,” I said, as I put the bag of ice on his hand. “You have to watch that shit. Aren't you close enough to being traded. Hurting your hand will just give them another reason to let you go. How am I the only one mentioning this? I don't even like the damn game.”
I took my eyes away from his hand and looked around to see everyone staring at me.
“Whatever,” I said. “I don't care. I'm going to my room.”
I turned away from them all, went up the stairs, shut my door behind me, and sat down on my bed. I wasn't in there five minutes when I heard the knock. I didn't answer, but it didn't matter. The door opened, and Lauren walked in.
“You don't like him,” she said.
“No,” I said. “Not one bit.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yes, really,” I said. “I was with a man for six years and thought he'd been loyal the whole time. I was wrong.”
“You don't think Parker could be loyal?” she asked.
“I'm not willing to take that chance,” I answered. “Did you see his hand? Who does shit like that? It's not good. He's so damn irritating. Every time he talks, something cocky comes out of his mouth. I get why he thinks he's all that. He's a Pirate.”
“I don't get it,” she said.
“What?” I asked.
“How can you judge him like that?” she asked. “You know guys that are dedicated to their wives and families that were Pirates.”
“Doesn't matter,” I said, with a shake of my head.
“Why?” she asked.
“He doesn't give a shit about me either,” I answered. “I don't get why you even care. It won't be long, and he'll be gone, maybe even sooner than later.”
“Cassie,” she said.
“I heard grandma ask him about his twins earlier. How many kids does he have?” I asked.
“Just the two,” she answered.
“What happened to his wife?” I asked.
“I honestly don't know,” she answered. “I think grandma and Sammie know. You could ask one of them, or you could just ask him.”
“That's not going to happen,” I said.
“You two drive me crazy,” she said. “I've seen the guy around but not nearly as much as he has been since you got here.”
“Goodnight, Lauren,” I said.
“I guess I'll take my huge, pregnant ass home,” she said.
“You are getting pretty big,” I said, with a smile.
“Very funny,” she said, as she turned, flipped me off from over her shoulder, and left my room.
I grabbed my phone and got under the covers on my bed. When I brought my phone to life, I saw the messages he'd sent that morning, before he came over. It almost seemed like he'd been worried about me. Was that why he'd come over? Had he really thought Jeff had been there? For a moment, I felt bad for not answering him back. Then I thought about him taking my brother into the other room. It had to have been about me, I thought. Had it been? What had he said? Shit! I needed some sleep. Everything would be back to normal in the morning, whatever normal was anyway. I myself wasn't even sure what that was anymore. At least he hadn't told my brother that we'd had sex, I thought. That was something to be happy and relieved about.
I put my phone down and closed my eyes. Just as I was starting to fall asleep, I heard the ding of my phone. I let out a groan, as I reached over and grabbed it.
Wannabe: Thanks for the ice.
Me: You shouldn't have been fighting. What the hell were you thinking?
Wannabe: I'm honestly not sure.
Me: Was it worth the manly time you all had together?
Wannabe: It actually was. Goodnight, princess.
Me: Goodnight, wannabe.
I couldn't believe he honestly thought what he'd done was a good idea. I let out a huff, as I put my phone back on my nightstand again. For a second, I thought about shutting it off, but I didn't. There was no way I could take him showing up again, no way at all.
Each time I closed my eyes, I saw how bruised and battered Parker's hand was. My mind began running through every reason he could have had for fighting, and not one of
them was a good one. Part of me wanted so badly to pick my phone back up and ask him, but I couldn't do it. There was no way I was going to give him any reason at all to think I actually gave a shit. I didn't, and I never would.
Chapter 10
Parker
Shortly after Cassie walked off, I said my goodbyes and headed home. There was no way I was giving any of the guys an opportunity to corner me and ask me anything about Cassie or about our relationship, especially since we didn't have one. I needed some time to think things through, and them being around wouldn't help one bit.
As soon as I got home, I sent her a message. Part of me wanted to check to make sure she was okay. I had no idea if they would leave her be or rush in and start asking her about Jeff and if he'd touched her. Another part of me wanted to genuinely thank her for the ice. It had been a very long time since someone hurried to help me like that. The look on her face as she went off about me fighting was something else. For a brief moment, I thought she actually gave a shit about my career. Of course, she took that away when she accused me of having groupies. That shit made me want to laugh and pissed me off all at once.
Instead of just saying you're welcome like she should have, she questioned my fighting again. What was I thinking? My answer would have been, I wasn't. When those words spewed from that asshole's mouth, I couldn't stop myself. How could someone talk about the person they promised to love and protect forever like that? Keep her pampered and she'll suck your dick was pretty much what he'd said. Just the thought of any dick but mine in her mouth wasn't something I wanted to think about. Shit! I didn't even want to think about my own dick being there, but I couldn't help it. That damn thought had been there more times than I could count already. Anyway, the asshole was lucky I let him down and walked away. How long it would take for him or one of the guys to tell her what happened, I had no idea. I was sure when they did, I wouldn't get a simple thank you for defending me. That's not how things went with Cassie.
When she asked if it was worth it, I answered her honestly. It was worth it. Hearing the way he talked about her to her own father was awful. Making that smug look leave his face was totally worth it. I also said goodnight, letting her know we were done for the night. No more questions or rude comments. We were ending it there. She wasn't the only one that could put a stop to our conversations.
Out of My League: Complete Box Set Page 22
