UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT (Gods of the Gridiron Book 1)

by Shanna Swenson

  “Crap, you’re right. Then where?” he asked and increased his speed as he headed north.

  Sky was quiet for a time before she said, “My father’s buddy has a cabin in Estes Park, Colorado.”

  “Jesus, that’ll take forever to get there.”

  “Yeah, fifteen hours or more.”

  “Can anyone track you to it?”

  “No, the cabin’s been there for a long time. They wouldn’t know that I know him. He isn’t famous, he isn’t related to me. He hasn’t been there for a time.”

  “How do you know he still has it?”

  “I just know. I went up last year for some alone time.”

  “Do you have a key?”

  “No. But it doesn’t have an alarm or anything. It’s old, been there for fifty plus years.”

  “So, we’re just gonna break in?”

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  Travis shrugged. No, he didn’t. And Colorado wasn’t a place that Geraci would necessarily look for them. It was out of Texas and a long way from Georgia. It might be a great place to hide. Estes Park was in the Rocky Mountain National Park.

  “Alright. Let’s go.”

  “What about this car? Won’t the man report it stolen?”

  “Yeah, but by the time the cops get to Love’s, take the statement, and begin the search, we’ll be far from San Antonio. Besides, I’ll switch the tag next time we stop.”

  “Why does this seem so shady?” Sky huffed and looked over at him.

  He took in her frightened expression, her unruly hair, and her beautiful face. He answered honestly, “I don’t like this anymore than you do. I’m just trying to get us to safety so we can live to see tomorrow.”

  “Why is Geraci chasing you, Travis? How the hell did you get involved with him?”

  “It wasn’t me. It was my brother, Tucker.”

  “He’s a very bad man.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Travis smarted, his bite harder than he’d intended. Just the thought of something happening to his little brother was more than he could bear to think of and right now, his mind was wired and reeling from all that had happened in the last thirty minutes. He sighed, “Sorry. I know. Jesus. But what was I supposed to do, Sky? They threatened to kill my brother if I didn’t do what they told me to.”

  Travis grew quiet as the road soothed his senses, the sounds of the tires on the asphalt quieting his fears for the moment.

  Sky didn’t speak, just looked at him. Her hand rested on his on the steering wheel and he glanced back over at her. Finally, she said, “I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks,” he said and turned his focus back to the road. He didn’t want to talk about Tuck, didn’t want to think about what they were doing to his brother, if he were indeed still alive. All Trav could do was pray that Geraci was still using Tucker as leverage, pray he wouldn’t be stupid enough to kill him just yet.

  “We’ve been on to Geraci for a time now, the entire organization. We’ve been attempting to get enough information to indict him. It’s just a matter of time, Travis. We have a mole in their system. Perelli wasn’t the only caporegime. We believe there are three more bosses, Geraci included.”

  “Three? Jesus.”

  Travis recalled the name Vincent Perelli—and his death some seven years ago when The Devil’s Playground burned down. Supposedly, one of Perelli’s men had killed Vince, then himself, after lighting the strip club up, killing several others in the process. But thank God, Perelli had been taken down. He’d been a head crime boss, drug runner, money launderer, and sex trafficker. Travis had never gone to the club before it’d burned down, but he’d heard about the bastard and his shady activities following the news coverage of the fire. It irked him to know that there were three other men like Vince in Atlanta, and that his own brother had somehow waltzed right into the lion’s den and brought Travis, and now Skyla, with him.

  “I’m sure my brother had no idea what he was getting himself into when he went to Geraci’s boy, Sal.”

  “Why did he go to a bookie?”

  Travis shrugged. “He was a gambling addict. He bet on sporting events, including my football games.”

  “Which is how he got you involved?”

  “He got me involved after he asked for five million dollars and for me to protect him against them.”

  “Oh my God! Five million dollars?”

  “Yeah, he owed them and with serious interest.”

  “So, you gave it to him?”

  “Fuck no!”

  “It’s not like you don’t have it,” she scoffed and looked out the passenger window.

  “It wasn’t about the money, Sky. It was the principle. That asshole was bribing my brother, and I didn’t want criminals taking my hard-earned cash,” Travis retorted heatedly. “Not that I have to fuckin’ explain myself to you, ADA.”

  His mood darkened and he didn’t want to discuss it anymore, tired of hearing her belligerence toward him for the time being. The miles flew by as he sailed down the road, skirting right under the speed limit.

  Almost an hour had passed with silence between them before Sky dug into a bag and fished out some chips and salsa—of which he made a snarky comment about how difficult it was going to be eating that in the car—and a couple of Arizona teas. He gave her a grin as she handed one over, unable to continue his scowl at the familiarity he drew from her.

  “Arizona Lemon tea? You remembered, huh?”

  “Of course I did. You brought one in every day.”

  He thought back to Biology, not recalling much beyond Mr. Bennet’s goofy laugh, barely passing, and seeing Skyla, always giving him a soft smile behind those thick-framed glasses of hers.

  “You really paid attention to me, huh?” He could almost blush. It was endearing that she’d been so into him that she knew what he drank on a daily basis.

  Sky looked down and reached back into one of the bags. “Five minutes wasn’t a lot of time to grab things, but I tried to rally.”

  “You did good. Three bags worth is impressive.”

  “I watched a lot of Supermarket Sweep back in the day.”

  Travis laughed heartily. “I remember that show. But I’m sure a gas station isn’t set up the same. Way to come through, Skyla.”

  The smile she gave him back hit him hard in the chest and stole his breath. God, her smile was arresting, pulling her lips up and sharpening her eyes. “Wow, you’re stunning, lady. Were you always so gorgeous? Was I just simply blind?”

  She looked down again, and he frowned; she tended to do that a lot. Then he reminded himself that she’d just been cheated on by her fiancé. And she’d been ignored by the boy she’d crushed on for four years in high school; she’d reminded him of this fact several times already. Travis felt as if he’d somehow wronged her. He hadn’t known she was infatuated with him then and he realized that even if he’d known, it wouldn’t have changed anything. He was too busy chasing the hard-bodied and vibrant cheerleader Brittany and wouldn’t have seen how amazing Sky was through his lust-filled teen boy eyes. But he still felt bad about it. The grimace on her face was tangible.

  “So, how long were you and Sampson engaged? And what the hell did you see in an old fart like him?”

  “He wasn’t that much older than me…” she trailed off. From what little Travis knew of Sampson Steinberger, the man was old enough to be her father. He was bald and seemed like a real hard-ass.

  “I mean, I can’t even imagine how shitty the sex was. I’m surprised he can even still get it up at his age.” Travis realized his attempt to lighten the mood was spoiling Sky’s as she got even quieter. He felt like he was being an ass and despite that it hadn’t been his intention, he apologized with an, “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I wouldn’t know how the sex was, I didn’t screw him.”

  “Oh Jesus, don’t tell me you sucked his wrinkly old balls?” Travis made a gagging sound.

  “No. I didn’t,” she stated, seriously.

 
“Ok? Was this gonna be a marriage of convenience then or what?”

  Sky sighed. “No. I mean, we messed around. But never went all the way.” She got quiet after that, and Travis decided to drop it. He didn’t want to think about Sky and the old man. It personally made him sick to his stomach…and he suddenly got furious about that bastard touching her.

  “Why don’t you get some rest. I’ll wake you in a few hours to drive when I stop for gas.”

  She gave him a curt nod and laid her head on the headrest as she reclined the seat back a little.

  It wasn’t long before Sky was asleep, her head falling to the window as Travis adjusted in his seat a little. He let the road carry him through the sullen night, the tires eating the pavement as they continued north toward Lubbock on I-10. He turned the radio on low, to keep himself grounded, passing some trucks on the left and watching as the grass changed to desert.

  It was well after midnight when he decided to stop for gas at a Shell station off the highway just north of Eden. It wasn’t far from an old Walmart where he planned to change out the tag on the car to evade both the cops and Geraci’s men.

  When he cut the engine off, Sky shot up in the seat, alarm paling her features as she tried to reassess where she was and what was happening.

  “Shh, it’s ok, we’re just stopping to get some gas. You need anything?”

  She nodded and said, “Bathroom.”

  They both got out of the car and Travis locked it, placing his sunglasses on and adjusting his ball cap for anonymity. He wished Sky had the same luxury but hoped there were no cameras—or, at least, no need to hide in the long run once they got safely out of the state. He let the gas pump as they headed inside.

  He nodded to Sky and watched her head to the bathroom as he paid for the gas with cash and was grateful when she emerged quicker than he’d expected.

  He looked around outside before they both got into the car he unlocked, seeing a big rig and a little sedan, nothing out of the ordinary. He drove around to the Walmart, parking quickly beside a car towards the back of the lot.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Changing out the tag.”

  He got out and did just that, hurrying to remove the tag from a sedan with Colorado plates, grateful he’d selected this car and this lot. He then did the same with the tag on the Sportage and swapped the two. When he got back in, Sky frowned at him.

  “Do you think they know where we’re headed?”

  “No. I don’t. How could they?”

  Sky shrugged. “Want me to drive?”

  “I’ll be ok, for now. If you want, go back to sleep for a little while longer.”

  She nodded once more and leaned her head back onto the window, propping up on her elbow. “Do you think the tow-truck driver had children?” she asked randomly, her voice softer than he’d heard it prior to now.

  Travis sighed heavily, feeling guilty about the man who died so close to him. Trav had seen the rifle coming out of the passenger side of the black Buick and had begun to move even as he saw the man’s head split into a thousand bloody pieces. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to erase that scene from his memory banks. Sky had been to the left of him and he’d grabbed her and pulled her around the back of her SUV and to the ground. He’d never been more grateful to see that the diesel truck was still running and the driver’s door still open. Now, he simply worried about the fact that they’d left the scene of a crime and their DNA and fingerprints were gonna be all over the tow truck, making them look like suspects.

  Oh well, Sky was the assistant DA; she’d find some way to get them out of this…he hoped. He finally looked back over at her pale face and gave her an understanding grin. He extended his hand and she took it. Her palm was soft in his own and he was awed by how small her hand was. His dwarfed hers, making her seem even more vulnerable in that moment. When he looked into her blue eyes, he saw tears there and it hit him right in the gut.

  “It was supposed to be me.” He swallowed audibly.

  Sky was shaking her head. “No. You’re too valuable to them still. They were making a statement, that’s what they do. I—I just— Every time I close my eyes I see…” she trailed off.

  “I know.” Travis sighed again. “Sky, I’m really sorry about all this. I never…” Travis stilled his thoughts, unable to explain how awful he felt about the goons chasing them, the dead man, and the need to flee for their lives. Then thought of a way to make her laugh. “Hey, you remember that doofus who always came to class with a huge stack of books? He smelled like garbage and talked to himself. Got all excited, like he might be ADHD.”

  “Yeah, he walked funny and was more than likely Steven-Hawking-smart.”

  “Yeah, maybe even smarter than you.” Travis winked, and Sky gave a little laugh. “I ran into him one day in the hall. It wasn’t on purpose, mind you, but would you believe when I did, his books fell to the ground and he put his dukes up like he was gonna fight me?”

  “Really? Because you made him drop his books?”

  “Yeah, I mean, I guess. I thought for a minute Dork-Brain Loheizer was gonna kick my ass.”

  At that, Sky belted out in laughter, sexy and hearty. And Travis grinned, glad he could take her mind off the murder they’d witnessed. He squeezed her hand and held it in his for a time, taking comfort in the fact that they were hopefully headed to safety and could call for reinforcements once out of Texas. Trav felt some comfort in knowing the tags didn’t reflect a stolen vehicle any longer, but it wouldn’t be long before the officials put two and two together.

  “For what it’s worth, Skyla. I’m glad it’s you that’s in this with me.”

  Sky scoffed and shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Thanks for saving my life, Travis.”

  “You’re welcome. Get some rest so I don’t have to drive the next twelve hours, would ya?”

  “Fine,” she grumbled and closed her eyes, still holding his hand.

  Travis smiled and gunned it.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Norm Jeffers, the DA of Atlanta, said into the receiver of the payphone he’d been paged to call the mole on. “Sky is missing?”

  “Yes, we lost them. She and Travis left the scene of the crime. I’m not sure which way they’re headed, but it’s only a matter of time before Gio finds them.”

  “Shit! How soon before you can wrap this shit up, Mathers?”

  “We’re close, sir, I just need his confession. I’m hoping Skyla can help with that.”

  “What are you suggesting, agent?” Norm hissed, not liking the tone in Casey’s voice.

  “We both know what I’m suggesting, sir.”

  “Dammit, Mathers. I’m not putting any more people in danger.”

  “It may be the only way to finally end this. Geraci believes Travis met with her on purpose. He wants them both.”

  “Can you stall?”

  “I already did by stopping the chase when they took off in the tow truck, but Gio’s boys are scanning every satellite and camera as we speak. You know they have connections everywhere. They will find them.”

  Of course Casey Mathers was right. He’d been with the crime family for almost two years now, undercover. “What do I need to do?” Jeffers asked, frustrated to hell and back.

  “As smart as Larson is, I’m sure she’s going to try to contact you as soon as she can. You need to have your men in place and ready to go when we come to take them back to Gio’s. I’ll be ready on my end. Tell Sky I’ll give her the code word ‘Angel,’ and she can use it if something happens before the time comes to raid.”

  “Is this gonna work this time? This is my assistant DA you’re talking about here…and one of the leading running backs in the NFL.”

  “Gio isn’t stupid enough to kill them, Jeffers. Surely, he would see they’re much more valuable alive.”

  “How’s the brother?”

  “Weak but alive. I’ve seen to it. I’m not watching him kill anyone else.”

  “What about
that trucker?” Jeffers grated sarcastically.

  Mathers sighed heavily. “Unfortunately, collateral damage, sir. I’m sorry. I obviously didn’t know that was going to happen.”

  Jeffers rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger. “I’ll make sure his family gets all the benefits I can. But Mathers, this needs to be over and done with. As soon as possible. Geraci has got to go down.”

  “I’m doing my best, Jeffers.”

  “I know. Dammit. Get Sky back and fast. And preferably unharmed.”

  “You know I can’t make promises, but I will do everything in my power. Just be ready when she calls you.”

  “May God be with you, agent.”

  “And with you too, sir.”

  Mathers hung up the phone and returned to the black Lincoln.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Skyla awoke with a gasp, seeing the man’s head shatter in slow motion. “Pull over,” she cried out and sought the door handle.

  The car wasn’t completely stopped before she was trying to get out and evacuate her guts. Sky heard Travis swear as he hit the brake. The car jolted to a stop and she threw herself from it, puking toward the ground, bile burning the back of her throat as her stomach emptied itself of its own volition.

  “Fuck, Sky,” Travis scolded as his palm came to her back. “That’s one way to get yourself killed, as if we need any more reasons. Ever heard not to jump out of a moving vehicle?”

  His smart mouth made her mood even more foul, and she shoved at him as she wiped at her lips. “Get away from me,” she whined as she fell to the ground, the trauma and anguish and fear of the last hours finally taking their toll on her. Hysteria racked her body as she took in deep breaths, and felt Travis’s hard frame pull her against him even as she fought him. “Don’t touch me. I need…” she exclaimed but wasn’t sure what she was trying to say. She realized the danger they were in; her nightmare had brought reality crashing into her. If they were caught by Giovanni Geraci’s men, they were more than likely gonna end up that way too. “He’s dead because of us. It’s our fault. It’s—”

  “Shh, c’mon, Sky. We can’t do this right now, honey, ok? We’re still not safe.”