Fastball

by V. K. Sykes

  “No, I protected you. I said you didn’t tell me. I told him the truth—that I found out on my own.” Maddie shook her head. “I don’t think he believed me, though.”

  Yeah, no kidding. “Why would he? The timing would look a bit obvious, don’t you think?” he asked dryly.

  Maddie hesitated, then briefly nodded.

  He blew out a frustrated breath. “Well, that’s going to make it a whole lot harder to get him to trust me. I’d say you might have just blown up any chance I had to talk some sense into him and get him into treatment.”

  She involuntarily winced, looking guilty, so he held back the even harsher words that balanced on the tip of his tongue.

  “So, what happened?” he asked. “Is he going to talk to you?”

  She nodded. “In the parking lot, right after the game. I really didn’t want to let him leave tonight without talking to me. I thought I might lose…” She stopped abruptly.

  “Your nerve?” Jake said. He couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “I sure as hell wouldn’t blame you. You’re stepping into the middle of a Grade A cluster-fuck, Maddie.”

  She stopped looking guilty and started looking pissed off. “Yes, my nerve, if that’s what you want to hear,” she snapped. “I wasn’t looking for this mess, Jake. It’s not like I want to do it, and you know it.”

  Her voice caught on the last word. With a defiant sniff, she reached into her bag and pulled out a tissue. As she dabbed at her eyes, trying to hold back tears, Jake felt the bottom go out from under him. Christ, he hated seeing her so upset, but he didn’t know how to fix it.

  “Look, Maddie, we can’t stand here talking all night.” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a few players giving them quizzical looks, as were some fans seated up above them. “We’re already attracting attention. Can you just cancel with him for tonight? Come over to my place after the game and we’ll talk this through. We’ll figure something out together.”

  He glanced around, looking for his idiot friend, and saw him stomping into the clubhouse, his features pulled tight with rage. Jake frowned. Where the hell was Robbie going now?

  “I don’t like the idea of you meeting him alone out there tonight,” he added. In fact, he hated the idea of Maddie confronting Robbie without him there to run interference.

  Maddie rolled her eyes. “Come on, Jake, I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. And we’ll just be in the players’ parking lot. You know—the one with the monster lights?” She managed a placating smile. “I do want to meet you, I really do. But I have to talk to Robbie first. I’m going to give him the chance to come clean. Once he owns up to what he’s done and tells team management, I think you could help him pay off his debts to Nazarian without getting in trouble yourself.”

  Jake forced himself not to respond to the pleading in the big, dark eyes that seemed to swallow him up. Maddie could normally make him agree to anything with that particular look, but not this time. “Sweetheart, you’re kidding yourself. I know Robbie better than anybody. There’s no way he’s going to own up to what he’s done. And you’re putting yourself in danger if you keep pushing this. God only knows what a thug like Nazarian might do.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake. Nazarian is hardly going to be lurking around the parking lot, waiting to off me. Please just let me do this, Jake. Then you and I can meet and talk. Both about Robbie and…about us. That is, if there is still an us,” she finished softly.

  Her words and the possibility that this could deep-six their relationship for good sliced through him.

  “I don’t think it’ll take very long,” she added. “Give me an hour or so after the game ends, and then I’ll come to your place. Just trust me, Jake.”

  She bit her lip and stared at him, so tense she looked on the point of spinning apart. She was obviously torn up, but why the hell did she have to be so stubborn?

  Finally he spoke. “I don’t get why you’re so convinced you have to do this. You won’t even give me a chance to solve it my way, to see if I can get Robbie out of this without anybody getting hurt. And as far as trust goes, what about trusting me?”

  She paled, and her mouth actually quivered. Then her lips settled into a stern, stubborn line as she held her silence.

  Shaking his head, Jake turned and strode away from her, anger and a sense of helplessness riding him hard.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Jake knew he should have asked to be yanked out of the line-up for tonight’s game, but his stubborn pride had stopped him. Now he was paying the price—stuck out there in the outfield, trying to focus on every pitch and every swing, yet able to think of nothing but Maddie and the trouble she was getting herself into. When he booted an easy play off the wall in the third inning, he had known it was going to be a long, crappy night, and it was. The Patriots barely managed to eke out a win, no thanks to him.

  Grateful for once to be off the field, Jake hurled his glove into the dugout and headed straight into the clubhouse, ignoring the usual post-game bullshit with the other players. Heading into the locker room, he found Robbie already half-undressed and looking one hundred percent pissed off.

  “You’re not leaving here until you’ve talked to me,” Jake said in a low voice. “Hang back until the other guys have cleared out.”

  “Why don’t you just say what you want to say now, and get it over with?” Robbie said with a sneer. “That way I don’t have to hold up my meeting with your girlfriend.”

  Jake repressed the impulse to lift Robbie up by his collar and shake him, glancing around instead. Everyone else was ignoring them so far. “Okay, if that’s the way you want it. Actually, before the game I asked Maddie not to meet you, but she blew me off.”

  Robbie stared at him suspiciously, but finally gave a half-satisfied grunt. “She claimed you didn’t tell her about our conversation. But how the hell then does she know so much?”

  “It doesn’t matter a damn how,” Jake snapped, pissed off that Robbie was treating him like the enemy when he was risking his own career. “But I did tell her I was going to help you pay off your debt to Nazarian on the condition that you stopped betting and got into a program. Unfortunately, she thinks you’re not entirely trustworthy in that regard, and I have to say your attitude isn’t doing a hell of a lot to reassure me.”

  Robbie’s face flushed an ugly red, and he opened his mouth to argue.

  Jake held up a hand. “Look, I know what you’re going to say—that I should have been able to talk her out of it. But I couldn’t. Maddie believes she’s doing the right thing, and that’s all there is to it. So, we have to deal with it because she’s not going to back off.”

  “I told her she was getting in way over her head,” Robbie spat as he continued to get dressed. “She has to get her head on straight before it’s too late. I’m going to tell her again right now, but I’m not holding my breath that she’ll listen. She’s one headstrong bitch. I know she’s hot, but she’s gonna bring you grief, man. I guarantee it.” Robbie grabbed his wallet out of his locker and reached for his jacket.

  Jake gripped Robbie’s arm, squeezing until the other man winced. “You watch what you say about her, friend. Maddie isn’t to blame for this situation. You are.” He kept his voice very low, letting his lethal tone underscore his words. He’d beat Robbie to a fucking pulp if he did anything to hurt Maddie. “Now, listen up. I’m telling you that you’ve got to promise me you’ll do what I say on this. That means getting into rehab right away.”

  Robbie tried to pull away, but his strength was no match for Jake’s and he grimaced.

  “What’s going on?” a deep voice said.

  Startled, Jake looked behind him. Jack Ault stood a few feet away, hands on his hips and glaring at them.

  Jake released Robbie and faked a casual shrug. “Nothing much. We’re just having a little disagreement. Nothing we can’t handle. Right, Rob?”

  Robbie managed a sickly smile.

  Ault’s gaze narrowed. “Better not be, beca
use I’m keeping an eye on you, Benton. I don’t much like your attitude these days, and you better fucking well straighten up quick or else.” On that happy note, he headed to his office.

  Jake sighed. “What did I tell you? Management is already getting suspicious.”

  “Fuck that. I’m out of here,” Robbie retorted, taking a step away.

  “You take one more step and I swear I’ll deck you right here,” Jake growled. “I’m the one pulling your ass out of the fire, so you’ll go when I tell you I’m finished.”

  Robbie gave a sullen shrug, but eased himself down on the bench in front of the lockers.

  Jake leaned a shoulder against the locker frame, searching for the words that might do the trick. “Look, I’ve been thinking about this nonstop since we talked. Maybe it’s best that you come clean now with the team—at least about your gambling addiction—before it has a chance to get out.”

  Robbie’s jaw dropped.

  “Yeah,” Jake said quickly, “it could mean you’re done with baseball. But at least you’ll have your life and your pension. And the pension’s something you won’t get if you keep on gambling and get caught betting on baseball. You’d be risking everything if you don’t do it, Rob.”

  “Not if everybody would just shut the hell up!”

  “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle, man. I think you should just tell Maddie that we’ve talked and you’re seriously thinking about coming clean to the team. If you do, I think she might back off. And I’m willing to go with you when you talk to Ault and Dembinski.”

  Robbie snorted. “Don’t do me any favors. Dembinski hates your guts.”

  When Jake started to bristle, Robbie shot to his feet. “Look, Jake, I’m sorry but I can’t do it. Who knows what management might do? They don’t give a shit about a guy like me. In fact, they’ll probably even want to make an example out of me.”

  “Jesus, Robbie! If you don’t go to them first, that might be exactly what will happen.”

  “Maybe, but I can’t take the risk. And if you can’t get Maddie to drop this shit, I’ll have to do it myself.” He started to walk away.

  Jake shot out a hand and grabbed the guy’s shoulder. He didn’t turn him around, just leaned in close to Robbie’s ear to deliver his message in a deadly whisper. “Listen, Rob. We’ve been friends for a long time, but if anything happens to her—and I mean anything—you’re gonna wish you’d never heard my name.”

  “Back off,” Robbie said. “I’m just going to talk to her. Maybe I can be more convincing than you are.”

  “Yeah, right.” Jake snorted as he pushed Robbie away. He headed across to his own locker, not bothering to look back. He stripped, grabbed a towel, and stalked to the showers.

  Ten minutes later, he was dressed and on his way to the parking lot. As he strode out of the concourse, he scanned the fenced private lot. Maddie’s Fusion was parked in the row behind his Tahoe, but there was no sign of her. He thought briefly about trying to find somewhere to listen in on her conversation with Robbie, but there was no place where he could be sure she wouldn’t spot him. If she saw him watching her, she’d be even more pissed off at him than she already was. As much as his heart ordered him to stay and make sure she’d be safe, his brain told him to get out of there and go home. He’d made it clear to Robbie that if anything happened to Maddie, he was dead meat. Robbie was really too much of a chicken shit to do anything, anyway, Jake figured.

  So, he had no choice but to wait until Maddie called him or came over later. Too restless and wired to head straight home, Jake decided to get a quick drink at a bar down the street from his condo. Maybe a beer would help settle his nerves.

  Then again, probably not.

  ***

  Maddie had spent the entire game hunched down in her seat in the press box, avoiding conversation with the other reporters as she struggled to focus on her work. But doubts and questions had blown her concentration all to hell, especially when she mentally replayed Jake’s parting words to her. Her throat tightened at the idea that they might be finished, and she found herself questioning why she insisted on pursuing Robbie’s story. Would it really be worth all the pain she was causing, both to Jake and to herself?

  But no matter how many angles she approached it from, she couldn’t back away now. She’d sworn to herself that she’d never let her feelings for Jake get in the way of doing her job, and doing it ethically and responsibly. She was already crossing a line just by secretly dating him, and she wouldn’t allow herself to slide any further down that slippery slope. No matter what happened with Jake, Maddie had to live with herself and know she’d done the right thing.

  Not that she was naïve enough to think the situation with Robbie would end well, but she had to give it a shot. Maybe he’d surprise her—get scared enough by her threat that he’d go straight to Patriots’ management for help. Not likely, but it was enough of a possibility to give it a try.

  If that didn’t work, she hoped she could could rattle him enough to get him to say something stupid, something that might give her a decent lead to follow in case the paper decided to run with the story. There were lots of low-life gamblers out there who might be willing to cooperate if only she could get to them. But finding guys like that wouldn’t be that easy, and if she did manage to find them, they might well be too afraid of Joey Nazarian to talk.

  Now that the game was finally over and everyone had cleared the field, she put the finishing touches on her story, then packed up her computer and got organized to go. She didn’t rush because Robbie needed time to shower and dress, plus she didn’t want to run into any of the other players if she could help it. Not tonight.

  Minutes later, when she finally reached the parking lot, all but a few cars had vanished, even Jake’s Tahoe. She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful he’d had the sense not to hang around. That had been her biggest fear—that he’d try to stop her. Too bad a tiny, stupid part of her wished he had.

  She leaned against her car, giving a quick glance at her watch. After eleven. The game had been over for over forty-five minutes, plenty of time for Robbie to shower and change, and even grab a post-game snack if he wanted to. So, where was he? Had he bailed on her, after all?

  “Maddie.”

  She jerked around. Robbie’s voice had come from behind a storage shed outside the gate to the lot.

  “Dammit, Robbie! You almost made me jump out of my skin,” she gasped, pressing her hand against her pounding heart. She could barely make him out in the shadows.

  He waved a hand. “Over here. I don’t want anybody to see us.”

  Muttering under her breath, Maddie hurried over. Robbie leaned against the shed’s metal wall, drawing hard on a cigarette, his gaze cast to the ground. If ever a guy looked guilty, this man surely did.

  As he sucked on the cigarette the red tip glowed, casting weird shadows that distorted his features in a way that sent an instinctive shiver down her spine.

  “So, talk,” he snapped. “And make it fast. You wanted this, not me.”

  She closed her eyes for a second, composing herself. “Thanks for coming, Robbie,” she said in a calm, almost friendly voice. An aggressive approach wouldn’t work with him, and if she appeared somewhat sympathetic he might let his guard down, if only for a moment. “I know this can’t be easy for you. Really I do. But you’ve got a problem—a big problem—and we need to talk about it. Sooner or later, word of your gambling is going to get out, and by that time it will be too late.”

  “Shit, why are you wasting my time?” He pitched his cigarette to the ground. The burning end hit the asphalt first, sending little sparks flaring into the air. “I know Jake talked to you, so just tell me what you want from me.”

  Maddie had to bite back a cutting reply. “Like I told you already, Jake didn’t come to me with this. Not only did he not tell me, when I confronted him about it he wanted me to forget it and leave you alone.”

  He stared at her for several long seconds, assessing
her. “Whatever. But you’ve still got a bug up your ass, so let’s just get this over with, okay?”

  “Sure,” she said with a nod. “Let me tell you what I know. First, you’ve been betting big dollars with a bookie named Joey Nazarian. Second, you’re into Nazarian for something like two hundred thousand bucks. Third, you’ve been laying bets on baseball, probably even betting on your own games.” She paused a moment, trying to gauge his expression. “How am I doing, Robbie?” she prodded, trying to sound way more confident than she felt.

  Unfortunately, he betrayed no surprise at all, not even with the final accusation. He must still think she’d gotten all her info from Jake, so nothing she said would have surprised him. That sucked, since she clearly wouldn’t be shocking him into any blurted admissions.

  He took his time pulling out another cigarette and lighting it before responding.

  Jerk.

  “Do you actually expect me to dignify shit like that with an answer?” he said, sneering.

  Her only strategy at this point was to play the hardass. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared back at him, not saying a word.

  Robbie shrugged. “So what if I like to bet a little? It’s none of your damn business. As far as betting on baseball, you must be fucking out of your mind. I know you’re new to the big leagues, but even you can’t be that stupid.” He let out an ugly laugh. “Then again, I guess Jake isn’t banging you for your brains.”

  A shimmering wave of fury pulsed through her body, but she forced herself not to respond to the taunt. Robbie clearly wanted her to lose her temper.

  “Do you intend to keep on doing what you’ve been doing, like nothing’s happened?” she asked in an icy voice. “You’ve got an addiction, for God’s sake. And now you’re dragging Jake into your stupid mess, which means you’ll wind up bringing him down with you. What kind of friend does that?”

  On that thought, anger punched through her thin façade of control and she jabbed her finger at his chest. “Listen, Benton, there’s no way I’m going to stand by and let that happen. Not only shouldn’t you be putting Jake in this position, you’ve got to come clean for your own sake. Who the hell knows how Nazarian will react if you let this spin any more out of control.”