#Player

by Cambria Hebert

  Romeo’s eyes dimmed a bit. “Not a word.”

  It had been an entire week since the two pro teams withdrew their offer. Romeo and his father were still waiting on a call back to tell him if he was being dropped from the NFL completely.

  “If I could have taken that break for you, I would have,” I whispered.

  “I never want you hurting because of me,” Romeo whispered and stroked a hand down the side of my head.

  My hair was straight and sleek today. I wore it down, and it seemed to inspire petting from Romeo every few minutes.

  I would have to remember to wear it like this more often.

  I caught his mother watching us and for once didn’t look away immediately.

  Truth was I wasn’t so blatantly angry with her anymore.

  Don’t get me wrong. I was still totally upset and I really didn’t want to be around her, but some of the heat from my anger had faded.

  I told myself it wasn’t because I was starting to think she might be right.

  That thought caused my eyes to jerk away from her. Mad or not, every time I looked at her, all I saw was her accusation.

  She must have taken my momentary stare as an invitation (which it so was not) and walked over our way. Her suede heels clicked over the polished marble floor in the hall, and she stopped beside Romeo.

  “Are you two ready for this morning?”

  “Dad prepped us,” Romeo replied, his fingers laced with mine.

  “Rimmel,” Valerie said, and I couldn’t not acknowledge her. My mother ingrained too much respect for others in me.

  Before she died, that is.

  Or maybe she was killed.

  “Yes, Mrs. Anderson?” I said politely.

  “I know you’ve been dealing with a lot lately.” She began and my hand tightened around Romeo’s. “I haven’t wanted to burden you—”

  I snorted.

  She looked put out but then continued. “But the fundraiser for the shelter is the end of next week. I really would like to get your final approval on all the preparations and arrangements.”

  Of course. The fundraiser. Michelle at the shelter wouldn’t stop blabbing about it. She was so beyond excited that our little shelter was going to be represented so elegantly.

  And even though I was totally pissy toward Valerie, I was excited too. The fundraiser hadn’t even happened yet and already we were getting sizable donations. A local paper even came and took pictures and did a feature.

  It resulted in three animals getting adopted to loving homes.

  It had been everything I’d dreamed of and more.

  I just wished Valerie hadn’t helped make it such a success. It was hard to be thankful and bitter at the same time.

  “I apologize, I haven’t been very helpful the past few weeks,” I replied. “I and everyone at the shelter are so incredibly grateful for this event. It’s already helped us tremendously.”

  Valerie smiled.

  “When would you like to meet to finalize everything?” I asked.

  “How about this evening? I have all the paperwork and things at the house. Perhaps you and Roman would like to have dinner with Tony and me? We can go over it all then.”

  “Mom,” Romeo said, his voice holding restrained warning. “We can’t.”

  Her face fell a little, and I squeezed his hand. “Actually, dinner sounds fine.”

  Both mother and son looked at me with surprise.

  “Rim, you don’t have to do this,” Romeo said in my ear. “Mom can drop the papers off at my place and you can look over them.”

  For once, Valerie kept her mouth shut. I counted that as progress.

  “No, dinner is fine. That way, if I have questions, she can answer them. It will make the process shorter and make the event better.”

  “I agree,” Valerie said.

  “Of course you do,” Romeo muttered.

  The large wooden door to the judge’s chamber opened up, and a man stepped out and said something to Tony, then stepped back inside, leaving the door open.

  “It’s time,” Tony called.

  Nerves bunched in my stomach and my heart began to beat harder.

  “I’ll be right beside you the entire time,” Romeo said.

  I nodded.

  Why wasn’t he nervous like me?

  The judge’s chamber was a large open room with dark wood paneling, heavy drapes, and a huge commanding desk in the center. A man in a black robe sat behind the desk, and off to the left was Robert, Zach’s dad, sitting in a forward-facing chair. He was dressed impeccably in a black suit and didn’t look back at us once.

  Romeo shifted so his body blocked most of mine and his large frame blocked whoever was sitting beside Robert. I tried to calm my nerves as we walked toward our side of the room.

  Tony took the first seat on our side and Valerie sat behind him. Romeo guided me with a hand on my back to the chair beside his father, and he sat down on the opposite side of me.

  I couldn’t sit down until I got it over with.

  With Romeo finally not blocking me, I looked to the other side of the room.

  My eyes went directly to Zach.

  He was staring at me.

  Chills raced down my spine and I felt my hands tremble. I hated the way he made me feel, but I was powerless against it.

  And, my God…

  Zach looked terrible.

  The clean-cut, boy band ex-fraternity president was no more. Instead, his hair was disheveled, dull, and in need of a trim. It fell over his forehead like it felt lost without his hair gel. His skin was pale like it hadn’t seen the sun in weeks (which, okay, it hadn’t) and his cheekbones were more pronounced than before.

  His jaw was wired shut and his lips looked chapped. He was wearing a suit, but it didn’t seem to fit quite right. It was too large in the shoulders and hung off his frame like he’d been sick.

  I almost felt pity for him.

  Almost.

  Because the second I looked into his eyes, it all came rushing back.

  Despite the glassy, sedated look he fronted, I saw deeper.

  Clearly, he was on medication—medication he probably needed—but as I looked deep into his eyes, I knew the meds weren’t enough. There was still something inside him that was broken and twisted.

  I don’t know if Zach had always been this way or if something in recent months or years had caused this change, but as I looked at him right then, his eyes drilling into mine, I knew Zach had snapped.

  I also knew right then that his dad would most definitely argue an insanity plea and he would win with it.

  Even me, the victim, couldn’t argue.

  Zach was clearly unstable, and I genuinely hoped he got some help.

  Behind the walls of a padded cell, that is.

  As I stared, his lips pulled into a droopy restrained smile. It cut me to my core.

  Romeo’s warm hand wrapped around mine, and he tugged me down into the seat beside him and safely back into reality.

  True to Tony’s word, the hearing went rather quickly. Zach’s lawyer/father did all the talking, and the couple short glances I stole in his direction left me wondering if he was even listening to anything that was being said.

  Aside from that moment of clarity that I saw in the depths of his eyes when we first walked in, it seemed that Zach was somewhere else, somewhere all alone in the confines of his mind.

  I was called upon to tell my side of the story, and as I did, I felt Romeo listening with restrained anger as I recalled details I hadn’t told him before.

  When I was finished, I wanted to sag back in my chair and cry. I felt like I’d had to relive it all over again. But I held myself up straight and kept my focus ahead on the judge.

  At one point, he glanced at me, and I thought I saw a bit of respect in his eyes.

  That’s when I knew it was all going to be okay.

  That’s when I knew Zach was going to be held accountable and Romeo and I would be safe from him.

 
; Romeo also spoke, and surprisingly, one of the students who helped Zach string me up testified too. He told everyone that Zach threatened him if he didn’t help, and so he did it because he wasn’t sure if he told anyone would believe him.

  In the end, the judgment was handed down.

  Zach was sentenced to involuntary admittance into a renowned psychiatric facility upstate. The psychiatrist who testified to the fact that Zach did indeed suffer from several forms of anxiety and a potential personality disorder among a few other confidential things would be taking over his care at the hospital.

  His minimum stay at the facility would be one year. After the year was filled, there would be another hearing (that Romeo and me did not have to be at) to determine if he was well enough to be released into outpatient treatment.

  Oh, and Zach’s family was being held responsible for all hospital and doctor expenses that resulted in his attack against Romeo and me.

  When the judge added that little bit on, I glanced at Romeo.

  He smiled smugly and I knew, I knew, he made sure his father went after that so I wouldn’t have to get a job and pay that bill.

  It was a relief to not have that bill hanging over my head, but what Romeo didn’t realize was I still had to support myself. If my father really was out of work and in debt (I wasn’t quite ready to admit this yet), then it was time for me to step up to the plate and support myself.

  I could.

  I would.

  And Romeo would just have to get over it.

  When the hearing was over, we all stood to exit the courtroom. There were two large men dressed in white uniforms waiting in the wings to take Zach off to the facility.

  His father didn’t glance at us one time as we walked past. Maybe he was still angry about what “Romeo did to his son” or maybe he was ashamed.

  As we were passing, Zach bolted to his feet. His sudden movement scared me, and I stumbled back. I threw my arm out and caught myself on the table Robert had been using for his files.

  A sound tore from Zach’s throat, muffled and deep from being trapped in his mouth, and he half leapt across the table and grabbed my arm.

  I shrieked as he yanked me hard and towed my body across the tabletop toward him.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Romeo

  Oh hells no.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Rimmel

  I didn’t get very far across the table.

  While Robert stood there in shock at his son’s beastly behavior, the judge started banging his gavel and yelling, “Order in my court!”

  What the hell he thought that would do I have no idea.

  Romeo burst into action, the only one who seemed to have some sense that this was coming.

  Or maybe (yeah, probably) Romeo was just always on guard when it came to me.

  At this moment in time, I had to be grateful for his overprotective streak. Romeo dashed forward and wrapped his single arm around me and lifted. It was as if I weighed nothing more than a pebble the way he picked me up and tucked me sideways beneath his arm.

  Zach didn’t want to let go of my arm, so I was sort of trapped in limbo, tucked against Romeo yet still being held by Zach.

  Romeo let out a string of very unprofessional curse words and spun so his body—his broken arm—was used as a battering ram against Zach’s arm.

  He was weak from injury and medication, and his body buckled immediately. He sagged back as the guards and orderlies rushed forward. His hands were cuffed and restrained by one of the men wearing white.

  Not that he needed restrained. He was back to looking empty and glassy eyed.

  Romeo stood me on my feet, breathing hard. He reached up and ripped the sling off, giving his broken arm more freedom of movement.

  Then he swept me against his chest, both arms clamped around me.

  I didn’t stop the little whimper that escaped me or the need I felt to bury my face in his chest.

  Would Zach never stop?

  And holy momma did it feel good to be wrapped up in Romeo again. It had been weeks since I felt both his arms hold me.

  It was incredible to be enclosed by him.

  Once a little of the shock wore off, I pulled back. “Your arm.” I worried.

  “It’s fine,” he murmured and pulled me back into his chest.

  “Get him the hell out of here!” Romeo roared over my head.

  Everything and everyone seemed to bolt into action. Zach was carted away; the orderlies and guards went with him. Robert left in a fluster, and Valerie and Tony came forward to see if we were all right.

  “Ms. Hudson.” A deep voice came from behind Romeo. “This is highly uncommon. Are you hurt?”

  It was the judge. I took another moment to catch my breath and pulled back from Romeo. He didn’t go far. He stood so close to me that I could feel every breath he took.

  “I’m not hurt, just a little surprised.”

  “I think we all were surprised,” he responded.

  “Are you sure a year in this hospital is going to be enough?” Tony worried. “He is clearly very unstable.”

  “Well, the year is the minimum. He will be reevaluated and watched very closely. If he is still even slightly unstable, he will be kept in.”

  From behind, Romeo’s arms curled around my waist. I leaned into him.

  “If that’s everything,” Tony spoke up. “I think these two need some time to breathe.”

  “Of course.” The judge inclined his head. But before he turned, he looked at me and Romeo. “Please accept my apologies. I do not tolerate these kind of outbursts in my courtroom, and I will be sure it doesn’t happen again.”

  “I doubt that will stop her nightmares tonight,” Romeo said, his voice hard.

  I gasped. “Romeo!”

  Oh my word, he was rude!

  As we walked out of the room, Valerie lectured him beneath her breath on his harsh words.

  Out in the hall, Romeo shoved a hand through his hair. “Are we done here?”

  The sling he’d been wearing was dangling from his suit sleeve; any second it would become an adornment to the floor.

  Beneath the jacket, he was wearing his splint and the sleeve beneath it. At least he had that support, but his healing had been going so well the last few weeks. I really didn’t want him to screw it up now.

  I moved forward and untangled the fabric from his arm.

  “Yes, we’re done. That was the last time you will have to look at or deal with Zachary,” Tony said.

  “Let’s go,” Romeo said and took my hand.

  I turned toward Tony. “Thank you,” I said sincerely.

  He smiled.

  “Don’t forget dinner tonight!” Valerie called after us as we went down the hall toward the elevator.

  When it dinged open, Romeo pulled me inside and hit the ‘close door’ button about ten times.

  “Hey.” I reached out and grabbed his hand as the doors slid closed. “Calm down.”

  He moved fast, wrapped his arm around my waist, and pushed me gently up against the wall of the small space. His mouth was on mine before the elevator jerked to a start. He kissed me with a ferocity that made it impossible to catch my breath.

  Both his hands grasped my hips and he lifted me off the ground. My legs went around his waist and my ankles locked around this back.

  I was wearing a skirt and the buckle on his dress pants pressed against the soft fabric of my panties between my legs. I melted into the wall even as I arched against him.

  I had no idea the advantages of wearing a skirt. Maybe I should wear one more often.

  His mouth was like a giant eraser to my chalkboard. Everything inside me was wiped blank, and all that remained was his mouth.

  His hands.

  And the way he was moving between my legs.

  I felt the elevator jolt to a stop, but I scarcely paid attention. I ate in as much of him as I could, completely taken over by his raw and sudden need.

  A loud clearing o
f a throat had Romeo jerking away. He glanced over his shoulder and then back at me, blinking to clear the fog wrapping around us.

  “Sorry about that,” he said, his voice was deep and gruff. He set me on my feet and pulled me out of the open elevator door and past the man standing there in shock.

  “What was that?” My words were breathless as we walked through the parking garage toward the Hellcat.

  “That guy makes me insane,” he ground out. “All I could think about in there was pounding him again, making it twice as worse this time.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  We approached the Hellcat, and he spun around to face me. “No. I didn’t. Because really, what would it have solved? But the anger and the visual of his hands on you.” He shook his head like he was trying to rid the image. “I had to do something with all that pent-up frustration.”

  His eyes started to boil with desire again.

  “And there’s only one other feeling that could match the intensity of my loathing for that guy.”

  “What’s that?” I whispered.

  He grabbed me again and pinned me against the side of the car. “My love for you. My desire for you. It’s the one thing in this entire universe that can push me to the very brink but also bring me back.”

  He trailed a finger down the side of my cheek. “It’s over, baby. Maybe now the nightmares will stop.”

  My eyes snapped to his. “You know about the nightmares?”

  He nodded and lowered his face to mine. “Of course I know.”

  “But I never told you.”

  “You didn’t have too.” He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.

  “You gonna put this back on yet?” I held the sling up between us.

  “I promise you my arm is fine. I went to the specialist at the beginning of the week, remember? I went to a physical therapist as well. Light, ordinary everyday movement is fine. I don’t have to wear that sling as much anymore. It was mainly to stabilize the injury when it first happened and to help with the swelling.”

  “I know.” I protested. “But I just want you to be careful.”

  He cupped my face in both his hands. My eyes slid closed. It had been a while since he’d been able to do that. “I will be.” He murmured and kissed me slow and sweet. It was such a contrast to the way he went at me in the elevator, but it was just as devastating.