Playing A Risk (The Lucky Rivals #4)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

DORI

This moment is straight out of a movie from one of the most heartbreaking love stories I’ve ever seen. One where all my dreams get torn from my soul.

Starring in my own version had never been on my radar, but here I am.

Tears trail down my jaw and drip onto my sweater. My stare is still connected to the one person I never thought would hurt me like this.

Jamison Stone should’ve been someone I could trust. I believed we had a deep connection and wouldn’t keep things from one another, especially something like having a son.

“Dori…” His sorrow-filled blue eyes shut, and his broad shoulders fall slack. He lowers his head and releases a heavy sigh. “Jesus Christ, you weren’t supposed to go in there.”

Did I hear him right?

I narrow my eyes as I cock my head to the side, staying in the doorway of the nursery. My legs go numb. Hell, I’m not sure I’m in my body because I can’t feel a thing. Maybe my hearing is off too.

He lifts his head and opens his eyes. When he slowly pads down the hallway toward me, I hold out the blue baby blanket and he stops mid-stride.

Someone pounds on the door. Jami gazes toward it and takes a few steps closer before the person knocks hard again.

A female voice makes its way through the wood. “Jamison Stone, answer this door. I didn’t come all the way over here to deal with your mood swings.”

He whips back in my direction. “Please stay up here. I’ll explain everything in a minute, but I’ve got to answer that or else she’ll cause a scene.”

Our eyes stay hooked as he makes his way to the top of the staircase. I’m not sure it’s really him in front of me. The entire scene is like a nightmare.

The woman starts pounding again, and he runs down the stairs to open the door.

He holds the door so the woman can’t come in. “What are you doing here so late?”

“You called and said we needed to talk. I’m ready now, so let me in and let’s figure this out.” Her irritated tone fills his apartment.

Before I know what I’m doing, I’m halfway down the stairs. “Let her in, Jami.”

He spins my way. “Jesus, Dori. I told you to stay up there.”

The woman pushes herself into his place, and he throws his hands in the air.

He kicks the door shut with his foot. “This is going to be fucking fantastic.”

“Who are you?” The beautiful brunette glares at me from the bottom of the stairs.

She’s the same woman from the picture upstairs. My eyes instinctively fall to her lower abdomen.

Is she Aricin’s mother?

“Lauren, she’s a guest of mine.” With flexed chest muscles, Jami moves next to her. “This is why I ask you to call before you stop by. ”

Her gaze remains fixed on my hands. “What are you doing with our son’s blanket?”

Her knife-like words sink in and slash at my soul. I close my eyes and let it sink in. She’s Aricin’s mother.

How did he keep his son from me for so long?

My world shatters into thousands of tiny pieces that will never be put back together.

“Lauren, this is not a good time.” Jami’s voice raises.

My eyes pop open as the reality that Jami has a son hits me like a dagger to the heart.

I’ve got to get out of here.

I stumble, but catch myself as I race down the rest of the stairs and try to pass him. He reaches out and yanks me into his arms.

Through gritted teeth, he says, “Do not run out on this. Let me explain.”

“Let me go. I can’t breathe.” I push against his chest and whip my head toward the door.

“If I release you, she could hit you.” He holds me tighter, which sets off Lauren.

“She wants you to let go of her.” She tries to peel Jami’s arms from me.

He spins me around as he twists away from her clawing hands. “Stop, Lauren! You’re going to hurt her.”

She hits him. Then her red spiked-shaped nails slice the side of my face.

Damn, that fucking hurt.

I stay in Jami’s arms, my blood racing through my veins. There’s no telling what she’ll do if he isn’t protecting me.

She wails and cries. Her words don’t make sense.

“All this time, Jamison. Why?” She slugs him in the face.

That’s what does it. He releases me and forces me behind him as he strides forward. I stumble into the opening of the kitchen and press my back against the wall.

“I have told you time and time again, do not hit me.” Jami stops a foot away from her. “You need to leave, or I’ll make sure you spend the night explaining your actions to the cops.”

“You wouldn’t do that to me after all we’ve been through.” She lunges at me and tries to rip the blanket from my hands. “Don’t you dare take this from us.”

I didn’t realize I still had it in my grasp. Stepping forward, I hold the piece of fabric out in my palms and shake my head. My stupid brain has abandoned me, so I have no words.

“She wasn’t taking anything.” Jami snatches the blanket from my hands and tosses it over his shoulder, covering his heart.

“Is she the reason why? Is she?” Lauren points at me as she wipes away tears.

“We can talk about this another time. Right now, I need to attend to my guest. You hit her a few times as you were smacking me.” He wraps his bulging arm around her narrow shoulders and tries to guide her to the door.

She spins out of his grip and charges at me, lifting her left hand. I jerk back, sure I’m about to get backhanded, but she stops right before she makes contact with my face.

“Do you see this?” She wiggles her fingers, bringing my attention to the dazzling diamond ring.

I’d know that jewelry anywhere. It was Jami’s mom’s. He must have given it to Lauren.

A deeper layer of dark, musty fog sucks me in. I slide down the wall until I’m crouched on my knees.

This cannot be happening.

My hopes for a future with Jami get stripped away as he and Lauren fight.

“Does she know you’re engaged?” She slaps the wall above me, causing me to flinch.

“We’re not engaged,” Jami growls. “You know that, so tell me what you want for it. I’ll give you whatever you want. I’ll get you a new one. Just give me my mom’s ring back.”

“I told you I don’t want a different one. This is the one I’m meant to wear for the rest of my life.” She folds her arms around her waist as more tears break free.

I swallow and try to make sense of the disaster taking place before me.

“Lauren, that’s not possible. I’ve explained this to you so many times.” Jami takes a step in front of her.

“Jamison, why? Why? Don’t do this to me again. I’m broken without you and need you in my life.” She crashes into his chest, sobbing. “Make it stop hurting. Make it go away. Don’t make me do it on my own.”

Compassion covers him as he wraps his arms around her. “Shh. It’s okay. We’ll get through this together. I’m here for you. Just breathe. I’ll always be here for you. Just try to calm down.”

She clings to his shirt and bawls uncontrollably. Jami kisses the top of her head and caresses her long dark hair.

What the fuck?

I’m an intruder witnessing a very personal moment. They clearly have something important to work out around their breakup. Still numb, I crawl along the hardwood floor and escape through the front door.

Once I’m out of the apartment, I sprint to the elevator. I step into it and struggle to breathe as I descend, all the while trying to grasp what happened.

The doors open to the main floor, and unbearable agony hits me all at once. My stomach roils. I twist to the side and throw up in a planter that’s in the back of the waiting area.

Once I’ve finished, I bend over, resting my hands on my knees, and try to catch my breath. A hand runs across my back and I tense.

I wipe my mouth with the palm of my hand. “Please go home. I can’t talk to you about this right now.”

“Do you need my help?” Hunter asks.

I spin to him and fall into his unexpecting arms. “I thought you were Jami. ”

It’s all I can get out because I burst into sobs.

Hunter guides me into the elevator and takes me to his place. He leads me to the leather couch in front of the window and sits me down.

“Give me a minute.” He disappears down the hall.

I cry into my hands.

After a minute, he returns with a fluffy gray blanket and a glass of water. “Here, drink this or you’ll end up dehydrated.”

“Thanks.” It’s all I can muster.

Hunter sits beside me and waits for me to collect myself enough to talk. When the stupid tears don’t stop, I excuse myself to wash up in his bathroom.

As I do, I check out why the side of my face stings. Three scratch marks along my cheek are bleeding a little. I blot them dry with tissue and search the medicine cabinet for some topical antibiotic ointment.

When I can’t find anything, I return to Hunter to ask him if he has any. He’s in the same spot I left him.

The scene of Jami holding Lauren replays in my mind and I forget what I need. My brain is a garbled mess. Confusion swirls through my head. I’m so discombobulated that I’m still not sure I’m awake.

“It’s late, so I’ll get out of your way.” I glance around the living room, not sure what I plan on doing. “My…”

Hunter stands and glances at my bare feet. “How do you expect to get home without shoes or a coat? It’s freezing out there.”

My gaze travels down to my toes, and a sinking realization hits me between the eyes. “Shit. I left everything in Jami’s apartment.”

“Do you want to go get your belongings?” With a supportive gaze, Hunter approaches me. “I can go with you if you need.”

“No. I can’t go back there. I can’t.” I scan his place, but why, I don’t know .

“In that case, would you like me to retrieve your items?”

“No. If you do, Jami will know I’m with you and want to talk. I can’t.” I lower my head and try to find an answer. “Maybe Melanie could come and get me.”

Hunter motions to the couch. “Let’s sit down so you can tell me what happened. Then you can stay here in the guest room and we can get you some shoes in the morning.”

I nod on autopilot, my body just going through the motions. I go and sit. Hunter joins me within seconds.

My eyes burn like tears are about to come again. “You don’t have to listen to me. It’s late and we have to be at work early. Can you have your driver take me home?”

Agonizing memories splinter in my mind. I don’t want to be alone, but I turn away while I try to hold my broken heart together.

Hunter hooks his gaze with mine, grabbing my attention. “Here’s what I’m going to do. You’re in no shape to make decisions, so I’m going to help you through this. You need to take some time off work.”

“Why?”

“The last time you were this upset and tried to work, it was a complete mess. With Christmas being next week, the time off won’t be that big of a deal. I’ll have the team cover anything pressing. We don’t have much planned until after New Year's anyway.”

I shake my head. “What about my stuff?”

“My assistant will pick up your belongings from Jamison sometime tomorrow. You can stay here as long as you like. I have plenty of room.”

Hunter has been nothing but accommodating and he has no reason to be. I don’t deserve his generosity, especially since I was going to cut our relationship off completely before this happened. My insides clench with guilt.

I nod, ignoring my feelings and focus on being grateful for his help. “I appreciate that. You’re right about work. There’s not much for me to get done and I could use the time to figure out?—”

“Enough about work. Tell me what has you barely hanging on.” He tilts his head and gives me a sympathetic smile.

I release a confused sigh. “Jami and I were talking. He got a call about an error with the app, so he went to his office to work on it. While he was on the phone, I took a tour of his place. I shouldn’t snoop, but he said to make myself comfortable.”

“You’ve never seen his home before?” Hunter’s eyes widen, genuinely surprised.

“No. I’ve only been in his kitchen and living room. Anyway, I went to his second level because he was up there in his office. There was a room down the hallway. The door was closed, and that piqued my curiosity. What I found when I went in there…” Tears fall without warning.

Hunter excuses himself to retrieve some tissues from the bathroom and returns a moment later.

He hands them to me and sits facing me. “What was in there?”

“It was a baby’s room—his son, Aricin’s room.” Pain spears me in the heart.

Hunter’s expression doesn’t change. He just nods with sympathy streaming from his eyes to mine. His warning about not knowing Jamison swings before me.

“Oh. You already know, don’t you?”

Hunter reaches for my hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it didn’t seem like it was my place.”

Needing comfort from this nightmare, I slide my hand into his. “It’s okay. Jami should’ve told me the day I first saw him in town.”

“Yes, he should’ve.”

“I don’t understand why he would keep something like that to himself. It doesn’t make sense. I’m not even sure Aiden knows. He probably doesn’t because he was on assignment.”

“Jamison will explain everything once you two get a chance to talk. I’m sure of it.” Hunter squeezes my hand. “I have to ask. Why did he let you run out without your shoes? It sounds like something else happened because the Jamison I know would be chasing after you.”

A burning flame reaches through the earth, setting my shattered heart on fire. My body catches ablaze with searing pain, melting me to my core.

I take a deep breath and slowly release it. “Jami came out of his office and saw me standing in the doorway of the baby’s room, then Lauren started pounding on the front door.”

Hunter’s eyes widen. “Oh shit! She was there?”

A sinking feeling stirs in me. He knows about Lauren too. How could he not if he knew about Jami’s son? The muscles in my ribs tighten. I push the betrayal aside, knowing it’s not because of Hunter I’m in misery.

I shake my head as more scorching tears of deceit leave trails of fire down my cheeks. “She stopped by. She smacked us both and told me that Jami and she are engaged.”

“She hit you? And he allowed that?” Hunter’s chest balloons.

“She wasn’t trying to hit me. I was merely in the path of her fist. Anyway, she punched him in the face, and he turned to her. They had it out.”

“What happened after that?”

“It was strange. She flipped from mad to bawling. Then he switched and took her in his arms to console her. He kissed the top of her head and told her he was there for her. It was beyond confusing, so I crawled out without them seeing me.”

I scan Hunter’s face, searching for an answer. “Why would Jami do that when seconds before he was threatening to call the cops on her?”

Hunter shrugs as he shakes his head. “I have no idea. Jamison never discussed the specifics of their relationship, so I didn’t pry.”

“He told you about them, but couldn’t tell me?” I cry harder, trying to make sense of it.

“Why is this breaking you in half?” Hunter shifts with stiff shoulders like he’s uncomfortable. “You being this upset makes me think there’s something more to all of this.”

I dive in without thinking because my emotions are ruling me. “He should’ve said something to me about having a child. We were going to have a baby together. Did he not think it would make a difference? Even though I miscarried, he should’ve told me.”

Rage flickers in Hunter’s eyes. “What do you mean you were going to have a baby together?”