54. Easton
54
EASTON
I lay with Shayla’s head in the crook of my arm, her dark tendrils of hair splayed across my pillow while she slept. Gently brushing a rogue strand from her face, I stared down at her, this woman who’d crashed into my life and made me want things I’d never considered before. Marriage, a family, to commit to one woman and forsake all others for the rest of my life.
I never dreamed I would want those things, but Shayla changed me. She was all I would ever need. I loved her tenacity and devotion to her family. She loved fiercely, and once you were brought into the fold, she was there for you and would weather any storm by your side. She was loyal and so damn strong. Too many people in her life had tried to tear her down, but she always came up swinging.
My little Hellcat.
She was a fighter. But now, she no longer had to fight alone. I would be by her side, through thick and thin, no matter what obstacles life threw at us. She was my end game, and I would make sure she knew it every day for the rest of my life.
News broke regarding my innocence while Shayla and I, ahem, reacquainted ourselves. Roni had sent the footage from the hotel security cameras to several media outlets, and a few of them jumped at the opportunity to exonerate me and restore my good name. Within hours of the first post going live, it went viral. It started trending on multiple social media platforms, and the story spread like wildfire.
I had several missed calls and countless messages when I woke up wrapped around Shayla’s body. Even my coach and the GM had messaged me along with several teammates. Aside from Tillman, Weiss, and Kent, I didn’t think any of them had believed me, but my boys had my back. They saw how completely enthralled I was with my wife. Hell, they recognized it before I did. Now, the world knew. But more importantly, Shayla finally saw how hopelessly in love with her I was.
The only problem now was we still didn’t know who took those photos. Had it been some random person at the bar who recognized me from TV and thought they’d cash in on a salacious story they could sell to a trashy tabloid? Or maybe it was a Boston fan who was salty that I'd left only to return with a new team and beat them.
Maybe it had nothing to do with me and whoever took those pictures recognized Jessica and wanted to get some dirt on her. It sounded like she had a history of infidelity. It could’ve been a scorned lover or an angry spouse looking for revenge.
The only other option was one I didn’t even want to consider. Surely no one from my team would do something so malicious. It didn’t make sense. The scandal had hurt our team and damaged our reputation, not just mine. We had already seen the backlash online over it. Fans were claiming they would no longer support the Wraiths while I played for them and vowed to sell their tickets. Not to mention, the whole ordeal had wrecked team morale. I simply couldn’t see anyone on our team taking that kind of risk.
The answer to that question came a few days later, after an especially brutal practice. We’d lost to Seattle the night before, and Bradford was working us extra hard to prepare for Vancouver. I stood under the spray of the shower for a long time, letting the warm water soothe my aching muscles. The locker room was mostly empty when I finally emerged. I grabbed my bag and walked out the door only to find Slater standing across the hallway and fidgeting nervously.
“Hey,” he said, nodding his head. Then he glanced down the hallway to make sure no one was around. “I need to talk to you.”
“Okay,” I drew out, wondering what had him so spooked.
“Not here,” he said, and my hackles rose. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and unease twisted in my gut.
I wanted nothing more than to go to the kitchen to see Shayla. She would likely be handing out smoothies and reminding the guys to eat extra carbs tonight in preparation for our game tomorrow. But something told me I needed to hear what Slater had to say. I followed him to the weight room, and he glanced around to ensure we were alone as the door closed.
“What’s going on?” It came out harsher than intended, and Slater shifted on his feet. Shit, I hadn’t meant to scare the kid, but my anxiety was climbing with every second.
“I, uh, saw something I wasn’t supposed to, and I think you should know about it.” I gave him a look that said “go on,” and he swallowed nervously. “Maxwell left his phone on the bench in the locker room while he showered. I wasn’t trying to snoop, but when it rang, I looked at it and saw a picture of a woman.” He winced, and I stilled. Heat crept up my neck, and rage flooded my veins. I instantly thought of Shayla and his fascination with her. If he had a picture of my wife on his phone, I would kill him. “The woman looked familiar,” he continued, “and I knew I’d seen her somewhere recently. Then I noticed the name that flashed across the top. It said Jess.”
My stomach dropped, and my jaw clenched so tight, I thought it might snap in two. I knew where this was going, but I needed to hear the rest before I went after the son of a bitch who’d tried to destroy my marriage and tarnish my reputation.
Something in my expression made Slater take a step back. I tried to relax so he could continue without worrying that I would blow my top.
“I panicked and answered. The woman must not have noticed it was a different voice because she launched into her plans to hook up with him again. I immediately hung up and just stared at his phone for a moment. When the screen dimmed, I tapped on it so it wouldn’t lock. I’m not proud of what I did next.” He dropped his gaze, and shame filled his face.
Maxwell was his friend. I could never figure out why because he was such a sleaze ball, and Quinn and Slater were good guys. They were a little wild and immature, but we all were at that age. I figured it was just comradery since they were all rookies.
“I had this gut feeling I couldn’t shake, so I went to his photos.” My entire body began to tremble as fury burned through me. My pulse pounded in my ears, and the urge to hit something nearly overwhelmed me as he continued.
“There were pictures of him in bed with her. It looked like they were taken in our hotel in Boston. When I scrolled up a little further, I saw the photos that had been posted online.”
That was it. I didn’t need to hear anymore.
“I’m going to kill him,” I growled and lunged for the door.
“Shit,” Slater cursed as my shoulder bumped his on my way out. “Walker!” he called as he followed me down the hall. I stormed toward the dining area, stopping just inside the door to look for Maxwell. I spotted him sitting at a table, talking and laughing with a few of our teammates, and I saw red. I stalked over to them, my anger boiling over as his eyes lifted to mine. The laughter fell from his lips, and his gaze widened a second before I grabbed him by the front of his shirt.
“You son of a bitch!” I yanked him to his feet and shoved him against the wall, pinning him there with my forearm across his chest, just below his throat. He struggled against me, his arms reaching up in an attempt to loosen my hold. It was no use. I was too angry, adrenaline flooding my system as I fought to protect what was mine. This piece of shit had hurt Shayla. Sure, he’d betrayed me and sat back while my name was dragged through the mud, but his actions had caused my wife pain. And for that, he would pay.
“It was you this whole time,” I roared. I was vaguely aware of several sets of hands grabbing at me, trying to pull me off him. “You thought you could fuck me over and get away with it?”
“Easton, let go,” Kent pleaded. “He’s not worth it.”
“Let the coaches handle this,” Weiss instructed, but I ignored them all.
“Easton, please.” The quiet plea and soft hand on my arm finally broke through the haze of my fury. I looked down into Shayla’s worried gaze, and the tension melted. She was still here. She was still mine. I hadn’t lost her, and that was all that mattered. I took a step back and released Maxwell. He sagged against the wall and brought a hand to his chest as he heaved and panted for breath. My arm might have slid up toward his throat some while I’d held him there.
I instantly pulled Shayla into my arms and buried my nose in her hair. Her soft curves molded against my hard body, and I basked in her comfort.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. I’d never lost my cool like that in front of her before, and I didn’t want to scare her.
“What the hell is going on here?” Bradford bellowed from the doorway. I reluctantly released Shayla and turned to face our coach. He’d been drawn by the commotion or someone had gone to get him. Either way, he was going to find out about the traitor in our midst.
“I think we finally know who leaked those photos of Easton to the press,” Kent said, and everyone’s accusing glare shifted to Maxwell. His eyes darted around the room nervously.
“Uh… I-I didn’t do anything,” Maxwell stammered, attempting to defend himself.
“The pictures are on his phone,” Slater announced, and Maxwell’s gaze snapped to him.
“You fucking snitch!” he spat, fear and fury swirling in his eyes.
“Come with me, son” Bradford said, his stern tone brokering no argument. Maxwell’s nostrils flared, but he obeyed, following Bradford out of the room.
As it turned out, Maxwell had been the only person from the team to witness the exchange between Jessica and me at the bar that night. He apparently noticed her watching me and pulled his phone out as she approached me at the bar. He nonchalantly began recording and later took incriminating screenshots from the video to send to gossip sites. When I left Jessica in the lobby, he swooped in to comfort her. They went back to his room, and after having their fun, they concocted a plan to ruin me. That was why Danvers thought she’d been with me that night. He’d tracked her phone to the hotel, and when he saw the photos online that morning, he assumed the worst.
It was still unclear why Jessica had played along. She either thought no one would be able to identify her, or she simply didn’t care about being caught up in a scandal. Some people liked the limelight even if the attention they received was negative.
Once the truth came out, Maxwell was booted from the team. He wouldn’t be able to cause us any more trouble.
Very few people seemed to care about my former involvement with Jessica. They saw that I had changed, and most hockey fans forgave me for my indiscretions now that I was fully committed to my wife. It also helped that everyone witnessed Jessica trying to get me to cheat on my wife and me vehemently turning her down.
Thanks to Roni’s quick thinking and determination to secure that footage, everyone went from thinking I was a cheating bastard to seeing me as I truly was: a devoted husband madly in love with his wife. It was no longer an act to stay in the public's good graces. We didn’t have to pretend for the cameras anymore. Though, if I was being honest, I had never needed to pretend. I’d been falling for Shayla the whole time.