Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
STORM
My heart was in my throat as I allowed Reed to lead me across the ballroom towards the opposite side of the dance floor.
Jasper and his father were standing in front of the top table, talking to two other men I didn’t recognize. They were in business dress, and so I assumed they were associates of the firm.
Phoenix had now joined Harper, Molly, and Hudson, and they were still standing in a separate group, their drinks resting on the top table just behind them.
Both Molly and Harper waved across the room as they spotted us, alerting the boys that we were there.
Nix glanced over his shoulder, and Hudson just stood there wearing his signature bone-chilling scowl.
Even dressed in a tux, he looked like he’d just finished dismembering a body.
We’d been best friends at school, and he had always been so full of rage.
I did one of my college psychology projects on him, and it had terrified the life out of me: like a powder keg of rage.
He’d had a hard life and didn’t mesh well with others.
And yet, there wasn’t a line he wouldn’t cross for his girlfriend.
Hudson would burn the world down for Molly.
And Reed would do the same for you if you would let him.
Reed’s hands tightened around my fingers, drawing back my attention.
We had to thread our way in and out of numerous guests who were standing around socialising: clearly oblivious to the shit storm that was approaching.
From the way Reed batted off those who attempted to stop us for chit-chat and the determination on his face, he was going to confront Jasper. But about what?
My heart thrashed against my chest.
I attempted to slow him down, babbling about not making a scene, but he wasn’t listening. And then I realized, the time to tell him about Jasper spiking his drink was quickly slipping away.
“Stop, please. I have something to tell you,” I panted.
Thankfully, Reed slowed down and turned to face me. “What? Can’t it wait?”
“No, it can’t wait. Before you go and do whatever it is you guys have planned, Jasper is responsible for messing up your face. He told me so at dinner that day. He hired some thugs to do a number on you.”
His brow scrunched, almost like he was embarrassed. “I know.”
All my nerve endings jolted. “What do you mean you know?”
“I knew he’d sent those men to try and disable me, get me out of the game. To try and warn me off you. It isn’t rocket science,” Reed explained calmly, the words leaving his mouth in such a matter-of-fact way: like someone being paid to beat you up was an everyday occurrence.
I opened my mouth to tell him about the other threats, but decided to head straight to the drug part, something he clearly wasn’t aware of.
“Jasper spiked your drink, Reed,” I gritted out. The thought still infuriated me. “At least, he arranged for someone to spike your drink. The other night.”
He locked up instantly. We were in the middle of the dancefloor with people all around us. “What?”
“It’s true,” I began with a frantic nod of my head. “I don’t know exactly when. I think maybe when you were at the after-game party?”
I could see Reed attempting to comprehend what I was saying. “At the club? He roofied me?”
“Yes, I think so.”
I could see the cogs whirring in his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. “So that’s why I felt so shit? And that’s where I recognize her from,” Reed muttered with a nod of his head towards the window.
“Who?”
“The woman with the big… err, blonde hair.” He caught himself just in time, pivoting from big tits to blonde hair with a nervous flinch.
I turned to see Jasper’s busty secretary standing near the patio doors. “She was there that night?”
“Yes. She bought me a drink. Fuck. How could I be so stupid?” I didn’t point out that he was no doubt dazzled by the size of her breasts.
Yeah, way to go, Storm! Because that’s the part you should have been focusing on right then.
Shaking his arm to get his attention back. “You still have that drug in your system, Reed.”
His nostrils flared. “How do you know?”
“Because Jasper has threatened to make an anonymous call to say you were seen taking drugs. So, they test you, the NFL. To get you suspended.”
“Not going to happen, it’s been forty-eight hours.”
“This one stays in your system for much longer. Jasper told me the name, and I Googled it.”
“So, that’s why you’re back-peddling? You’re allowing him to blackmail you?
” Reed pinched the bridge of his nose, silently taking in everything that I had just shared.
I did think it might put him off his intention of going for Jasper, but it did the opposite.
“That’s it. I’ve had it with this prick.
” He then lifted his head above those around us and waved over my shoulder.
Feeling someone at my back, I saw Reed’s leggings-wearing assistant from earlier. “Give me the shit, I’ll do it myself.”
My brow threaded. What the hell was going on?
“Are you sure?” she replied, removing a brown envelope that had been tucked down the back of her pants.
“More than sure.” Reed took it from her and slid it inside his tux jacket.
“What’s that?” I uttered.
“Insurance,” he replied gruffly.
Before I could question him, we were once again heading in the direction of what could only be described as trouble.
As we came to stand just before the top table between the two groups, one by one, they turned to face us; all conversation dried up in a split second.
“Darling, I didn’t realize you’d invited a celebrity guest?” Jasper mused, his tone oily and unwelcome.
Thinking on my feet, I replied, “Well, he donated so much money to Daddy’s cause that I thought it only right.” Under the cover of my words, I carefully disentangled my fingers from Reed’s death-like grip.
“Indeed,” the snake hissed with a fake smile.
Jasper shifted from one foot to the other as he raised his drink at the man beside me, clearly uncertain how he should act with an audience.
“Thank you again for your extraordinary donation.” Jasper then addressed the two strangers flanking him.
“Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse us.” The two suits left with a respectful nod, and Theo moved to stand by his son, like a bodyguard: an old, wrinkly bodyguard.
Phoenix and Hudson moved to greet us both, shaking Reed’s hand. Nix placed a kiss on my cheek, whispering, “You look stunning, sis.”
As we gravitated into a group, everyone’s expressions were varied.
Hudson looked bored, the girls were curious, and Phoenix’s smile suggested he was thrilled by our appearance.
The guy got off on confrontation, and so that was no surprise.
He was clearly itching for something to happen.
Theo’s face was blank and unreadable, and Jasper looked pissed off.
I cleared my throat, feeling nervous. “I must say, I’m parched. Won’t you get me a drink, darling?” I husked, stepping towards Jasper. My body jerked slightly as Reed stopped the movement by holding the back of my dress.
Lifting my chin, Reed glanced down at me with a smirk.
What the hell are you playing at? My face must have screamed. I almost coiled into myself.
There was an awkward moment before Theodore cleared his throat and held out a hand in greeting.
“Theo Remmington. I don’t think we’ve met?” I almost choked on my surprise at such civility.
Reed took the older man’s hand, much to Jasper’s annoyance, and shook it. “The pleasure is all yours, I’m sure.”
His rude comment forced the older man to tug his fingers back quickly like he’d been stung. Hudson snorted, and Molly placed a hand over her mouth in shock. Phoenix just chuckled with an eyeroll, and Harper dug her elbow into his side.
“What would you like?” Harper suddenly questioned, breaking the tension slightly.
Everyone’s head moved in her direction, and I realized she was talking to me. “Sorry?” I replied, feeling flustered.
“From the bar?” she explained with a wide-eyed look.
“Oh, a Cosmo, please.” The request tasted funky in my mouth.
“Come on, Molls, will you help me?”
Hudson nodded his approval of his foster sister's suggestion, having seen how pale his girl had become. Molly did not cope well in awkward situations.
As the two girls left, the look they sent me suggested that they knew more about what was going to happen than I did. I wasn’t sure whether I felt relieved. I was so fucking confused. I watched as my mother ambushed them on the way to the bar.
And then the gloves were off as that tension came back. The other guests were buzzing around behind us, none the wiser, and then the music started up, cloaking that sound of annoyed voices.
The forced smile that graced my fiancé's lips collapsed into a glare. “What the hell are you doing here, Prescott?” Jasper hissed. His father placed a hand on his son’s arm.
“Easy, son. We don’t want a scene,” Theo blustered, eyeing Phoenix warily. It was no secret that the big man liked to throw his weight around.
“You might want to listen to Daddy,” Nix warned, taking a step towards Reed. Hudson rolled his eyes, sensing Phoenix’s shift in temper, and placed his beer on the edge of the head table. A wave of dread rolled through me. Were things going to get physical in the middle of the party?
“Look, I don’t understand what’s happening here. I take it you two know each other?” Theo bumbled, waving his hands between his son and Reed.
“Not particularly,” Reed replied in a bored voice.
I could feel the tension curling around my neck.
Nix cracked his knuckles, something he did when he was ruffled.