26. PAUL
“You sure you don’t want to head down to the hotel bar with us?” Glen asks while buttoning his shirt and then spritzing too much cologne over himself. He smooths his hair on the top of his head, admiring himself in the mirror.
“Yeah. Haven’t been sleeping great, so I’ll be heading to bed early. Need to be ready for tomorrow’s game.” Truthfully, I haven’t been sleeping great, but that’s because I can’t stop thinking about what Greyson did to Sarah. And every time I start thinking about it, I feel ready to hit the closest object near me.
The anger that I’ve been feeling radiating inside my body these past few days takes over me like an unyielding hurricane ready to destroy anything in its path.
And the only thing I envision at the end of that path is Greyson fucking Black.
“Suit yourself. I won’t be back too late. And…” He pauses as he opens the door. “Tell Sarah I say hi while you two have sexy time over FaceTime.” He does a poor job of winking.
“Get the fuck out of here.” I laugh as I throw a pillow at him that hits the now-closed door.
I couldn’t risk telling Glen about the plan I’m currently partaking in because that would mean risking his involvement with this whole thing, which I’m unwilling to do. So he’s under the impression that I took care of the video myself, and that’s all I said of it.
I reach for my phone, ready to call my brother, but he beats me to it.
“Are you ready?” he asks as I press the phone to my ear.
“I am.” I jump out of bed and reach into my bag, grabbing the chip from the pocket. “You’re sure this is going to work? I don’t want this to backfire and cause Sarah any more issues.”
“Relax. This is what I do,” Ray says confidently. “The bastard won’t know what he had coming until it’s too late.”
“Okay. Okay.” I let out a deep breath. “Now, how the fuck am I supposed to get into his room without getting caught?”
Knowing Greyson, the second we checked into the hotel, he threw his stuff inside his room and wandered to the hotel bar to find the night’s entertainment. So I’m not too worried he’ll be in his room; I’m more concerned that this whole mission will be unsuccessful.
I can’t fail Sarah.
“I checked the hotel camera footage and saw Greyson leave his room ten minutes ago. So stop being a pussy and open the email I just sent you,” he says matter-of-factly.
“You’re the pussy,” I murmur under my breath as I open the email and scroll to the QR code.
“I’m the one currently sitting in a multibillion-dollar facility with access to any camera in the world.”
I roll my eyes. “Now what?”
“Now, walk over to Greyson’s room across the hall and hold that code in front of the door scanner.”
“This better fucking work.” I walk out into the hallway, checking both sides.
Seeing the coast is clear, I step toward Greyson’s room. Holding the QR code before the scanner, I wait until a green light flashes and the door unlocks.
“I’m in.” My hand clutches the door handle, pushing it open, and I step inside, quickly closing the door behind me. I bolt the top metal lock in place in case Greyson decides to make an early appearance.
“Okay, now find his laptop,” Ray directs. His fingers are heard in the background typing away, preparing for his upcoming task.
I hit the speakerphone option and place the phone on the nightstand. After a few minutes, I find his laptop in a case at the bottom of his suitcase.
“It has a fucking lock on it,” I groan, pulling at the lock that won’t budge.
“Jeez, this kid really is paranoid.”
I look around the room, searching for anything to take this lock off with, when I spot stationery sitting on the nearby desk. A paper clip on the stack of note cards grabs my attention. Quickly, I unbind it, transforming it into a straight line, and shove it in the lock, playing with it until I feel the abrupt snap of the lock releasing.
I carefully unzip the case and then pull out the laptop. “I got it.” I hit the power button, watching the screen wake, and a box appears, asking for a password.
“All right, insert the chip.”
I pick up the laptop and turn it over, but I can’t find a hole big enough to fit the chip into. “I can’t find the hole.”
I regret the words the second they leave my mouth because as soon as they do, Ray says, “That’s what he said.”
I shake my head. “Really. Right now?”
“Sorry, but it was the perfect setup.” He coughs, holding in his laugh. “It’s on the left side, closest to the screen.
I find it and do as he says, and then wait. And wait. And wait. “How long is this going to take?” I glance over at the door, anticipating Greyson storming inside.
“Relax. I’m almost…” A box displays on the screen asking me to approve the user. “Okay, approve the access for me.”
The second I do, my stomach drops, fearful of what my brother is about to find.
He lets out a heavy breath, alerting me that something isn’t right.
“What? What?” I squeeze the back of my neck, trying to remain calm. But I fucking can’t.
“I’m going to need you to take a deep breath, man,” he says calmly.
“Ray, if you don’t tell me what the fuck is—”
“He has a whole folder of videos.”
I drop the laptop on the bed. “What do you mean a whole folder.”
My brother clears his throat. “Apparently, Sarah isn’t the only one he has done this to, which might explain why he’s so paranoid about people getting into his computer.” He pauses before saying, “He’s labeled all his folders by their names: Jessica, Christina, Kristen, Alison…”
My heart rate accelerates. “He’s done this to others. He’s filmed them all?”
My brother hesitates before saying, “Yes.”
I pace in the room; the anger I feel at this moment is unfathomable. There’s a beast inside me, clawing at the walls of my skin, itching for release from its confines.
“Listen,” Ray starts, “I know we told Sarah we wouldn’t, but I’m starting to think we need to inform—”
“No,” I cut him off, my voice authoritative. “I’m not putting her through that. You know as well as I do that a guy in his financial status will get off without so much as a scratch on his record.” I pull at the silver chain around my neck, my fingers tightening around the cold metal. “I will take care of him myself.”
Ray sighs. “I get it, I do. I would be losing my mind if this was Tina. But don’t you want the authorities to—”
“I said I will take care of him,” I grit out. I won’t make Sarah go through that horrible process or let anyone else see this video. She’s trusting me to take care of this for her. To take care of her. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do. “Did you find Sarah’s video?”
“Yes. There’s a file here labeled ‘Sarah.’ I’m assuming this is it. When I asked you to confirm her video for me, I didn’t think he would be stupid enough to label the video with her name, so you no longer need to confirm. I’m deleting it—”
“Send it to me.”
“What?”
“Fucking send me the video! I need to see what he fucking did to my Sarah!” My fingers dig into the back of my neck. “I need to confirm it’s the right one. I promised her I would!”
“Paul. I don’t think—”
“Ray.” The pure venom in my voice doesn’t go unnoticed by either of us.
“All right. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
A ping on my phone alerts me to the message from my brother.
“Delete every single fucking video, Ray. Delete them all.”
“I’m almost done,” he says assertively. “The system is just processing the request.”
I press play on the video, watching a timid Sarah enter the room, unknowingly being taped from a camera, most likely sitting on his computer, appearing like any ordinary gaming system.
No wonder she fucking ran out of my room that day.
Pure, unfiltered rage fills me.
She looks so frightened as he towers over her, shutting the door behind him. She sways a little on her feet, losing her balance and appearing way too drunk to be having sex.
But the motherfucker doesn’t care.
He throws her on the bed like a monster who has just caught its prey.
But this monster is no match for me.
I delete the video, knowing I’ve seen all I can handle.
“Paul, are you—”
“Did you finish?”
“Yes. They’re all gone. I’m sending a virus to his computer to destroy his hard drive as a warning. I’ll keep tabs on him to ensure this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Are you—”
“I need to go.”
“Wait! Paul, don’t do anything—”
I end the call before I can hear my brother tell me not to do anything stupid. To not do anything I’ll regret.
But I’m not going to regret what I’m about to do.
Not a single second of it.
With trembling fingers, I remove the chip from the laptop and shove the computer back into the bag, securing the lock. Looking around, I ensure everything is exactly how I found it, exit his room, and head straight down to the bar with fury penetrating every inch of my skin.
Begging to be released.
Begging to come out and play.
Begging to make Greyson suffer.
The second I walk into the bar, my eyes scan the room for Greyson, and the moment they latch onto him, I feel a force within me that no one will be able to stop.
My feet move swiftly toward the stool that Greyson is perched on, talking to a blonde beside him. As though he can sense me behind him, he turns at the last second, looking right at me with wide eyes as my fist connects with his nose, sending blood spraying everywhere.
Greyson tumbles to the floor, but I don’t give him a chance to get up as I crouch over his body. I straddle his chest, keeping one hand clutched onto the fabric of his shirt, pressing him down as my other hand turns into a fist, connecting over and over again with his face.
His bloody fucking face.
I don’t hear the scream beside me.
Or the people around me yelling for me to stop.
At this moment, I don’t recognize myself.
I only think about Sarah and what he did to her.
What he’s done to every single one of those girls.
Eventually, two pairs of hands grip me from behind, pulling me off of Greyson. My chest heaves, adrenaline coursing through me as I’m pushed away from him, feeling like I’ve barely scratched the surface of the amount of pain I want to cause him.
“Paul, you need to fucking calm down. Everyone’s watching,” Glen whisper-shouts beside me. He grips one arm behind my back while another player from the team grips my other one, firmly keeping me in place.
I’m going to fucking kill him!
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Greyson spits blood onto the floor as someone helps him to a standing position. One of his eyes is swollen shut, his lip is split open, and blood smears down his already bruising skin.
“You fucking touch her again, and I will kill you. I will fucking destroy you,” I roar, sending gasps throughout the crowd gathered around us.
It takes Greyson only a split second before he smirks, shaking his head as he understands why I just beat the living shit out of him. He knows Sarah told me about the video.
“You fucked up, Paul. Big time,” Greyson proclaims, wiping the blood from his face with his shirt. He clutches the back of the chair closest to him for support, appearing unsteady.
But I don’t miss the innuendo in Greyson’s words. He thinks he still holds power over Sarah with the video. He thinks he can now follow through on his threat and release the tape for the world to see. And he thinks he can make me appear as the bad guy in this story by making me look like I’m the one who released it.
But he can’t.
And he’ll never be able to hold any power over Sarah again.
I’ll make sure of it.
Greyson shoves through the crowd, pushing his way toward the exit, blood still coating his face.
After he disappears, the hands around me release, and Glen stands in my direct line of vision, scraping a frustrated hand over his face, a beer in his free hand. He lets out a low whistle. “I’m sure it was well deserved, but you know that Coach will not like this. Nor will your agent.”
I drop onto the stool, breathing hard. “No, they won’t.” I swipe the beer from Glen’s hand and take a gulp. “Not one goddamn bit.”
* * *
“Take a seat.” Coach Rivers motions to the empty chair in his tiny hotel room, displeasure written all over his face—well, that and exhaustion.
I never thought I would have to endure the sight of him wearing flannel pajamas.
But here we are.
“Care to tell me why I got a call at one in the morning, alerting me that my two captains were fighting in the bar downstairs?” His voice is calm, with an undercurrent of anger tucked beneath.
“Sir, I’m sorry. I just…” I can’t tell him about the tape because no one is ever going to see that tape again. “I snapped.” I squeeze the back of my neck. “It won’t happen again.”
He sighs, rubbing his hands over his face. “Please tell me this wasn’t over a girl.”
I clear my throat. “I mean…”
His hand goes up. “Save it. I don’t want to hear it.” He shakes his head; disappointment is evident. “I like you, Paul. I really do.” He straightens, rolling his neck. “But behavior like this is not tolerated under any circumstance. And especially not under my watch. I understand quite well that Greyson is not the easiest to get along with. Hell, one of the reasons why we were so eager to make you co-captain is because we needed to find a way to balance things on the team. You both play one hell of a game. However, Greyson likes to use intimidation to motivate his teammates, whereas you encourage and uplift. You’re someone that your teammates look up to and respect.” He pinches the bridge of his nose and then rubs at his temple. “I’m a man who needs a solid eight hours of sleep.” He lets out a resigned sigh, glancing at the clock on his nightstand. “I need you to give me your word you won’t pull a stunt like this again.”
“I promise, sir. Never again.”
Continuing the season with Greyson is going to be miserable. Fucking miserable. But I know this is his one warning to me, and I won’t ruin my chance of getting into the NBA because it’s no longer just myself I have to take care of and provide for, but both Sarah and our baby.
And a career in the NBA will mean they will always be provided for.
He subtly shakes his head. “All right. Knowing you, I’m sure there was a valid reason for the fight, and I could bet some good money that Greyson deserved what he got.”
My brows shoot up, surprised by his omission.
“Be that as it may, I still have to set an example for the team. Half of your teammates were in that bar, witnessing the ordeal, and I’m sure the other half have already heard about it, which means you will not be playing in the next three games. No exceptions. I’ll leave it to you to explain to your agent why you’ll be absent.”
Fuck. Dan is not going to be happy about this.
But it was worth it.
Every second of my fist pounding into Greyson’s face was worth it.
Because I will always protect Sarah and our baby.
Repercussions be damned.
“Yes, sir.” I grasp the arms of my chair in a firm grip. This feels pretty lenient, given the circumstances, so I’ll take it with no complaints. “I understand.”
He slowly leans back in his chair, his shoulders dropping.
“I think it might be best if you return home early. Take some time to clear your head and think about things. Get some distance from certain members of the team,” he advises. “But I expect to see you when we return on Monday for practice.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Good.” He motions toward the door. “You may leave.”
I nod, getting up from my seat, my feet reaching the door in only a few strides.
“And Paul?”
I look over my shoulder. “Yes, sir?”
“I hope this girl was worth it.”
I don’t hold back the smile when I say, “She’s worth everything, sir.”