Chapter 13 #3
“Steven is a member of the Lycanthrope family or a wolf shifter, Ansley.” The coach had difficulty with his amusement.
I didn’t bother correcting her.
“Okay then. When you go out, maybe hit the Wolf Bar.”
“Is there a name of this bar?” I threw out, completely disgusted at this point.
She blinked several times. “That is the name.”
Oh, my God. Now I’d heard it all. Maybe I was more privileged than I thought I was since there was a huge concentration of various shifters in and around Chicago.
Once upon a time, the Midwest had been perfect for hunting food, which was why the numbers had grown significantly.
We’d had out own bars and other playgrounds for two decades.
Even if humans hadn’t been aware until recently.
“Wow,” I threw out. “How clever.”
The girl was deep in thought, which allowed me to drift my thoughts toward the amazing evening the night before. I’d left Christine sleeping peacefully instead of waking her. It had been best that way instead of being forced to deal with all the awkward shit after fucking someone.
Call or not to call.
Date or not to date.
Coming clean from the lies or not to come clean.
Yeah, I’d chickened out and left.
But images of her luscious body and soft lips played out over and over again in my mind. I could still taste her and even after the quick, very hot shower, her scent lingered on my skin.
“Maybe…” She tapped the pen she held in her hand across her lips.
“What are you thinking?” Bobby asked.
She turned toward the screen, forcing me to watch as she scrolled through the horrific and graphic pictures of debauchery. Jesus. I got it. I did. “Maybe we could use the girl to our advantage.”
“What?” The lovely spell was broken. “What do you mean use her?”
“Well, having a girlfriend worked for your brother. We could try that and kill the violent tendencies people think you have.” Her eyes opened wide after she realized what she’d just said. “I don’t mean kill as in literally. I mean… To boost your reputation.”
“Not a bad idea,” Bobby threw out.
Was he fucking kidding me?
“We wouldn’t make it nearly as formal as with Saint. Certainly, we won’t try and parade her around as your fiancée. Who is she?”
“Hold on. I’m not my brother and I refuse to pretend to be in a relationship. That’s bullshit and goes against everything my mother taught me.”
“And your brother?” Ansley was genuinely asking as if Saint and I were clones.
“He was finagled into the pretense, which he hated at first.”
“But he’s married.”
Bobby drummed his fingers on his desk. “No. We’re not faking a relationship, Ansley. At least not right now. Steven is a professional and will clean up his act. Correct?”
“Sure,” I muttered. Now I was pissed. I wasn’t going to be paraded around like some prized toy or beast in a circus cage.
“Just so I know,” she continued. “Who is the girl? Someone I should worry about? Is she someone’s daughter that was sent to lure your beast into the open?”
“What? Is that something people do?” I was shocked.
Bobby huffed. “You have no idea. With the number of haters, there are some groups resorting to the lowest of lows to try and obtain proof you’re killers. Including using women.”
“Why women?”
“Because when you decide a person is your mate, you’ll kill anyone who dares touch the woman.” Bobby was almost flippant.
The look on Ansley’s face was anything but. Wow. I had no idea how deep the politics went.
“This girl is not some plant. Okay? She was nice enough to have a drink with me and this moron decided to put his hands all over her. I couldn’t allow that to happen.”
“Hmmm… Playing a hero. Nice. That definitely would boost your image,” she continued.
Whether or not they believed me, I wasn’t certain I cared.
When the two of them looked at each other, I shook my head and laughed.
“You are not using her in some crazy social media game. That’s not fair.
She didn’t ask to be a part of my life. In fact, she doesn’t even like me all that much. Trust me. Her words were not kind.”
They shared another look and it was as if they’d had this all planned out.
“What’s her name?” Bobby asked and there was no doubt by the flash in his eyes he was playing a little game.
A lot of people considered me an asshole. Others considered me arrogant, like the beautiful woman I’d been lucky enough to spend time with. And I’d done some shitty things in my life, including leading women on. However, I wasn’t a total asshole.
“I didn’t get her name. Besides. She doesn’t live here. She’s in vacationing with friends.”
The visible disappointment was disturbing.
Meanwhile, I was determined to keep Christine protected.
As expected, Ansley’s heavy sigh was annoying.
“Okay then. We’ll use a different tactic.
I’ll email you some notes including the rules of engagement as required by the team.
We’ll chat once a week to ensure you’re on track.
” She headed for the door, sashaying her hips as she did.
When she had the door open, she barely tipped her head over her shoulder before tossing out another barb.
“And if I see you doing anything mischievous, I will call your ass on the carpet. Don’t make me do that. ”
Unable to help myself, I mimicked her words silently as she walked out, my body entirely too animated.
Bobby chuckled. “Don’t let her get to you. She’s not a bad kid and she knows her stuff.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Exhaling, I rubbed my eyes, the ache behind them more pronounced than before. “I’m not going to fake a damn relationship. That’s not who I am.”
“I understand. I really do.”
“Are we done because my roommate informed me I need to find another place to live pronto.”
“Ouch. I might have a lead on a little rental house. It’s owned by a friend of mine. Cute place. I’ve been inside. Anyway, I’ll send you the address.”
“Thanks, Coach.”
“One more thing. There’s a big game coming up in two weeks.”
“Oh, yeah?”
He nodded. Why was it that a sly grin drifted across his face? “Against the Chicago Wild Dogs.”
My brother’s team. I knew I’d have to compete against him, but from what I’d seen, that wouldn’t occur until much later in the season and after I had a chance of getting my shit together. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. The schedule was changed. Don’t ask me how or by whom, but I can guess someone pretty important had influence to make that happen. There are already some rumors flying about the two savages meeting on the ice.”
Bristling, I could feel an entirely different level of anger furrowing deep inside. “They’re pitting us against each other.”
“You bet. What better ratings. And my guess is the powers that be hope your sibling rivalry will remain intact.”
The look on his face indicated something much more sinister was going on. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He shook his head. “I just have a bad feeling someone or some entity is hoping the two of you lose your cool. As you might imagine, that is very… disconcerting for us including the team owners.”
Meaning that we’d breach all protocol and shift in front of an entire world of people. So they could make good on their claims that we were nothing but uncontrollable beasts.
Fuck.
This was all just a game and one I wasn’t good at playing.
“Don’t worry, Coach. I’ll be ready. So will my brother. After all, we are professionals.”