Page 132 of Home Game

I picked up Zoey’s suitcase. “You’re coming with me.”

“What?” Both Zoey and Krista chimed at the same time.

“You can travel with the team until we get our other problem sorted out.”

“Ryan,” Krista warned.

Zoey looked between Krista and me. “What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing,” I motioned with my head. “Come on.”

She ignored me and looked at Krista. “Tell me.”

Krista held my gaze. WAGs and tag-a-longs were strictly forbidden to travel with the team. I was already on thin ice with management. We both knew this was my dumbest move yet, but I didn’t care. Whatever it took, Zoey was coming with me.

Finally, she relented. “Your call.”

I looked at Zoey. “We have a plane to catch.”

She followed me out to my vehicle. “Are you going to get in trouble?”

I lied. “Nope. Come on. Get in.”

“Ryan, you know the rules,”Gordon crossed his arms and glared at me.

I glanced over at Zoey who sat out of earshot. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

“What’s going on?” Rory Ashford walked up to the two of us.

“Parker here brought his girlfriend along for the ride.”

“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s a friend.”

Rory glanced over at Zoey. “Why?”

“Zoey’s in danger. She’s being stalked by some asshole and I don’t want to leave her alone.”

Gordon crossed his arms. “We don’t allow girlfriends because they distract the players.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I repeated between my clenched teeth. “And I'll be more distracted if I’m constantly worried about her safety while I’m gone.”

Rory put her hand on Gordon’s arm. “I’ll take care of this.”

Disinterested, Gordon walked away.

“Tell me what’s going on.”

“Zoey got attacked by someone at our last game. Someone who used to foster her. He’s already extorted money from her and she’s terrified.”

“Doesn’t she have any other place to stay?”

“Krista agreed to have her over, but I don’t trust him. He’s capable of bad things.”

“The problem is that this kind of thing sets a precedent. I don’t want other players asking for their wives or girlfriends to travel with us.”

It annoyed me that I hadn’t thought of that. “I understand.”

“If you give me permission to talk to the team, and everyone understands this is a one off, I’d be more than happy to have her with us.”

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