Page 75 of Run the Play
“Let her go, Chaz.” I take another step toward them. I can’t rush him for fear of her getting hurt. I just need him to let go of her, and then his ass is mine. I’m displaying strength I didn’t know I had. Watching her on the floor, as he treats her like a rag doll, kills me. My hands fist at my sides, my fingernails dig into my palms. I keep reminding myself that I can’t go off half-cocked and attack him, because she could get hurt, even more hurt than she already is in the process. I take a deep breath to try to calm the raging storm that’s churning inside me.
“You stole her from me. She’s mine!” Spittle flies out of his mouth, and he looks deranged.
“She’s not a possession,” I tell him. I’m trying like hell to keep my voice steady, to keep her calm with my tone, but it’s one of the hardest fucking things I’ve ever had to do. “She left you because you hurt her. You put her in the hospital. You took advantage of her, isolated her, and she found the courage to leave you.” With each word I speak, he grows more agitated. “Let her go.” My voice is hard. My eyes scan to Rowan. She’s crying and from the look on her face, his grip on her hair is painful. Fuck, I need him to let her go. Then it’ll just be us. Man to man.
He yanks on her hair, harder this time, and Rowan whimpers.
“Shut the fuck up. Both of you!” he roars.
“Rowan, baby, just breathe,” I tell her, forcing my voice to be steady. I can see panic starting to set in. “I’m right here,” I tell her. I hope she understands that means I’m going to get her away from him. How? I’m not sure, but fuck, I’m going to save her from him. I don’t want to rush him and risk her getting hurt, but if that’s what it comes down to, then that’s what I’ll do.
“Don’t call her that!” Chaz yells.
The locker room door slams open and in walks Coach Warner, followed by Knox, Reid, Baker, and Foster. “What the hell is going on here?” Coach quickly assesses the situation. “Brown, let her go.” His voice is booming. Commanding.
“She’s mine. I had her first,” Chaz rants.
“I don’t give a flying fuck what you think. Take your hands off Ms. Mills. Now!” he thunders, his voice echoing throughout the shower room.
“He took her,” Chaz spits. He grins, and it’s not an “I’m happy” grin, it’s sinister, and scary as fuck considering he’s got his hands on my girl. “She was mine, and that fucker took her.”
“Okay, then let her go and settle this with me. Like a man. Don’t take this out on Rowan.” I’m pleading, and fuck me, I’m not above begging him if that’s what it takes.
“She’s ruined now. Now that you’ve had her. She’s ruined.” He looks down at Rowan. “You fucked him,” he says, spitting on her. “I’ll erase him from your mind. You won’t be able to remember him by the time I’m done with you.” He yanks again on her hair, and Rowan cries out in pain. That sounds slices through me like a rusty knife. “I’ll teach you a lesson, whore!” he screams at her. His eyes are wild, and it’s clear to see he’s unhinged. There’s no coming back from this for him.
Fire floods my veins, burning so hot it’s blinding. A rage like I’ve never known flows through my body. I take another step closer, and he steps back, pulling Rowan up by her hair as if she’s nothing but a toy to be tossed around. She cries out in pain as she stumbles to steady herself, and I freeze. He’s hurting her because of me. I’m hurting her, and the agony that rips through me is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I immediately stop. My eyes find hers and I try to tell her without words that I’m here. I want to tell her I’m sorry for hurting her, even though it was indirectly. I need to tell her I’m sorry he got to her, because I promised her he never would.
“Please,” I rasp. “Let her go.” My voice cracks. She’s the woman I love, and I’ve never told her. I’ve never said those three little words, afraid they would push her away, and now, I wish more than anything I would have said them, and fought for her when she tried to say things were moving too fast. Now, she’s here with him, being dragged around like a goddam rag doll, and all I can do is stand here and watch. I’m useless to her, because his response to my actions will hurt her again, and every molecule inside my body rebels against seeing her hurt. My only choice is to stand here as I fall to pieces on the inside, while trying to give a semblance of calm to her.
“Brown. Let. Her. Go!” Coach booms.
“Fuck you,” Chaz seethes.
My fear amps up to an all-time high. He’s not listening to Coach. What if we can’t talk him down? What happens next? How do I get her away from him without her getting hurt more than she already is? Chaz’s stare is menacing, which I return with vigor. “Let’s handle this like men,” I tell him. My hands are raised in the air, as if to say to him that I don’t mean any harm. It’s a lie. He knows it. Hell, everyone in this room knows it, but I have to try something. As soon as he lets her go, I’ll make him pay for what he’s done to her. Today, and in the past, he’ll never get his hands on her again. Fuck me, I could kill him right now, and not have an ounce of regret. Not if it saves her, and gives her a freedom she’s never had with him lurking in the shadows of her life.
I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I see Knox moving behind Chaz, Foster right beside him. Baker and Reid move closer to me.
“Let her go,” Reid seethes. “Do you really want to be known as the man who beats up on women? Who abuses them sexually, physically, and emotionally?” Reid grits, trying to reason with him, but there’s a haunted look in Chaz’s eyes, and it tells methat nothing we say is going to reach him. He’s too far gone in his plot to… what? Get her back? Make her pay for being with me? Whatever it is, he’s lost, and showing no signs of negotiation.
“Put your fucking dick away!” Baker rages. “You’re embarrassing yourself.”
“Fuck you, Sinclair,” Chaz spits, his eyes darting around the room at each of us, trying to calculate his next move, I’m sure.
“Brown, I’m warning you. Your contract is on the line. Your entire fucking career. I’ll see to it that you never work for another team in the league. Let. Her. Go,” Coach grinds out. You can hear the sorrow in his tone as he sees Rowan being treated this way.
“This is why she left you,” I tell him, fighting like hell to remain calm while the fire rages inside me. I need to keep his attention on me, because I know what Knox and Foster are about to do, and I’ll owe them for the rest of my life.
“You don’t know shit!” Chaz roars, yanking Rowan’s hair. She screams, and it cuts through me like a rusted blade to the chest.
Chaz looks down at her with a snarl, and that’s when they strike. Knox grabs his free arm and twists, while Foster captures the other and squeezes so hard, Chaz has no choice but to let her go. His hand falls from her hair as he fights them. I rush toward Rowan, catching her as she crumples to the floor, crying in pain and fear.
Dropping to my knees, I pull her into my arms. “It’s me, baby. It’s me. You’re safe.” I try to soothe her, but I’m not sure she can hear me over her sobs and the commotion that’s going on next to us. I block it all out. I know my boys and Coach have him handled. With everything inside me, I’d love nothing more than to smash his head into the wall, or my fist, whichever, but Rowan needs me. I just need to take care of her. Of my Rowan.
“Call security!” someone yells. I think it’s Coach.
“Baby, can you stand up for me?” I ask her. She clings to me, shaking her head. “I want to get you out of here,” I explain.
She keeps her head buried in my chest and refuses to move. So, we don’t move. I grip her to my chest as if she might disappear. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper against her ear. I don’t know if she can hear me or even comprehend what I’m saying with how upset she is, rightfully so, but I keep whispering the words over and over again anyway.
