Page 127 of Home Town Advantage
Coach doesn’t have to tell the rest of the team to keep thisquiet. It’s automatically understood. Every single player will have Champ’s back.
We all watch on as Reece Sanders slithers away from this team for the last time.
I’m walkingto my truck when I see a familiar manila envelope sitting on my windshield. Shit, I don’t need this right now.
For the past few weeks, I’ve had manila envelopes full of photos of Sulley and me appear with a demand for payment. Not wanting to upset the applecart, I paid the first time, but I haven’t paid the past few. Enough is enough. I know Sulley doesn’t want photos of us being made public, but how many times am I supposed to pay this guy off?
I haven’t told Sulley about it. At first, it was because they were making a championship run and I didn’t want this messing with her head. But in the weeks since, I didn’t tell her because she’s been so on edge about the restraining order with Noah. I was hoping they’d find photos in Noah’s possession and this would go away, but they never found anything to suggest he’s the culprit.
Reagan Daulton and the police are aware of everything. Just not Sulley. We collectively agreed it wasn’t best for her.
I open the envelope, but it’s not the normal photos of her and me. It’s a note that reads, “Check your phone, QB1.”
I dig through my gym bag for my phone, not having looked at it since before the game. I need to call Keith to make sure he’s with Sulley. When I pull it out, there’s a text from an unknown number. It’s a series of photos from inside Sulley’s house with a message.
Unknown: You should have paid. Don’t worry, I’ll collect from her.
THIRTY-ONE
SULLEY
I’m in my bedroom, packing a bag for Vance’s house, when I look around and take in my surroundings. This place doesn’t feel like home anymore. Once the sanctity of it was violated, I stopped loving it, only feeling safe at Vance’s. Maybe I should pack a bigger suitcase and make things more permanent. I know he wouldn’t mind. In fact, I think he’d prefer it that way.
I grab my larger suitcase from the storage area and begin to pack it when the doorbell rings. It’s probably Keith wondering what’s taking so long. I told him I’d be five minutes, and it’s been much longer. He has a key but never uses it. He says it’s for emergencies only. Such a stickler for the rules.
Without bothering to look through the peephole, I open the door and am shocked by what I see. “Shane? What are you doing here?”
He smiles. “Miss me?”
I shake my head and answer honestly. “Not really.” I haven’t given him a second thought other than to think how much happier I am with Vance.
His face falls. “Can I come in? I’d love to catch up. For old time’s sake.”
Fuck, I don’t want to catch up, but I also don’t want to be rude. We shared a year and a half together. I suppose I can give him a few minutes.
Keith appears seemingly out of nowhere. “Is everything okay, Ms. O’Shea?”
I hold up my hand. “It’s fine, Keith. Thanks. He’s an old friend. I might be a little longer than I mentioned. Do you mind waiting?”
He nods. “No problem, ma’am.”
I motion for Shane to come inside, and he does. Closing the front door behind him, he asks, “What’s with the muscle?”
“I have a few…overzealous fans. He keeps an eye on me.”
“Wow. You’re on the rise, just like you always wanted. That’s some big-time shit.” He says it with the same derogatory tone he always used when it came to my success. What did I ever see in this guy?
Yep, sometimes it takes the right guy to come along to see just how wrong the last guy was. Shane doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Vance.
We walk through the house to the living room area. “Can I get you a drink?” I politely offer.
He nods as he looks around. “Sure.”
I walk into the kitchen, grab a glass, and pour him some iced tea. When I walk back into the living room, he’s not there. I yell out, “Shane?”
He emerges from the bedroom hallway area, tucking his phone into his pocket. “I’m here. Just checking out your pad. It’s really nice.”
It’s weird that he felt like he could just walk around my house at will. A bit of a chill works its way through my body, but I ignore it, just wanting to get through the next few minutes and get to my man’s house.
