Page 129 of Home Town Advantage
The police are on their way, but I’ll get there first at this point.
Our entire lives together run through my head like a movie. Tears stream down my cheeks as I fear what could be happening to her right now.
I make every promise to God. Please just let her be okay.
Pulling up to her house, I leave my truck in the middle of the street with the engine running and the door open, practically jumping out with it still moving. I see Keith’s car, but it doesn’t look like he’s in it. I can’t worry about that right now.
As I’m sprinting up her steps, Sulley comes bursting through the front door. Her tear-filled, scared eyes find me, and relief washes over her as she yells my name and falls into my arms.
I hold her tight. “Are you okay? Is someone in there?”
She starts crying. “It was Shane. He’s the one taking photos of us. He’s the blackmailer.”
“Eurotrash guy?”
She nods and cries, “Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“Lying half-conscious on my living room floor. I used Beau’s neck chop move on him, and he went down. I ran out as soon as he did.”
“Where the fuck is Keith?” I shout.
“I don’t know,” she cry-yells. “I came out here looking for him.”
“Does Shane have any weapons?”
She shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so. None I saw. He just wanted money in exchange for silence.”
I turn and see Keith leisurely walking down the street with a cup of coffee, looking like he doesn’t have a care in the world. His eyes widen when he notices her hysterical in myarms. Dropping his coffee, he comes running toward us. “What happened?”
“Where were you?” I bark.
“She…she was inside with a friend,” he stutters. “She wasn’t alone and said she’d be a bit, so I figured I had time to grab a cup of coffee. Like when you’re around.”
“Where’s your phone?” I scream.
He pats his pockets and at least has the dignity to look ashamed. “I must have left it in my car.”
If Sulley didn’t need my arms around her, I think I’d strangle him.
I grit out, “I’m taking her to my truck. The police will be here any second.” I point inside the house. “Don’t let that asshole out of your sight until they get here.”
With a shaken Sulley tucked into my side, I take her to my truck while we wait for the police.
THIRTY-TWO
SULLEY
My eyes search the countertop until I find what I’m looking for at the other end. “Momma, can you please pass me the butter?”
She smiles as she hands it to me while we seamlessly work to prepare Christmas Eve dinner next to each other. “Wow, Sulley, your kitchen is a dream.”
I look around at what was once Vance’s kitchen but is now our kitchen. I didn’t want to live at my house anymore after everything that happened. I was thinking about moving in with him before the Shane incident, but his invading my home sealed the deal. And the fact is, I want to live with Vance. He’s my home, and now we live together in the house designed by my brother. Every small detail of this house makes me happy, from the brilliant design to the perfect man I sleep beside every night. Our relationship is in full bloom, and there’s no turning back for either of us.
As it turns out, Shane was in a mountain of debt. He’d been living well beyond his means for some time, which explains many of his spending habits. For years, he spent money like hewas going to hit it big playing professionally one day, and when he didn’t, he scrambled. According to the police, he first tried to capitalize on my fame. When his affiliation with me didn’t provide him with enough money, he found a wealthy Italian girlfriend. When she realized what a slime he is, he got involved in a point shaving gambling incident and was permanently banned from the EuroLeague.
After that, he realized he was in real trouble and completely lost himself. Reagan’s initial payoff didn’t make a dent in his debt. Apparently, Vance paid him once too, but he needed more, and when Vance wouldn’t pay him again, he thought he could get it from me, assuming there was a reason I didn’t want my relationship with Vance to be made public. He was also shopping the story to various media outlets, trying to drive up the price. His plan was to take money from me and then sell the story anyway.
