Page 125 of Going for Gold (Sweet Cravings 3)

His words seemed to settle around me. This time when I moved, he let me take a step back from him and my back hit the counter. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was echoing around the small bakery. "Didn't have a choice for what, Bryce?" But it felt like I already knew what his answer was going to be. I thought about how the line judges so clearly favored Brazil in the game for gold. He rigged the volleyball game which had resulted in the tiebreaker occurring in the first place.

Chapter 55

Bryce

"It's not what you're thinking, Alina." I reached for her hand, but she pulled away from me. I hated seeing her so upset.

"The refs in the volleyball game. Was that you or not?"

I couldn't tell if she was on the verge of tears or about to punch me in the face. She thought I sabotaged her game. That I made her miss out on her dream. It hadn't been me. But if Rodrigo had asked me to do it, I would have. I didn't have a choice. And I felt guilty for what had happened during her game regardless. Because I knew what was happening and all I could do was sit there and watch it unfold.

"No. That wasn't me. I'm sure it was one of the other operatives though. That game was clearly rigged. I'm almost certain of it."

"Then what did you do?"

"Rodrigo wanted me to win my race. And I did. Without cheating. He wanted me to make some ping pong player lose his game. So I had one of the women that worked for Rodrigo have really rough sex with him so he couldn't even walk right." I was hoping that would make her laugh.

Instead she said, "Okay." She was staring at me with her big brown eyes, waiting for whatever horrible thing I was going to say next.

But I didn't want to tell her. I didn't know how she was going to react. The thought of losing her made my chest hurt. The past week had been horrible. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep. I felt so guilty for what had happened. And I couldn't find her. She hadn't taken any of my calls or responded to my texts. And it killed me. I had this terrifying feeling that I couldn't live without her. Now that she was in front of me again, I knew just how true that was. I couldn't let her go. I just needed her to understand.

"What did you do?" A single tear had fallen from her eye.

I took a step toward her. Her back was pressed against the counter behind her, so she couldn't dodge me. But she didn't flinch. And she let me reach up and wipe the tear off her cheek. I kept my palm pressed against the side of her face and put my other hand on the counter beside her.

"He threatened Em."

"I'm sorry." Her voice came out as a whisper. That wasn't what I expected her to say at all. She should have been throwing a fit and trying to hit me. Instead, she was staring up at me like she could feel my pain. Did she really love me? She was looking at me like she loved me. And I didn't feel like I deserved it. But I wanted to. I so badly wanted to. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I had to tell her.

"Alina." I ran my hand down her cheek and the side of her neck. She seemed to shiver under my touch. All I wanted to do was rip her clothes off and finally have her. After everything that happened, all I wanted to do was officially make her mine. I wanted her to know what I was feeling. Tell her.

I cleared my throat and moved my hand off of her. I put it on the counter on the other side of her, sandwiching her so she couldn't leave immediately. Please understand. Please forgive me.

"The thug, Rodrigo, told me that I had to make sure the US won the tiebreaker," I said. "Tim had already agreed to do the choreography, so I told him to do whatever it took to win. I didn't know what he was planning and I didn't ask until it was too late. Apparently he hacked into the judges computers and found out that they liked gangbang porn or something. And he thought it was going to be him and Kristen on stage, not us. And I couldn't stop it. I tried and I..." I shook my head. "But it's not Tim's fault and it's definitely not your fault. You did exactly what Tim wanted you to do. The whole thing was my fault. I never meant to put you in that position. I never meant to hurt you. And I'm so sorry."

"Why didn't you tell me you were being blackmailed?"

"Because I didn't want to put you in any danger."

Alina looked up at me in silence for a minute. Finally, she said, "Is Em okay?"

That wasn't what I thought she'd say. After everything I had just said, she was wondering how Em was? God, this girl was amazing. "Yeah. Thanks to you. You won because of your sensuality score. And all the judges made it pretty clear about why they scored you so high in that area."

She laughed. "Ugh."

I loved hearing her laugh. "I'm sorry, Alina. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about being kidnapped. If I had just told you..."

"It's okay. Bryce, I don't care about what happened. All I care about right now is that that you're here. And that you're forgiving me?"

I could see the silent plea in her eyes. "Alina, there's nothing to forgive."

She shook her head. "I'd understand."

"What?"

"If you wanted to walk out that door and never talk to me again. I'd understand, Bryce."

That was the last thing I ever wanted to do. Now that I finally had her in front of me again, I wasn't going to let her out of my sight.

---