Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
That’s all it takes. Four words to send me over the edge. I scream out his name, and he stills, grunting his release.
“Together,” I whisper again, once I’ve come down from my high.
“Always together,” he replies.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Knox
* * *
I open my eyes to the constant vibration of my cell phone on the nightstand. Who in the hell is calling me at… I squint at the clock on the nightstand, four in the damn morning. Kissing my fiancée on the temple, I carefully move out from under her to grab my phone before slipping out into the hallway.
It’s my agent, Tommy. He’s called five times and left at least a dozen messages. I ignore them all and call him as I pad my way down the hall to ensure I don’t wake Corie.
“Finally,” Tommy greets me.
“What’s so damn urgent you’re calling me at the ass-crack of dawn?” I ask him.
“A story broke.”
“Okay?”
“You’ve been sneaking around with Landry Reynolds’s little sister, and it’s against Rampage policy because you’re hiding it from them.”
My stomach drops, and I’m instantly wide awake. “Fuck. How? Only two people outside of my family know, and I know for damn certain none of them would leak this.”
“I contacted a few of my sources and have a name.”
“Who?” I grit out.
“Conner Johnson.”
“Motherfucker. How? How did he find out? We were careful,” I say as I begin to pace back and forth.
“He’s claiming he heard it from you. He said that you and Landry were fighting about it in the locker room, and he just happened to be walking by to overhear.”
“No. We were not fighting, and bull-fucking-shit he walked by. He was hiding in there. He had to be. The bastard had no business being in the locker room. Landry and I were the only ones there.”
“Clearly, you thought wrong,” he says dryly.
“Fuck! What do we do?”
“Is it serious?” he asks.
I laugh humorlessly. “I asked her to marry me. It’s that serious,” I tell my agent.
“Okay. Well, I suggest that you go to your coach, HR, and the team owner and plead your case.”
“We were going to tell them today. In fact, I sent an email last night before we went to bed, telling Sally in HR I needed about an hour of her time tomorrow after practice.”
“I’ll handle the meeting. Get your ass together, your girl, too. Be ready to head to the stadium when I tell you to.”
“Got it. Thanks, Tommy.”
“I’ll do what I can. You’re an asset to the organization and have never caused any trouble.”
“If I have to choose, Tommy, I choose her.”
“Understood. I’ll be in touch.” The call ends, and I brace my hands on the counter.
Fucking Conner. I’ll ruin him for this. I don’t know how, but I will. Even if I have to fly and meet with every single client, his boss, and whoever else listens, he’ll get what’s coming to him. If I wasn’t already in such hot water, I’d just kick his ass. Honestly, that idea is not off the table.
Grabbing my phone, I head back to my room and slide into bed. I place soft kisses all over Corie’s face until she starts to wake.
“What time is it?” she asks groggily.
“Just after four.”
“Why are you awake?”
“I got a phone call.”
This gets her attention, and she rolls over to face me. “Is everything okay?” I can tell from the tone of her voice that she’s nervous.
“It will be,” I say before explaining my call with Tommy. “He’s setting up a meeting with the powers that be. He said to be ready to head to the stadium at any time, so we need to get ready.” The nerves have not hit me yet, and I don’t think they’re going to. I chose her before this started, and I knew the consequences. It sucks, sure, but a life with Corie will more than make up for it.
“Okay.” She nods, tosses off the covers, and heads to the shower. She peeks her head out of the bathroom door. “I don’t have clothes.”
“I know. I’ll shower, and we can head to your place to get you what you need. We should pack up your stuff and move you in tonight,” I tell her. She nods and starts to get dressed again, much to my dismay.
“Knox. Things are blowing up all around us, and you want to talk about moving me in with you? Tonight?”
“You’re all that matters, Corie.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is true. I’ve made my peace with all of this. I’ll choose you every damn time.”
“Get ready,” she says, disappearing into the bathroom. I give her time to handle her business before grabbing some clothes and quickly showering.
Twenty minutes later, we’re headed toward Landry’s. We had to drive through the press that recognized my truck. The story has already reached far and wide. Fucking Conner. Thankfully, we made it away from my condo and were able to stop at the local fast-food drive-thru and pick up breakfast, adding a few extra sandwiches for Landry. Corie eats on the way to his place and disappears upstairs to shower, leaving me to explain to a groggy Landry why we’re here so early.