Chapter Eight

Captain caught himself looking over at Sloane again. God, how many times had he done that tonight?

He didn't like the way Ryan treated her, and found it harder than he would've thought to be out here working with the team while she was unprotected near Ryan and the Asshole Squad.

He could hear everything Ryan and Naomi were saying to their friends from here, clear as day, thanks to his shifter hearing. They were taking shots at Sloane, and another growl rattled up his throat. He wanted to rip the skin from Ryan's body in front of these dipshits. Bleeding him would be so satisfying.

"Hey mister, there's a beetle on your shoe," a little boy said from where he stood beside him.

"Are you paying attention?" he asked him, jutting his chin toward the batter who was taking a swing.

"It's a big beetle. I watched it all the way from over there, and it's on your shoe."

With a sigh, Captain shook his foot and dislodged the little bug.

"It's coming back," the kid said.

"What's your name?"

"Thomas."

"Thomas, if that kid connects with that ball, it's coming straight to you. He's got a good swing."

"…she's such a skank…"

Captain jerked his attention back to the Asshole Squad. Naomi had always been good at talking shit. A woman who did that wasn't an alpha woman. She was insecure.

Sloane, on the other hand, wore a tight-lipped expression. Her cheeks were pink, but she didn't respond to them. If he was a betting man, which on occasion he was, he would bet she could hear what they were saying, and the stupid giggling that followed their snarky insults. She wasn't making a scene though. As he watched her, she slid a glare over to Naomi and held her gaze until Naomi dropped her gaze and looked away, feigning interest in the game for the first time.

The smile that stretched Captain's lips was unintentional. He chuckled as he watched Sloane continue to glare. Naomi was looking everywhere but at her.

Okay, Sloane. She wasn't avoiding a pop-off because she was submissive. Sloane dragged her fiery gaze back to the game and cracked her knuckles like he remembered she used to when they were young. It wasn't a nervous habit, but one that appeared out of frustration.

Feisty. He liked that in a woman. In fact, he thought it was downright sexy.

She was holding her own right on the outskirts of the Asshole Squad, and she wasn't looking to him to come save her, which said two things. One, she'd been up against the fence for a while and was used to facing off on her own, and two, she didn't need him like that.

That thought stirred up something confusing inside of him, but before he could explore it, the umpire blew his whistle and called the game.

Captain strode straight for the open gate on the fence near the dugout, needing to get to Sloane.

"Hey, Cap!" Ruger called.

When Captain turned around, Ruger threw his glove up into the air and tried to catch it. Missed. His scramble to retrieve the glove drew a surprised chuckle from Captain. Kid was kinda funny.

"Go on, pay attention to Coach," he said, gesturing to where the coach was gathering the kids for a post-game talk.

"Okay! Don't leave!" Ruger took off, his little legs motoring ninety to nothing toward his team.

He pursed his lips against a smile and shook his head as he readjusted his ball cap and made his way off the field.

Sloane was waiting for him right by the gate, her hands clasped around the strap of her purse and a slight frown on her pretty face. Her dark hair was pulled into a curled ponytail today, and she wore a skintight, strappy red tank top that showed off her gorgeous curves. She looked so damn pretty in the sunset light, but that frown drew a snarl up his throat. What was his problem?

"You good?" he asked.

"Um, Ryan said he wants to talk to us after the game."

"Mmm, did you tell him he'll be late to happy hour if he wastes his time chirping at us?"

The frown softened, and she huffed a soft laugh. "He's a lot. I'm sorry. He thinks we're dating, but I tried to explain we're just old friends. He doesn't like the idea of me moving on, and so he gets overbearing."

Captain leaned his forearms on the fence and glared at Ryan, who was talking angrily to Naomi on the other side of the bleachers. Probably playing the victim somehow. He knew men like Ryan. Captain wasn't impressed.

"I'll handle it if you want to get Ruger loaded up."

"Oh, you don't have to deal with it. It's not your job."

"I don't mind. I can make him understand we're just friends." Lie. He was lying to her, but she was human. Humans were easy to lie to.

"Okay," she said, looking up at him with those gorgeous ocean-blue eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault, Middleson. I live in a Crew of monsters. Your ex is a jealous rat. This doesn't bother me at all."

She huffed a relieved sound, cocked her head, and pursed her lips as she looked up at him. "I think you're pretty great."

That was the moment he lost all control of his poker face. She thought he was great? His heart pounded like a drum against his chest cavity. She was so fuckin' pretty, her smile all soft and truth in her voice as she complimented him.

Ooooh she might be a human, but she was the dangerous kind.

He cleared his throat and forced his attention back to the team meeting. "You'll get over that feeling."

Sloane went quiet beside him, and from his peripheral he could see her clutch the strap of her cross-body purse tighter.

Ryan was heading this way, and with a sigh, Captain pushed off the fence. "Ruger did good tonight." That was his goodbye as he made his way to head off Douche-Bucket.

"Thank you for coming out," Sloane said softly. "I mean for Ruger. You made him really happy tonight. I appreciate it."

Captain turned and offered a small wave. "See you around, Middleson." Yep, using her last name was his way of creating distance so he could figure out his roiling feelings.

She was pretty, and interesting, and Ruger was a breath of fresh air to be around, but Sloane was right. This—talking to Ryan about being in her life—wasn't his job.

His life was complicated and dangerous, and couldn't accommodate a mishandled woman and a fragile little human kid.

He shouldn't have come tonight. Now he liked her more.

"I want to talk to you both," Ryan said as he approached, Naomi trailing behind him.

"She's busy, and whatever you have to say, I'm betting it won't be appropriate in front of Ruger. She ain't playing that game, bud. Say what you want. She's taking Ruger home."

"I have a right to talk to both of you about my concerns—"

"Your concern doesn't fuckin' matter."

"Excuse me? Do you know who I am?"

All right, that was enough. Captain tossed a look over his shoulder to make sure Sloane and Ruger were out of earshot. They were. They were headed back to the parking lot. Captain slid his attention back to Ryan. "I know you."

"Barely."

"Nah, I mean I know the kind of man you are."

Ryan's blond eyebrows arched up and he parted his lips to fire off, but Captain interrupted him and stepped into his space. He looked down at Ryan and didn't hide the growl in his words as he murmured, "I'm not fuckin' done talking. You hurt her. I can tell. You hurt her, and you put that one in front of her and forced her to deal with it," he said, gesturing to Naomi. "And you want her to stay single because then you don't have to deal with your complicated feelings over her, right? She's gorgeous. You knew the second you left she would have men interested. You probably tried to put her down over the years so she wouldn't realize how fucking sexy she is, right? If she lost herself, you could keep her under your thumb, right? That's how scumbags like you work. Here's how it will be from here on out. Sloane will date whoever the fuck she wants—"

"The hell she will—"

"I'm not finished," he snarled in an inhuman voice.

Ryan shrank back and dropped his gaze off to the right.

"She's going to find herself again. She's going to get fucked by a real man over and over again, and she's going to realize how inadequate you are. We're going to laugh about you." He lowered his voice to a murmur and promised, "I'm going to make her forget all about you." He clapped him on the shoulder roughly. "You have a good night at the bars, Ryan. I'm going to take your ex-wife and your kid to dinner." He walked away, but turned and walked backward as he said, "Maybe a movie night or something. See you at the next game, Ryan, and…" He paused and snapped his fingers. "What's your name again?" he asked Naomi.

"Naomi," she said softly.

"Right." He shook his head. "Damn, I'm just not good at names I guess. Have fun tonight, you two."

"I'm going to call Damon Daye!" Ryan yelled behind him. "Or your Alpha! I'm going to tell them what you're doing with a human."

Captain belted out a laugh as his only answer. So pathetic. Aww, was Ryan going to tattle to the blue dragon? Or to Gunner? Okay. They would eat him alive for bothering them with stupid shit like this.

"Naomi, was it?" Captain asked. "You should be worried that your man is so interested in his ex's love life. Just saying."

When he looked back at them, the look on Naomi's face as she glared at her new husband said she agreed.

Mental warfare. Captain was not the one to mess with. He was the brother of the biggest asshole in Damon's Mountains, and was in a Crew of troublemakers that were always taking digs at each other.

Ryan should adjust quickly to the actual loss of Sloane.

Clearly he was still hanging on to something there.

Captain didn't like it. Not one bit.