42. Wyatt

From the moment Anthony left for practice this morning, I was on pins and needles like I was waiting for a call from my lawyer. There was so much riding on how things went with his team’s management, and so many ways it could blow up in his face.

And what happened if it did? What if his career got all fucked up because of me? I mean, technically it was because of him and Simon, but I was part of this, too. I was part of the reason he wanted to go public. So if it was a disaster, would he resent me?

Fuck, I was nervous.

There was nothing I could do but wait, though, so I tried to keep myself busy. I spent an hour in his gym. I walked Lily around the neighborhood. I put in some job applications. In fact, a bunch of new jobs had popped up since I’d looked yesterday, so I killed most of the morning and early afternoon tweaking my résumé and cover letter, filling out applications, and hoping somebody actually called me back. With any luck, some of these jobs were actually legit, and with some more luck, maybe I’d get somewhere with them.

I had just finished submitting another application when the rumble of the garage door made me jump so hard I almost sent my laptop tumbling. I quickly put the computer aside and got up. Anthony was home. Good. Now I could find out how things went.

God, I hoped they went well. I hoped he’d been wound up and scared for nothing. I hoped I’d been worried for no—

The kitchen door flew open, but the man who strode in wasn’t Anthony.

And he immediately zeroed in on me.

“You son of a bitch.” Simon stabbed a finger at me as the door banged shut behind him. “You fucked everything up.”

Before I could even defend myself, Lily positioned herself in front of me, her hackles up, and the low growl raised the hairs on my neck.

“Lily.” I reached for her collar since she didn’t have on her vest or harness. “Stand down.”

She glanced back at me, and she relaxed minutely, but she kept her attention fixed on Simon, her body still tense. Both cats, who’d been chilling on the cat tree, hopped down and hurried out of the living room.

Simon started to speak, but I put up a hand.

“You want a pissed-off and protective Doberman in your face?” I asked. “How about you calm the fuck down?”

“You calm the fuck down,” he snapped. “Get your fucking mutt under control and stop hiding behind her.”

“Lily, stand down,” I said again, and then I stood in front of her. Her leash was on the kitchen island, and I gestured at it. “Hand that to me?”

He shot me an incredulous look.

I rolled my eyes. “Just give me the damn leash.”

He seemed startled that I wasn’t being cowed by him, and he actually handed over the leash. I clipped it to Lily’s collar. Not ideal, but better than having her untethered if this yoyo decided to come at me sideways. She wasn’t aggressive, but she was protective, and I wasn’t letting him provoke her into biting him.

With Lily leashed and sitting behind me, the leash firmly in my hand, I met Simon’s gaze. “All right. You were saying?” I narrowed my eyes. “What did I fuck up?”

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if the brief pause to leash Lily had taken the wind out of his sails. Then he must’ve pulled it together, because his features hardened again. “You fucked up what I had with Anthony.”

I barked a laugh, patting Lily gently to keep her calm. “You did a damn good job of fucking that up yourself, my friend.”

“Bullshit,” he snapped. “We were working on things and fixing them, right up until you showed up and—”

“Were you, though?” I so wanted to step closer and challenge him, but I didn’t want to agitate Lily. “Were you really? Because that’s not what I saw.”

“You didn’t see a damned thing,” he growled through clenched teeth. “Nothing except a rich piece of ass you could—”

“Oh, really?” I laughed, pouring on the sarcasm. “So I’m a homewrecker and a gold digger now? Is that it? Jesus, Simon.” I rolled my eyes. “I know hockey players are flexible, but I didn’t know you could do the gymnastics it takes to convince yourself—”

“Oh, fuck you.”

“No, fuck you,” I spat. “You had every opportunity to make things right with him, and you pissed that away. Not me.”

“Nice to know he had a ‘friend’ who could swoop in and fuck him until he was over me, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged as flippantly as I could. “Didn’t seem like there was much for him to get over by the time I came along.”

His eyes flashed with fury, but there was also surprise in his expression, as if he genuinely didn’t know what to make of my sass.

“What?” I shrugged again. “Did you think you were going to come in here and intimidate me or something? Scare me into running away?” I gave a sharp, caustic laugh. “I’ve squared up with drunk Marines and soldiers twice your size, punk. I’ve shouted down a goddamned Navy SEAL. You don’t scare me.”

He definitely didn’t know what to do with that.

While he was still speechless, I went on, “No one’s expecting you to be thrilled about breaking up with Anthony, but this is where you need to grow up and accept it. If you actually gave a damn about him and not just your bruised pride, then you’d be happy to see him moving on. You’d want him to move on, just like he wants the same thing for you.”

Simon flinched, avoiding my gaze.

“There’s no reason you guys can’t be amicable about this,” I went on. “It isn’t like one of you cheated or—”

“Bullshit!” He snarled, locking eyes with me again. “I’m not stupid. I ended shit with him because he’d already moved you in right under my goddamned nose, and—”

“Because he was giving me a place to stay so my dog and I didn’t freeze to death!”

We both went still. He stared at me, and I suddenly realized he didn’t actually know how Anthony and I had crossed paths.

“What are you talking about?” he demanded.

“I was living on the streets.” I gestured sharply at Lily, who was still very much on guard beside me. “And she wasn’t going to survive a cold snap, so I asked the vet clinic if they’d let her sleep there.” My head swam with the memory, the visceral panic of facing down that night clawing at me as if it were happening here and now. I swallowed past the bile and gritted out, “Anthony offered me a place to stay.”

Simon stared at me. “So you were… Anthony replaced me with a bum?”

Fury surged through me. An intrusive thought suggested letting go of the leash so Lily could deal with Simon, but I shoved that away. I fucking hated Simon, but I wasn’t going to get violent with him, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let my dog be punished for it.

As calmly as I could—and that wasn’t very calm—I said, “I mean, replacing you with a bum sounds like an upgrade to me, so…”

“Fuck you,” he snapped. “You knew he and I were trying to work things out, and you—”

“That ain’t the way I heard it,” I growled. “Sounded more to me like—”

“You don’t know shit.” He stepped closer, looming over me. “You think you—”

“You might want to stop,” I said coolly, and tilted my head downward.

His eyes flicked in that direction, and he stiffened. Lily wasn’t nearly as intimidating as a Doberman with cropped ears, but any dog was menacing when they started growling. She already had the leash taut, and I could feel more than hear that low, warning growl.

Eyes locked on Simon, I said, “Back. Off.”

He swallowed. Then he backed off. I had no illusions he was intimidated by me; anyone with any measure of survival instinct knew when it wasn’t a good idea to challenge a dog. Especially when she was from a breed that was used as guard dogs for a reason. I considered telling her to watch my six so she wouldn’t be focused on him—I didn’t want her to be aggressive, after all—but I also wanted him just far enough off balance that he checked himself. He’d come in here ready to lose his shit and flip out at me, and Lily was probably the only thing keeping him from getting in my face and setting off my psychological landmines.

Voice decidedly calmer but no less confrontational, he said to me, “All I have to do is call animal control and tell them she attacked me.”

Rage and panic boiled inside me, and Lily quickly shifted from growling to leaning against me. She went from protecting me from him to protecting me from my own internal turmoil so fast, even Simon seemed startled, watching her with wide, puzzled eyes.

“You don’t have a mark on you,” I growled, narrowing my eyes, “and we both know very well that there’s cameras in here.” The words “I dare you” were dangerously close to the tip of my tongue, but I held them back. The last thing I wanted was animal control responding to even a hint that Lily had been aggressive, never mind attacked someone. Even if we had camera footage proving she hadn’t done more than growl at him, there was that risk of them making a file on her. No way in hell was I taking any chances with my dog.

Especially since I wasn’t a hundred percent sure the cameras were on anymore. After Simon had creeped on Anthony and me, it was entirely possible Anthony had shut them off.

So I just put myself in front of Lily, and I quietly said, “Step off. She’s protecting me, and you have no business coming at me like this. Whatever’s going on, it’s between you and Anthony, and—”

“And you got yourself between us, didn’t you? Just waltzed right in and—” His head snapped toward the garage. A second later, I realized why: an approaching engine.

Oh, thank God. Maybe he’d back off now.

I seized on Simon’s distraction and led Lily into the living room. I walked her in a couple of small circles, drawing her focus to me and talking quietly to her so she could see that I was calm. She was laser-focused on me now, probably still sensing that I was wound up.

“Good girl,” I told her softly. “I’m okay. Good girl.”

She wasn’t buying it, but at least she wasn’t zeroed in on Simon anymore.

Then the kitchen door flew open, and Anthony and Simon were instantly in each other’s faces. Shouting. Gesturing wildly. Yelling over the top of each other so loudly I couldn’t make out what either was saying.

I stared at them from the living room. Fuck. I’d never seen Anthony that angry before. Not even when he was fuming in the penalty box or screaming at an opposing player while the refs and their teammates pulled them apart. Those times, it was funny and even a little hot.

This time?

Holy shit.

All I could do was watch, my heart pounding as I saw sides of both men I’d never seen before.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Anthony bellowed over Simon’s bitching. “You fucking torpedo my career, and then you come here? What the fuck were—” Abruptly, he turned to me, and though his eyes were still ablaze with fury, he brought his voice down to something quieter. “Are you good? Did he—”

“I’m fine,” I croaked, stroking Lily’s neck to keep her calm. “Just, uh… He caught me by surprise.”

Anthony whirled on Simon again. “What the fuck is up with that, anyway? You throw me to the goddamned wolves and then come back here? Why?”

“It’s my house,” Simon said with infuriating calm. “I have every right to be here.”

“Uh-huh.” Anthony folded his arms and raised his chin. “And I’m sure if I pull up the camera footage, I’ll just see the two of you talking calmly. Right?”

Something about the way he said it made me think he already knew what happened. Maybe he’d checked the cameras on his way here? While he was driving?

Except…

Oh. Shit. He’d ridden into practice with Simon this morning. He must’ve taken an Uber or gotten a ride with a teammate. Which meant…

My knees wobbled a little. He’d probably seen it all unfold. He’d probably been watching it live.

Well, that meant there was footage in case Simon did call animal control. I petted Lily’s back. She was safe. That was the most important thing right now.

“What is wrong with you?” Anthony demanded of his ex. “You broke up with me. You moved out. You wanted it to be over. And now that I just want to move on with my life, you have to fuck me over? I mean…” He threw up his arms. “Cole Tandy? Really? You talked to that asshole?”

My blood turned cold. Oh, shit. Wasn’t that the gossip columnist who was itching to spread crap about the two of them?

“I don’t care what the fucking team does to me at this point,” Anthony snarled. “I hope they send me to the goddamned East Coast just so I don’t have to play in your division.” He made a disgusted sound and looked his ex up and down like he didn’t even recognize the man. “What happened to you?”

Simon’s shoulders dropped. “I just wanted us to be back together.”

“So you told Tandy I cheated on you?”

Simon shrugged indifferently. “You wanted the truth out. Now everyone knows we’ve split up, and that you’re banging some random guy.” He smirked. “One more text to Tandy, and they’ll all know you’re fucking a homeless bum you scraped up off the street.”

Anthony’s lips parted. My stomach dropped as shame filled me; the thought of someone using me and my situation to smear him made me sick.

Anthony watched him in stunned silence for a moment. Then he shook his head. “Get out, Simon. Get the fuck out.”

Simon didn’t budge. “You can’t kick me out of my own house.”

“I don’t have anywhere else to go, Simon!” Anthony shouted. “This is my home. You have an apartment. One of us needs to leave, and where the hell am I supposed to go?”

Simon’s eyes flicked toward me, and I could hear the “why don’t you guys go to his place? Ooh, right…” coming a mile away.

Before he could say it, though, Anthony growled, “When they trade my ass, because God knows they will, then this place”—he gestured around—“is all yours. You win, okay? But until then, you moved out. You wanted space. You didn’t want to live here with me.” He pointed sharply at the door. “So get the fuck out.”

“You can’t just kick me—”

“I am, Simon. I’m asking you to do exactly what you wanted to do when you got that apartment. Get the hell out. Leave us the hell alone. And after I’m traded, it’s all yours.” He pointed again at the door. “But get. Out.”

They stared at each other for a long, tense moment. I held my breath, wondering which way this was going to go.

I silently begged Simon to leave. Anthony needed him gone, and selfish or not, so did I. My PTSD triggers weren’t related to people screaming at me or threatening me, but fight-or-flight absolutely stomped all over those psychological landmines. The combat-traumatized part of my brain couldn’t tell the difference between “this asshole might take a swing at me” and “bullets are about to start flying.”

Get out, fucker,I wanted to plead as I watched Simon stare Anthony down. I prayed Anthony had the backbone to hold his ground, and I prayed like hell he didn’t need to.

Simon stepped closer to Anthony, and I held my breath.

“You wanted to go public,” he said through his teeth. “So now we’ve gone public.”

“I wanted to tell the team so we didn’t get fucked,” Anthony hissed back.

“Uh-huh. And then you could flaunt your bum of a boyfriend everywhere to humiliate me. Is that it?”

Anthony blinked. “I’m not trying to flaunt anything! I just want to move on with my life and stop pretending we’re a goddamned couple.”

“Yeah. Okay. So you coincidentally decide you can’t deal with it around the time you’re shacking up with him.” He gestured sharply at me.

Anthony exhaled. “For fuck’s sake. Look.” He squared his shoulders and locked eyes with Simon again, but when he spoke, he just sounded tired. “You’ve outed our breakup, painted me as a cheater, and fucked my reputation. You’ve thrown my goddamned career off the rails just for spite.” He spread his arms. “Are you done? Or is there still something you want to ruin for me?”

Simon glared at him, lips pulled tight and nostrils flaring. I tensed, ready for them to be off and screaming at each other again.

Thank God, though, Simon snarled something at Anthony… and then left.

The slamming door made me jump out of my skin, but the relief that washed over me made my knees unsteady. I sat on the couch and let Lily lean against me as I caught my breath. I was shaking as the adrenaline drained away, and she was shaking a little too.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I murmured to her as I stroked her short coat. “I’m so sorry.”

Her tail wagged and she licked my face. God, I did not deserve this dog. I was glad I’d put Simon in his fucking place, even if it meant hitting some of my mental tripwires, but I hated that it had come at Lily’s expense.

Anthony sank onto the couch beside me and rested his hand between my shoulders. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah.” I turned to him. “What about you?”

He dropped his gaze. “I’m… It’s been a rough morning.”

“Did he really tell the tabloids?”

Wincing, Anthony nodded. “Yeah. Tandy had it posted before I’d even sat down with the club, so…”

My heart sank. “So you didn’t have a chance to tell them the way you wanted to.”

Eyes still down, he shook his head.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“It’s not your fault.” He rubbed my back gently. “I’m the one who’s sorry. Especially because I had no idea he was going to come here and…”

“That’s not your fault.” I met his gaze and slid a hand over his thigh. “He’s a dickhead. I’m glad he’s fucking gone.”

“You and me both.” Anthony leaned back against the cushions and rubbed a hand over his face. “God, what a shitshow.”

I twisted toward him. “What happens now? With the team?”

His pained expression made my chest hurt. Shaking his head, he whispered, “I don’t know for sure. I mean, I do. I know what’s…” He closed his eyes and sighed. “No one’s come out and said it, but I’m not stupid. I’m getting traded. Or waived. Something.”

I squeezed his leg gently. “But he’s the one who outed the two of you.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Anthony sounded absolutely exhausted, and he stared up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. “We knew the deal when we came out as a couple. The club wanted to avoid a media shitstorm, and now that they’re getting one, it doesn’t matter who pulled the trigger. They’re going to separate us to keep the peace, and there’s no way they keep me over him.” His eyes welled up a little. “I love this team. I love this city.” He shook his head. “But Simon’s the better player. One of us has to go, and it’s not gonna be him.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“No.” He met my gaze again. “You’re about the only thing in my life that isn’t fucked up.” He found my hand and laced our fingers together. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.”

That didn’t seem quite true to me. Rational or not, I still felt guilty and ashamed for how all this went down. As if I could have done something differently or made things easier for him. But I couldn’t articulate any of that.

A quiet chirp turned both our heads.

Moose peered in from the hallway.

Anthony exhaled, and a small smile formed on his lips. “Hey, buddy.” He patted the cushion beside him. “Come here.”

Moose trotted across the room and hopped up on the couch beside Anthony, where he purred and kneaded. A moment later, Bear tentatively poked his head into the room before joining his brother.

I reached across to pet Moose. “They cleared out when Simon started in on me.”

Anthony winced. “I’m sorry, guys.” He scratched both of their backs, making them arch like Halloween cats. “We’re gonna change the locks, okay?”

That much was a relief. Not just because it meant Simon couldn’t come barging in anymore, but because it was Anthony taking another step toward moving on. The more space he put between him and his ex, the more he moved on, and that seemed like the healthiest thing for him.

He deserved so much better than Simon. I had no idea if I was, overall, much of an upgrade—I sure as shit wasn’t as rich or hot as Simon—but I damn sure treated Anthony better than he did.

With his name all over the tabloids and his career up in the air…

I wondered if that was anywhere near enough.