Chapter 5

Rico

I come up the stairs from my workout and hear my phone buzz.

Aiden- be at my house in twenty

I smirk. "Somebody's in a mood."

Me- wow, thanks for the sweet offer but I'm going to have to decline

Aiden- no, you're not

Sebastian- uh, is this for all of us?

Aiden- what do you think if you got the message

Sebastian- wow, I really thought you'd be a lot nicer when you got back from your honeymoon

Aiden- eighteen minutes

Rico- what if I already have plans?

Aiden- cancel them

Gunner- who made you team captain?

Rico- Cap? You're on here too?

Sebastian- I'll bring the snacks for the party

Aiden- it's not a party

Sebastian- if I'm there, it's a party

Rico- how does Stephanie deal with you?

Sebastian- my girl knows I bring the party

Sebastian- speaking of my girl, I'm bringing her with to said party

Rico- we're bringing dates now?

Aiden- it's not a party

Sebastian- should we dress up?

Aiden- fifteen minutes

Rico- that's not nearly enough time for Seb to get ready and I'm really not in the mood for a party so next time

Gunner- why exactly do we have to be there?

Aiden- it's about Amber

Rico- I'll be there in ten

Gunner- is this about the other night?

I grab my keys and my ball cap and head out to my truck, texting as I go.

Rico- that was fast

Sebastian- I still can't believe you guys went off and had fun without me

Aiden- thirteen minutes and counting

I smirk and drop my phone into the console and make the drive over to Aiden's house. It's only about a ten-minute drive for me, so I'm the first to get there. I figure it's going to take Sebastian time to get himself pulled together and get here, and Gunner lives the furthest away. I climb out and head to the front door. I knock on the door, but nobody answers. It's unlocked though, so I head inside. "I'm here," I call out, giving Aiden and Bri a heads-up.

Surprisingly, Sebastian and Stephanie come through the front door less than five minutes later. I grin at the sight of them. Sebastian's rocking an old threadbare t-shirt and sweats, while Stephanie looks like she just came from a business meeting in her black pantsuit. "Where are Aiden and Bri?" Sebastian asks, looking around.

I shrug. "I just got here."

"Yo, Aiden. Bri," he calls out.

Stephanie shakes her head. "That's one way to do it."

He grins. "What?"

Aiden comes down the stairs a minute later. "Sorry to make you wait. I needed to take a quick shower."

"Where's Brielle?" That's from Stephanie.

"She's at her mom's. Amber's there too." He says this with a look over at me, but I keep a neutral expression on my face.

"Is this about her being pregnant?" Stephanie asks as she sits on the couch.

"You know about that?" Aiden asks in surprise.

"Rico called me when she was sick last night, and he didn't know what to do."

Aiden narrows his eyes at me. "You called Stephanie over Brielle, her sister?"

I take a seat on one of the armchairs; I have a feeling it's going to be a long night. "Yeah, I didn't call Bri because she was on her honeymoon ."

"You should have called her first," Aiden argues.

"Is this why you called us over? To berate me for calling Stephanie over Brielle?"

Sebastian raises his hand, like we're in kindergarten. "I would like to point out that he called me . Then I passed the phone to my wife."

"And why does that matter?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"I don't know; I just felt like it needed to be said," he says with a shrug.

"I feel like you're really angry," I say cautiously to Aiden. "And that it's not really about the fact that I called Stephanie—" I put my hand up, stopping Sebastian's dumb argument. " Sebastian... first." Aiden pins me with a glare, and I'm thankful once again that I play with him and not against him.

"Looks like I'm missing a grand time," Gunner says dryly as he joins our group.

"Cap, when did you get here?" Seb asks.

"Just now. Why is Aiden so mad?" He drops into the chair next to mine.

"He was born that way," Seb spouts off, and I drop my head to keep a chuckle to myself. Seb grunts, and I have a feeling Stephanie just elbowed him in the stomach. "What? That's a good thing. We all benefit from it."

"You done?" Aiden asks Sebastian.

Sebastian cocks his head to the side. When Stephanie moves to elbow him again, he catches it and grins. He uses his strength to pull her forward, still grasping her arm. She lands awkwardly in his lap.

"Sebastian," she growls at him. He just smiles like a Cheshire cat and settles her on his lap, keeping his arms around her. I think it has less to do with hugging her than restraining her, and from the look on her face, I'm pretty sure I'm right.

"Anyway," Aiden says, drawing our attention back to him. "Amber's pregnant." His words settle in my gut, the same way they did last night; but I keep my expression blank.

"She is?" Gunner asks. He's the only one that didn't know. He glances at me, but I don't return the look. "By Adam Grey," he says, putting it all together. Anger begins to rise inside me.

"Yes. Amber's pregnant. Is there a reason we're here?" I try to keep the impatience from my voice, but based on the looks my teammates are giving me; I'm pretty sure I failed. I've got to get her out of my system. It was bad enough when she was dating, but now she's carrying another man's baby. Even if I hate the man, he's her baby's daddy. She's going to have to make it work.

"She didn't want to, but he pressured her."

Aiden's words whip my attention back to the conversation. "He forced her?" My words are low and angry, but I can't find it in myself not to care.

Aiden meets my eyes. "I think there's a very fine line, and I think he was really close to that line. I don't think he physically forced her, but there's other ways."

"Like guilting her into it," Stephanie adds.

My anger begins to rise. I never liked Adam Grey before everything went down at the party, but the more I hear about him...I shake my head, trying to clear it. And then Aiden says something that makes my blood boil.

"He doesn't want anything to do with Amber or the baby." Aiden's words barely register in my mind.

"What?" I ask, shooting to my feet.

"Are you kidding?" Stephanie stands up as well. "She didn't tell me that part."

"Are you sure, Man?" Sebastian asks, uncharacteristically serious. "Because that's not cool."

"That's what she said," Aiden answers.

I shake my head as anger courses through me. How could he get her pregnant and then leave her? How could he just toss her aside? And the baby? There's no way he's going to get away with it.

" Rico." Aiden's voice finally penetrates my spiraling of thoughts. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go talk to him," I manage to get out.

It's quiet for a few seconds. "I don't think that's a good idea," Sebastian starts.

"I didn't say it was a good idea; I said that's what I'm doing."

"No, you're not," Gunner says.

I take in the fact that Aiden and Gunner are now standing between me and the door. Sebastian's leaning casually against the wall, but there's nothing casual about it. I know what they're doing. "You guys aren't stopping me."

"No, we're not," Gunner says in a calm voice. "If you go, we'll go with you." Not a single one of them bats an eye at the offer, and I take a deep breath. "But think about what's best for Amber." Her name snaps me out of my rage. "If you go after him now, what's it going to do to Amber?"

I shake my head. "He can't get away with this. He got her pregnant. How can he walk away?"

Sebastian pushes off the wall. "I don't know, Man. I get it. It's terrible. He's the worst of the worst. I can't imagine if it were Stephanie." I see anger reflected in his eyes.

"Well, yeah, that's because she's yours." The words come out before I really realize what I'm saying.

All three of the guys stare at me. "What?"

But it's Stephanie that breaks the silence. "We all know how you feel about her, Rico."

I turn to her in surprise, a rebuttal on my tongue. "Don't waste your breath arguing," Sebastian says. "We've all seen how you look at her."

I narrow my eyes and cross my arms. "I don't look at her like anything."

Sebastian scoffs. "You look at her like I look at Stephanie, and like he looks at Brielle." He nods his head at Aiden. I turn to Aiden, but he nods, backing up what Seb's saying.

I shake my head. "No, it's not..."

"I get it," Sebastian says, dropping his hand on my shoulder. "It's probably best not to fight it." I grunt and run my hand over my chest. "Now, as I was saying. You can go force him to be with her; but is that really what you want?"

"It's what's best." The words taste like sand in my mouth.

"No, it's not," Aiden growls. "You didn't see her when she was talking about him." His lips curl into a sneer. "Believe me, he'll get what's coming to him. That's my sister-in-law and niece or nephew we're talking about." He cracks his neck and meets my eyes. "He will get what's coming to him."

"But not now," Sebastian says. "If you go after him now, you could cause him to actually go after Amber and choose to be with her, just out of spite."

I frown. "Why would he do that?"

"Because when he sees she's with you, he's not going to be happy about it. The more you make it obvious by showing up and pushing him around, he's going to put it all together," Seb says.

"Whoa, I'm not with Amber," I remind them.

"But you will be," Sebastian says with certainty.

"But—"

"You're a way better option than Adam Grey," Gunner says in a low voice. Aiden nods, backing up what Gunner said. I stare at all of them, unsure what to say or even think.

"She's going to need you, Rico," Stephanie says, coming to stand next to Sebastian. He wraps an arm around her and pulls her close. "She will probably push you away." She shakes her head. "That girl is so stubborn. If you really want to be with her, you're going to have to fight for a position in her life. I had to, and her sister is my best friend! She'll fight you and push you away like nobody's business. But once you're in with her, you're in for life." A gentle smile crosses her lips. "Amber would die for the people she loves." An ache fills my chest, and I rub it again. "She's going to struggle with this betrayal. She doesn't give her heart away easily, and she did. To Adam Grey." She pauses and lets her words sink in. "I know her well enough to know she's going to harden herself even more. If you want to get close to her, you're going to have to work at it. I can't promise it will be easy—"

"But it will be worth it," I finish for her. She nods sadly, and Sebastian kisses the top of her head.

I stare at each one of them. "You think I should pursue her?"

"Is that what you want?" Sebastian asks.

I don't even have to think about it. "Yes."

"Then, it's time to make a gameplan, boys," Sebastian says with a slow grin.

"Wait. What if she's not interested in me?" I have to bring it up, because it's sort of a reality with Amber.

Sebastian shrugs. "Didn't stop me." Stephanie lets out a full-belly laugh, causing all of us to smile. Sebastian's smile gets impossibly smug. "I got the girl."