Chapter 23 - Victoria

Victoria

R eality slapped me in the face.

Hard.

Two weeks ago I’d been blissfully holed up with Xavier in Paris and London.

Now? Life in Manhattan imploded.

Tre Gideon bruised his knee in practice. Dante Milano failed a PED test and was promptly suspended four games. Oh, and Noah Tate thought it would be hilarious to go skateboarding for a stupid social media post and sprained his finger.

The silver lining was the finger happened to be on Noah’s non-throwing hand. Little victories.

All of this happened as the final preseason game inched closer.

“Is your season ruined now?” Killian propped his feet up on the coffee table.

We were lounging in his living room after returning from Sunday brunch. We’d met up with Noah and Tracey to finalize some of the marketing and financial plans for Charlotte’s foundation. Most of the discussion revolved around the inaugural event, which Killian nearly hijacked and turned into a masquerade ball.

Thank goodness Max stepped in as the voice of reason.

“I don’t know.” I rubbed my temples, trying to ignore the muted pain throbbing behind my eyes.

Aside from the player injuries, preparing for the home opener has been insane. The Legends were kicking off the regular season with a primetime game. My days were filled with media requests, pre-interviews, player and coach availabilities, digging myself out of a never-ending string of emails, and putting the final touches on the media plan for the entire season.

I haven’t even had a chance to see the boys until today. And Xavier? Let’s just say our communication has been minimal at best now that his new season was in full swing.

“I’m the best sports-baller fill in if you need one.” Killian clasped his hands together. “Or you could ask Hotty McBodyguard to be the new quarterback. What’s the deal with him anyway?”

I flopped back against the couch with an audible sigh. “His name is Marcus Hanson and he works for the Caldwells. That’s all I know.”

Xavier and I did manage to work out the whole babysitter situation. I really didn’t like how frantic he’d become the night my car was vandalized. If having someone shadow me meant peace of mind for him, I’d be willing to bend. I agreed to have Marcus be my security detail only if he didn’t interfere with every little thing in my life.

So far, so good.

“Baby girl, I don’t need names. I need vital stats. Single?”

Maxim cleared his throat loudly. “I. Am. Right. Here.”

I flung a pillow at my best friend. “Stop.”

A boisterous laugh echoed through the room. “When did the two of you become such prudes? Max knows I’d never do anything. And you—” he threw the pillow at my head “—haven’t said one word about what happened with that photo. You’re a minor celebrity in England.”

Right. The photo of Xavier and I from after the game in Paris.

It went viral and got picked up by several tabloids in the U.K. Apparently dating England’s number one can’t be kept a secret forever. Not that we were hiding it.

My social media following shot through the roof. Captioning it Mon amour probably sped up the whole process. So did posting the picture of him from our late afternoon tryst at his childhood soccer field. I’d captioned that one He’s a keeper with a blue heart emoji. People ate it up.

“It was bound to happen.” I shrugged.

Killian propped his head on his hand. “You’re so blasé about it. I’d be terrified of a stalker or something.”

“That’s what Marcus is for,” I responded, trying to sound unbothered. Not sure if I succeeded.

My best friend eyed me with interest. “Does he still drive you everywhere?”

“Yep.”

“But your car is fixed.”

“I know.”

“Then tell him to go take a long walk off a short pier. You’re a big girl. You can drive yourself to work.”

“Babe.” Max’s tone was stern. “Leave her alone.”

“I almost forgot,” I said, ignoring them. “I bought you something Parisian.”

Killian’s face lit up. A small part of me felt bad when I handed him the gift bag.

He dug out the present, tossing tissue paper to the floor. His exuberant expression fell.

“Why?” He glowered, holding up the little mime statue.

“It’s whimsical.”

“You’re a heathen.” The way Killian tossed it over to Max reminded me of when we played hot potato as kids.

“It’s a mime not a spider.” I took it from Max and put it on the table. “See? It’s just like you. Expressive, almost to a ridiculous degree.”

Winston galloped over and jumped on the couch next to me. I scratched him behind the ears. “Mind if I take him outside?”

Winston tilted his head and stared at me. I haven’t met a dog yet who doesn’t get excited by outside .

“Please. And take your time.” Killian grabbed the leash for me. “Make sure he doesn’t get into anything gross.”

“Yes, your grace. The little prince shall have his paws wiped after every step.”

“The sarcasm isn’t necessary.”

“But it is fun.” I blew a kiss and headed to the elevator.

On cue, Marcus appeared at the front door when I walked outside. Clad in a designer suit with his hands clasped behind his back, he looked like a rogue Secret Service agent. Or an assassin. Either way, totally intimidating.

As much as I don’t want to admit it, I’ve gotten used to the quiet, statuesque man following me around.

Seriously. Marcus embodied the strong but silent type.

We walked toward the dog park without saying a word. The silence didn’t bother me much when he drove me to and from work but it did now. I slowed my stride a little.

“Everything okay, Ms. Chase?” His deep voice sounded behind me.

“Yep. I just figured since you’re walking with me we could, you know, chat. If that’s okay with you.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He fell into step next to me.

“First thing, please don’t call me ma’am . Ms. Chase is alright, I suppose. But it’s not against the law to call me Victoria.”

A beat passed before he responded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Christ on a stick .

“So what’s your story, Marcus?” I asked, opening the gate. Not many people were in the park. “Did you dream of working for a private security firm when you were a kid?”

Winston stopped to sniff around. I took the opportunity to study my brooding, tall escort. No smile, no hint of amusement, nothing.

“I’ll take your lack of response as a yes.” I peeked at Winston. He rolled around in the dirt. Killian will love that.

“I’m a former Navy SEAL, ma’am.”

My eye twitched. “How’d you make the leap from special ops to personal security?”

Was that a shrug?

“Training athletes has always been a bit of a side hobby. Most of my clients after I left the SEALs were football players. When this detail opened up years ago with the Caldwell family, I jumped at it.”

Interesting.

“Have you ever considered working on the strength and conditioning staff? I know a few teams in the league are hiring.”

“Thought about it.”

“The idea of shadowing a media relations director seemed more exciting?” I joked.

Another bout of stern silence.

“I do what the Caldwell family asks.”

Winston tugged at his leash when a squirrel ran by. I double wrapped it around my wrist. He might be little but he’s feisty.

I wasn’t going to pull any additional information out of Marcus. I could tell by the way he stared at the tree.

Fine.

Winston happily followed me when I sat down on a nearby bench to text Xavier.

Xavier

“ T hanks for agreeing to see me.” Adam strolled through my flat, pausing at the display case filled with awards and medals. “At least nobody will ever mistake you for being humble.”

“This is how you’re starting? You’re welcome to leave.”

“Relax, Xavier. I’m only teasing you.” He waved a hand at the shelves. “It’s impressive.” Adam’s drawl reminded me of my father’s; smooth and casual. He’d picked up a few of the Maddox family traits over the years. Hard not to.

A debonair charmer, Adam always made everyone feel at ease.

People often mistook us for brothers by birth. Physically, I could sort of see why. We’re both tall with dark hair and light eyes.

But he lacked the one trait that made me an actual Maddox, and him just Adam Bourne.

Arrogance.

He oozed charisma without the sharp edge I inherited.

Spending Sunday evening hanging out with my stepbrother wasn’t high on my list of things to do. But he’d insisted.

“What do you want?” I asked, pulling my phone out of my pocket when it vibrated.

Tori: Tell me your day is way more interesting than mine

I smiled, typing a reply.

“I think I know what Jordan is up to,” he told me just as I sent it’s terribly boring to Victoria.

Not so boring anymore. “Explain.”

Adam tapped his fingers on the arm of the couch before sitting. “Remember Philip?”

I groaned in frustration. “Yes. We had this conversation already. What’s—”

“He’s working on a new project for one of their clients. It’s a start-up tech company that specializes in creating computer generated content. Images, videos, that sort of thing.”

“I thought he was just the security guy.”

I was subjected to one of Adam’s dramatic eye rolls. “For fuck’s sake, Xavier, you never listen to me. Tech lead. He’s the tech lead for the security team.”

“Meaning?”

A blank stare preceded his answer. “Meaning he detects and responds to cyberthreats, and he makes sure the clients’ networks are safe. It also means he could cause those cyberthreats. Should I simplify or did you grasp all that?”

Tori: Want me to make it not boring?

I squeezed the phone, wishing Adam would go away. “Why are you telling me this?”

A tense silence vibrated between us.

“The new client is based in Manhattan,” he finally said.

I dropped my phone. Adam flicked his eyes down and back up.

“Philip is working out of that office until the end of the year.”

The muscles in my jaw twitched. “What does any of this have to do with Jordan?”

“I don’t know. But Philip told me Jordan also has an office in the same building. It’s not related to the tech company stuff but…it’s weird. Jordan mainly focuses his attention on London, Paris, and Frankfurt, vying for business on the political and financial stages in Europe, not in the States.” Adam held my laser stare. “I told you he has it out for you. What happened?”

That’s a fucking loaded question.

“It’s a long story,” I admitted, sitting on the arm of the chair. “You know how he can be.”

“Yeah.” Adam examined me with empathy. Not something I’ve seen from him in a long time. “I’ve been thinking a lot about back then. I was friends with that prick. I saw what he did to people and I stayed friends with him.” He hung his head, shoulders slumping. “I was so blinded by trying to be like you that I couldn’t see what was really going on.”

Wait one fucking second . “Repeat that last part.”

Regret flooded my stepbrother’s demeanor when he stood up and walked to the door. “You heard what I said, asshole. We’ll get into all that another time. I just thought you needed to know about Jordan.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I told you. Philip and I have remained in touch over the years.” He spoke so low I almost didn’t catch it. “Do you remember what happened at the bonfire that one summer? When you and Jordan got into a fight?”

I snickered. “Narrow it down for me. All we did was fight.”

Adam looked thoughtful. “True. He was quite miffed about not making the Royal City development team. He sucked as a striker though. Come to think of it, he sucked as a winger, too. He shouldn’t have been surprised they didn’t want him.”

The way Adam looked at me transported me back to the first day I met him. We were eight. My father and Rebecca thought it would be easier if they introduced us in a casual setting. We’d been on the pitch, kicking the ball around.

I remembered not thinking much about him except it would be fun to have a younger brother, even though we’re only five months apart. But he’d looked at me like he already idolized me in some way. Like I was the older brother he’d always wanted.

A grin tugged at my lips. “He did suck.”

For a split second, all the animosity between us dissipated.

“Anyway.” Adam shoved his hands in his pockets. “Thought you’d want to know since Victoria lives there. Hope everything’s going alright with you two now that you’re splashed all over the gossip sites.”

“One thing about Victoria is she knows how to handle the media. We’re fine. Thanks though.”

Without saying another word, he left. The door closed quietly behind him.

What the fuck is going on?