Chapter 44

Polly

“O kay, tell me again, ‘cause I think the Clara-Chris revelations, three rounds of makeup sex, dinner in bed, and an X-rated shower has dumbed me down significantly.”

A twisted, panting pile of limbs, Luca and I had collapsed onto the sofa and there we remained—me tucked between Luca’s spread legs, my head on his warm, broad chest. After coming so close to losing him, the feel of his warm skin brushing against mine and the thump of his giant heart beating was delicious.

“Okay, but I’m going right back to the start, and if you don’t get it this time, I’m calling this whole thing off.” I nodded even though nothing was stopping what I’d set in motion. “I was drafted in high school but didn’t play until after college.”

“And that’s common?”

“Yup. And becoming more so. Players want to have a degree, so they’ve got something to fall back on if they never get a game or get injured. Apart from helping me set that up, the first agent I had was a complete douche who not only ripped me off but hit on my mom every time he saw her, so I got rid of him as soon as I was drafted.”

“Aww. You spoil sport. Maybe Marta liked it?” I stretched and brushed my lips against Luca’s stomach. “Maybe she wanted to bone him.”

“Fuck, stop, please. I was sure she did, that’s why I fired him … well, that and the few thousand dollars in hidden commissions. After that, I was too nervous to sign on with anyone else, so me and Ana dealt with everything.”

“See? How can you doubt your intelligence all the time when you could do all that?”

“Ahh, really easily,” he scoffed. “It was a stupid thing to do, but I trusted that the team I loved my whole life would look after me more than I trusted my ability to choose the right person to do it. Things got a bit out of hand when the sponsors started calling, so Rory introduced me to his manager, Jason Brown, who happens to be Coach Brown’s brother … and Chris’s boss.”

Scheming began before Luca had finished his sentence. “Brothers, you say? Hmmm. What I’m hearing is that not only are you brilliant, but the hockey world is as tight knit, interconnected, and gossipy as Byron. The big difference here is that people don’t want to see you tarred, feathered, and crucified in the main street. They actually … gag … like you and want to help you. It’s time to use that to our advantage.”

“Gotta say, Princess, it makes me nervous when you rub your hands together like that. It’s super cartoon villainy. You look like a sexy Mr. Burns.”

“Excellent,” I replied in a drawn-out purr, tapping my fingertips together.

From there, our dilemma about what to do with Chris and Clara boiled down to a game of Chinese whispers. Luca called and spilled the tea to Coach Brown. Coach Brown called his brother, who called his partner at Brown and Carter management and squealed like a pig. Bada-bing bada-boom, Chris was facing the unemployment line, and Luca was gifted the honor of kicking him to the curb.

But how to do it?

Despite the late hour, Clara was lured to our home by text message from Luca.

Luca: She’s left me, Clara. Gone without a word. I’m all alone. What am I going to do?

We didn’t even bother messaging Chris, who was bound to show up with his sister and really drive home the wedge they tried to place between us.

And Luca, well, he was going over the lines I gave him, panicking and trying to change my mind.

“Toilet papering Chris’s house is a much safer option. It was my go-to prank as a kid. I even have the camo gear.”

“You are the cutest, kindest man alive and as yummy as you’d look in all black with grease smudges under your eyes, it’s not necessary.”

“Are you sure, Pol? It’s not too late to call everything off and go with my idea. I really think we would have fun.”

“I’m sure we would, baby.” I smiled while patronizingly patting him the same way I would have done to Toto if she’d taken a dump outside. Like the puppy, he seemed to enjoy it. “But you leave this underhanded scheming shit to me. I’m in my element here. Let me have it. I need it.”

Yes, up till this fuck-stick of a day, I had been enjoying my life as a married, suburban good girl. And sure, I wore a lot less black than in my past. But the devil in me had not departed, and it was her time to shine.

My plan was tame compared to the old days, but I was determined Christian and Clara wouldn’t get away with their deceit. Their comeuppance had to be less … me. Luca was a public figure with too much to lose, and I loved him too much to see him lose it.

“Shit. There’s a car here.” Luca sprang from the couch we’d not left for hours and unceremoniously dumped me to the floor before apologizing profusely, picking me up one-handed, and dumping me back on the sofa. It was fucking hilarious. As was his tiptoe run to the door and his peering through the window beside it. “Oh. Looks like Brookes. Good. Great. Awesome.” His teammate must have been a less terrifying choice than the siblings, as Luca’s shoulders dropped from their precarious positions around his ears. Centering himself with a deep breath, he rattled the lever a few times and then opened the door. “Dallas,” he said sternly. “Good to see you. Come in.”

Righty skeptical, Dallas took a step and then paused. “Promise me you’re not going to beat me to a pulp and toss my bloody carcass into the ocean, and I will.”

“You have nothing to fear from me, Brookes. But once you see and hear what you’re about to, you might be ready to toss yourself in.”

“If that was supposed to make me feel better, it didn’t.” Something must have relieved his fear, though, as he lumbered in a few paces, nodding as he saw me. Stopping by the mudroom, he scanned the space with darting eyes … perhaps looking for weapons. “Never thought I’d get an invitation to the Golden Boy’s palace,” he grumped. “If you don’t want to hurt me, what do you want?”

“Justice,” Luca said. “For me and for you.” Headlights shone through the lounge window before Luca could explain further. “Look, I concede that given our past, this is an odd reversal of events, but Brookes, get into the closet.”

His brows knotted together. “No fucking way am I getting into anything until you tell me what’s going on.”

As I joined him at his side, Luca stepped into his space and pressed both hands into his chest, pushing him as he spoke. “Just do it, okay, asshole? You owe me.”

Dallas said nothing. Just sighed like Luca had moments ago, shook his head, and backed into the pile of coats and winter boots while another pair of fists began pounding at the front door.

“Luca, it’s me, and Chris is with me. Let us in, babe.”

Babe? I was torn between cutting the bitch and laughing at her predictability.

“Called it!” I whispered. “I knew she’d bring her brother. She’s such a fucking amateur.” I stood on the tips of my toes and placed a big, wet kiss on Luca’s lips. “Are you sure you’re up to this? Are you sure I can’t hurt her? Not even a bit?”

“Yes, on both counts.” He flashed an unconvincing, tentative smile, kissed me again, then pushed me into the same hiding spot as his teammate.

“What the hell is going on?” Dallas asked as he pressed against the wall.

“Just shut up and listen.”

Side by side, Dallas and I leaned against the door of the mudroom, listening to the river of flaming trash being spewed by the woman he loved.

“Dallas tricked me into thinking I loved him. He gaslighted me, Luca. Told me you boasted about your conquests. That you slept with everything that moved when away for games. That I was naive to expect any different, or to believe someone like you could really want a nobody like me. Then he sabotaged my birth control so I would get pregnant.”

“I never!” Dallas cursed, lunging for the handle. “She’s lying. She told me Luca was horrible to her. Called her fat and wouldn’t sleep with her. He broke her heart. I would never hurt her like that. I love her.”

“Yeah, nah. Sorry to break it to you, Dally, but your girl is full of shit, and this is just the tip of the shit-berg.”

The crap continued to flow. It was nauseating, outright malicious, and all backed up by Chris who topped off the falsities with some of his own. Most of his were about me. What he thought were my secrets were told to the one person in the world who already knew them. Who loved me despite everything.

Then came the clincher. He was dumping Dallas as a client. Insisting Clara had sought his advice when struggling to deal with Dallas’s increasingly violent behavior. Above all else, this enraged me. It had taken me years to admit I was the victim of sexual assault. To hear the pain that women like me were forced to carry through life being weaponized so flippantly was the final straw ... for all of us. At the same time that Dallas and I almost ripped the door from its hinges, Luca lost his cool.

“Just stop. Just stop it all. You sit there and lie to my face again and again, and all because you want to get your filthy hands on my money.”

Chris and Clara froze, but only for a second. Surprisingly, Clara defrosted first. This confirmed my suspicions that she was much more heavily involved in all this than I initially thought. “What is she doing here? And you!” She pointed to Dallas. “Why are you here? What lies have you spread about me? Whatever it is, Luca, you can’t believe a word.”

“Give it up, Clara.” Watching her squirm had a sinister smile twitching the corners of my lips. “Luca knows you two are brother and sister.”

“The fuck?” Clearly, Dallas who was clutching his chest like his heart was imploding, did not.

“Yup.” Luca added. “And I know about the photo leaks, and the blackmail.” He redirected his gaze to his stunned former manager. “Coach and Jason Brown know, too. You’re so fucked, Chris. And fired.”

“You told them? That’s slander. Defamation,” he snapped, his words displaying a bravado not matched by his pale face. “Even if it was all true, which it is, in the legal world, it’s hearsay. You don’t have a shred of proof. On the other hand, I have an ironclad contract. Make one move to get rid of me, and I’ll take it all. Every last penny. You would be nothing without me and Clara, and if you think I’m going to sit here and let you ruin what I have worked for, you’ve got another thing coming. No one will believe a lying slut like her and a dumb jock son of a junkie.”

“You’re right. I didn’t ….” Luca nodded, barely able to contain a crooked smirk that had my pulse thrumming. Calculating Luca was hot. “Until I reached out to Doreen. Seems you’ve been playing her as much as everyone else. Unlike me, she’s been suspicious for a while and has all the receipts, Christian. Every single one.”

“Babe. Don’t forget we’re recording this conversation.” I smiled while pulling the mic from my bra.

“Oh, of course. How could I forget?” Luca leaned down and whispered into my ear.

“You had it in your bra? That’s so hot, Princess. But I’m kinda jealous of a microphone, so it’s weird, too.”

“Focus, Luca.”

“Right. Sorry.”

From the corner of my eye, I noted the very pale, and clearly heartbroken Dallas raised his hand. In all the chaos and dysfunction of the previous twenty-four hours, I’d forgotten he was losing the future he had planned with his wife and child. Even though he had once done the same to Luca, I couldn’t help but feel sad for him. “I was convinced Luca was going to beat me to a pulp, so I’m recording it too. I just have the mic in my pocket, though. No boobs.”

In perfect synchronicity, Chris and Clara’s faces fell, and Luca and I launched into evil villain hand rubbing and dual sighs of “Excellent.”