This was the first situation I’d ever been in where the only defense I could give her was my silence, and it fucking sucked.
“You’d better not say a fucking word,” Rick seethed over my shoulder as we approached the heavy, wooden door that marked Coach’s office.
“What? Scared the entire team will know you last all of fifteen seconds before you come? Pretty sure they already know. Word to the wise—stop overcompensating. Just admit you have a tiny dick and move on. Some women like that kind of thing.” I kept my voice calm, despite the tension radiating through my muscles.
“You mother-fu—”
“Get in here,” Coach barked, storming past his intern, who dutifully held the door open as Rick and I passed through.
Two of the office’s walls were glass. To one side, I could see the turf of The Barn, our massive indoor training facility. Through the other side, I caught a glimpse of the maintenance staff spraying down the lines on the outdoor practice field.
Two more days and that field would be lined with fans. Two more days, and unleashing my temper at practice would cost more than Teagan’s trust. It would be all over the gossip sites.
“Sit,” Coach ordered as he sank into the high-back office chair behind his desk.
I took the seat on the right.
“I’d rather not.” Rick braced his hands on the back of the seat to my left.
“Sit the fuck down,” Coach snapped.
Rick sat.
“You two want to tell me what the hell is going on?” He leaned back in his chair and looked at each of us in turn. “Roman?”
She doesn’t want him to know, I reminded myself, locking my jaw to keep my mouth shut. How the fuck was I going to play on the same team as this abusive asshole and not say something? Not do something? Was I supposed to just let him get away with it? It’s not for you to decide. “Nothing we can’t handle.”
Rick shot me glance tinged with fear but smoothed it over with a smile as Coach said, “fine. Baker?”
He relaxed, going so far as to hunch his shoulders slightly. “Roman kidnapped my girlfriend.”
Coach’s eyebrows shot sky-high.
I scoffed.
“Your ex-girlfriend has been my best friend for the last twenty-two years, and last time I checked, she drove herself to my house. The fact that you are such an asshole that she refuses to speak to you is hardly my issue.” My eyes narrowed on the slimy fucker.
He had the nerve to look wounded. “Man. I get it. It’s hard to want something you can never have.”
My blood ran cold both at the insinuation and its truthfulness.
“But if you don’t at least let me make sure she’s alive in there, I’m going to have to bring the authorities into this. Teagan would never stay away this long on her own.” Fake concern lit his eyes as his forehead puckered.
Fuck keeping my temper in check, I was going to crush his damned throat so he couldn’t utter another manipulative lie.
Coach hit the intercom button on his phone. “Rob.”
“Yes, sir?” The intern’s voice came through the speaker.
“Can you tell me if I have any other appointments this afternoon?” he asked casually.
“No, sir. Not until the one with Mr. Rutherford this evening,” Rob answered.
“Excellent, thank you.” Coach released the button and leaned back in his seat. “Sorry about that, I just had to make sure I didn’t have the producers for The Real Housewives of Raleigh booked or anything.”
I blinked.
Baker tensed.
“But it appears my day is drama and bullshit-free with the exception of you two.” Coach leveled us both with a glare. “Look, I could give a shit about your love lives. I just need to know if you can keep it professional on the field…and in my damned weight room.” He crossed one ankle over his knee, cool as a cucumber.
Because he didn’t know the real reason Teagan had fled to my house that night. Coach Goodman was a solid guy. He was ridiculously protective over his daughter, Savannah, too. There was no way he’d look the other way if he knew what Baker had done, right?
But it wasn’t like Teagan had allowed me to take pictures of those bruises, which meant it would be Rick’s word against mine…especially if Teagan wasn’t willing to come forward.
“No problem, Coach. I’m sorry I let my temper get the best of me. I just really love her, you know?” Baker’s face fell.
I blatantly shook my head at his whole forsaken-lover routine before catching the arched eyebrow Coach threw my way. “I’ll be fine.”
Coach glanced between us for a few seconds, as if weighing our responses before nodding. “Good. Now get the hell out of my office. I don’t want to see that shit in there again.” He pointed toward the weight room.
“Yes, sir,” we both answered in tandem as we rose from our chairs.
“You are a piece of work,” I said under my breath as Baker and I walked out into the hallway. Both Nixon and Hendrix stood against the wall, hydrating and doing a piss-poor job at pretending nonchalance.
“I’m not fucking kidding, Padilla,” he hissed as the door shut behind us. “I don’t lose what’s mine.”
“I’ll be certain to let her know that you asked after her well-being.” I gave him a mock salute and headed toward my friends.
Nixon’s eyes followed Baker until he cleared the doors back to the weight room. “Everything okay?”
“Fine.” I took the drink Hendrix offered and chugged half of it to wash the tension out of my throat.
“Looks really fine to me,” Hendrix rolled his eyes.
“You going to be able to deal with his shit all season long?” Nixon asked in that serious tone of his.
I took a deep breath and stared at the weight room door, imagining closing Rick’s head in it a few dozen times. “I don’t really have a choice.”
“If you want to throw him in front of the bus before we leave for the first away game, I’m here for that.” Hendrix shrugged. Guy didn’t even know the full history behind why T was living with me, but he still had my back. He was like that.
“I’ll help,” Nixon added, straight-faced.
A smile cracked across my features. “I might just take you up on that.”
We headed back into the weight room to finish our work out. Sure, I had about five million reasons a year not to start shit with Rick, but the money didn’t matter when it came to Teagan. I’d toss my NFL career in a heartbeat if it kept her safe.
I settled in on another machine and blatantly ignored the glare Rick shot my way. Until Teagan was ready to deal with what he’d done to her, the least I could do was ignore his shitty disposition…if she was ever ready.
“I’m just saying that I could get used to seeing you around here,” Mom said with a sly smile, twisting her glass of wine between her fingers as the four of us sat at my dining room table.
I groaned and wished for the thousandth time that our dads had come to dinner instead of our moms. But no, the two of them were off at a classic car convention on a boys’ weekend, leaving me to fend for myself.
“Oh, well—” Teagan started, blushing deep pink.