After The Fire (One Pass Away Book 3) (15 page)

“You’re shameless.” Violet took another drink. “And I love
you.”

“If you want, I can get lover boy to hustle us up a pizza on
his next break.”

“That sounds heavenly, but I’m out of here in an hour. It’s
Dad’s birthday.”

“Send him my best.”

“I always do.”

They sat in blissful silence, enjoying their coffee. It took
only thirty seconds for their solitude to be interrupted.

“I hate modern technology,” Pauline grumbled, not opening
her eyes as Violet reached for her phone.

“Says the woman with three iPads.”

“Just for reading.”

“Right,” Violet laughed. Her smile widened when she saw who
was calling. “Claire. How is everything in Florida?”

“I take it you haven’t seen the news?”

Violet straightened, setting down her cup. “No. Did
something happen?”
Not Gaige, not Gaige.

“No injuries. But Gaige is dealing with some family crap.”

It didn’t take long for Claire to give Violet the details.
They were fairly straightforward.

“What does that mean? Is Gaige in trouble?”

“No,” Claire assured her. “The NFL’s commissioner will look
into it—an investigation is pretty much mandatory. But the jerk bet on the
other team. Plus, Gaige hasn’t spoken to his father for years.”

“Twenty years,” Violet qualified.

“It’s a tempest in a teapot. Five days before the game, the
press has latched on to the story. They see it as a juicy bone—it isn’t. The
speculation about Gaige’s involvement petered out after the first hour. Now it’s
all about his sad childhood and estrangement from his family.”

“How is Gaige?”

“Right now?” Violet could hear the worry in Claire’s voice. “He’s
at a low simmer. But the boil is coming. He’ll blow his top. Logan and Sean are
with him, ready to take one for the team. They won’t let him smash his fist
into a wall or do much damage to the hotel room.”

“I’ll call him right away.”

“That’s a good idea. Don’t worry when it goes to voicemail.
Riley made him shut off his phone. Look, I have to go,” Claire said. “Try not
to worry. I know, not an easy thing to do. But when you get down here on
Saturday, this will have blown over.”

As soon as she hung up, Violet phoned Gaige. It went to
voicemail, as Claire had said it would.

“Gaige.” She tried to sound cheerful instead of panicked. “I
know this feels like a kick in the gut. But remember, your friends are here for
you.
I’m
here for you. Call me when you get the chance.”

“I heard enough to figure out what happened.”

“Gaige broke away from his father—left the bastard in his
dust. Why?” Violet turned to Pauline. “Why now?”

“You said it yourself; he’s a bastard.”

Violet’s first instinct was to get on the first plane south.
But she didn’t know if that would be best for Gaige. All it would take was a
little digging to find the connection between her and his father. For all she
knew, some industrious reporter already had the information. She didn’t want to
add fuel to the fire by showing up unexpectedly. She would wait to hear from
Gaige. Whatever he wanted, she would go along.

“Do you think this will affect the game?”

“Gaige is the most focused person I’ve ever met. He won’t
let this get in his head.”

Violet believed her words. But because it couldn’t hurt, she
sent good thoughts Gaige’s way. Then for good measure, she mentally crossed her
fingers.

“WHEN YOU DECIDE it’s time to hit something, let me know.” Sean
held up a pillow. “You can aim for this, not the wall.”

“I’m not going to hit anything. Unless it’s your face.”

“Ouch.” Sean backed away. “I object. Though if anyone can
pull off a black eye, it’s me. I’m so good looking, nothing can detract from
this beautiful face.”

“Beautiful?” Logan scoffed.

“Riley says so.”

“Jesus.” Gaige flopped into a chair. “Just what I need, a
poor man’s Laurel and Hardy.”

“He’s Hardy,” Logan and Sean said simultaneously, pointing
at each other.

Gaige rolled his eyes. “I appreciate the thought, but I don’t
need babysitters. If I have to stick to my hotel room, I would rather do it
alone.”

“Ya. Good luck with that.” Logan picked up the hotel phone. “I’m
starving. What do you guys want from room service?”

“BLT and fries. Gaige.”

“Nothing. Unless they can tell me where my father got
twenty-five thousand dollars.”

“Maybe he borrowed it.”

“Between them, his friends, what few there are, don’t have a
pot to piss in. No, there’s something going on here that doesn’t add up.” Gaige
began to pace. “I pay the bills. My parents’ rent. Their groceries. But it goes
to someone else. They don’t see a dime of the money. Once a month, I send my
mother a few bucks for her personal use.”

“Does she use it on herself?”

“Hell, no,” Gaige sneered. “She gives it to him the second
the deposit is made. But that is her choice. He blows it on booze, and I don’t
want to know what else.”

Frowning, Sean rubbed his chin. “Does he have a job?”

“Off and on. Mostly off. Give me your phone.”

“Why?” Logan asked, exchanging looks with Sean.

“I’m going to call my mother. If she doesn’t tell me, he
will.”

“If it will make you feel better.” Logan passed him the
phone. “But does it really matter?”

“I need to know. If his source is something illegal, my
mother will take the brunt when it blows up in his face—which it is bound to
do.”

Logan and Sean didn’t try to talk him out of it. Not that
they could have. Gaige took a deep breath and waited. One thing he could count
on was that his mother would be home. She went to church, and she waited on her
husband, with the occasional side trip to the emergency room. God, he hated
this. The timing couldn’t have been worse. And his father knew it.

“Hello?”

“Mom?”

“Oh.” There was a pause. “Hello.”

“You know why I’m calling.”

“I… No. Why? Should I?”

You would think Wynona Benson would be a better liar. After
over forty years, she should have picked up a few tips by watching her husband.

“I’ll make this short and sweet. Where did he get the money?”

“Money? What money?”

“Wynona!” Don Benson’s voice carried to Gaige. “Where’s the
remote?”

“I don’t know, dear.”

“Well, look for it. Jesus Christ. Why are you on the phone?
If that’s one of those do-gooder church bitches, tell them to go to hell. On
second thought, I’ll do it.”

“It’s Gaige.” It sounded like his mother had her hand on the
receiver, but Gaige could hear every word. “He wants to know where you got the
money.”

“Did you tell him?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Let me have the phone. It’s time our boy was told a thing
or two.” Wynona didn’t protest, she never did. “Hey, big shot.”

“That was quite a chunk of change.”

Gaige was surprised at how calm he felt. His gut wasn’t
churning. His palms weren’t damp. His father no longer evoked fear or loathing.
What he felt was sadness. This man represented his crappy childhood. But he had
no control over Gaige’s future.

“It kills you, doesn’t it?” Don chuckled. Gaige could almost
smell the alcohol through the line. “I bet on the other team. How does it feel
to know that not even your old man thinks you can win?”

It was so absurd, Gaige wanted to laugh. The booze had
pickled the man’s brain. Care that he had bet on Baltimore? Gaige was elated.
Now he was certain they were going to win.

“The money.”

“Oh, right. I’ll bet that one must have stuck in your craw.”
Don cackled “I tell you what. Because I’m in such a good mood. I’m going to
tell you what you want to know. Are you sitting down? This is going to burn
your ass.”

GAIGE COULDN’T GET his wish to be alone. Sean and Logan refused
to leave. Especially when he told them what he had found out—and what he
planned to do about it.

“It’s a bitch,” Sean said. “Hell, it’s a fucking train
wreck. Take a deep breath and think this through. You’ve worked too long and
too hard to spend Sunday in a cell instead of on the field. Even if the cops
are Knights’ fans, they won’t let you out on a murder charge.”

“No one is going to die.”

“Do you believe him?” Sean asked Logan.

“Yes. But just to be sure, we’re sticking around.”

“Fine,” Gaige was in the mood to argue, but not with his
best friends. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Do you want me to make the call?” Logan offered.

“I’ll do it.” Gaige punched in the numbers.

“Hello?”

“My room. Now.”

Gaige didn’t wait for an answer. He expected a quick
response, not surprised when two minutes later he heard a knock. Gaige crossed
the room and opened the door.

“Come in.”

“You sounded strange. Has there been a new development?”

“Yes.” Disillusioned, Gaige looked at Walter Crenshaw with
new eyes. This was one of the few people he thought he could trust. It was
devastating to find out that all this time he thought Walter had his back,
instead, his agent had been shoving in a knife. “Why the hell have you been
giving my father money for the past sixteen years?”

“What?” Walter’s eyes darted around the room, landing on
Sean, then on Logan. Anything but Gaige. “Why would you think that?”

“He told me.” Gaige shook his head. “Jesus. I can tell by
your face that it’s true. You knew how I felt about it. How many times did you
hear me go on about my father and his destructive use of money? Now this
shit—this stupid bet that has the press foaming at the mouth like rabid dogs? I
find out that you funded it.”

“I had no idea, Gaige. How could I know he would do such a
thing?”

“How could you give him a chance? How much, Walter?”

Knowing he had no bluff, Walter apparently decided to come
clean. “Fifty thousand a year.”

“Fuck me,” Sean whispered.

“It was necessary,” Walter insisted. “It kept him in check.
As long as he didn’t drag you into any of his messes, I agreed to pay him. And
it worked. This is the first time anything has happened since—”

“Violet. You can say it. Sean and Logan know everything.”

“Everything?” Walter’s contorted with anger. “That goddamned
bitch. She swore she wouldn’t say anything until after the game. I should have
known I couldn’t trust her.”

Gaige saw red. He grabbed Walter by the shirt, pushing him
hard against the wall.

“Watch your mouth.” He was breathing hard.

“Should we stop him?” Logan asked.

Sean shook his head. “Hell, no.”

“She’s been a pain in my ass from the day you stumbled into
her hospital room,” Walter shouted, ineffectually pushing at Gaige’s arm. “I
talked her mother into taking that letter, and I would do it again. It was for
your own fucking good, whether you want to believe it or not.”

“Did I ever know you?” Gaige pulled Walter close until he
could look directly into the other man’s eyes. He saw anger and a little fear.
No one would ever call Walter stupid. “All this time, you orchestrated one lie
after another. And you want me to believe it was for me?”

“It was,” Walter insisted. “Yes, I wanted the money. But I
had your best interests at heart. The money,
my
money, that I paid your
father was nothing. Your reputation, your image was all that mattered.”

“And Violet?”

“What about her? She’s a cunt. And we all know those are a
dime a dozen.”

It was more than Gaige could stand. He felt his fist clench,
pulling his arm back, all he could think about was shutting Walter’s mouth.

“Go ahead,” Walter shouted. “Hit me. I can’t defend myself
so do your worst. I guess you’re more like your father than you thought.”

The red in front of his eyes didn’t clear, but Walter’s
words penetrated the haze. Horrified, Gaige pushed away, stumbling back.

“Get out.”

“You can’t let this change what we have, Gaige. I’m your
agent. Forget the friend crap. You have plenty of those. What I can do for you
professionally is all that’s important.”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Sean grabbed Walter and
Logan opened the door. “Take it from two of Gaige’s friends. Don’t come near
him again.”

Sean shoved him, making Walter lose his balance. He landed
hard on the floor, his face skidding on the carpet. Happy with the unintended
results, Sean didn’t give him a second look before he moved out of the way so
that Logan could slam the door.

“The man has seriously lost it. He needs help.”

“He’s right.” Gaige looked at his hands. Big, hard, and
capable of doing a lot of damage. “I was going to hit a man twenty years older
than me. A man half my size.” He raised his head, his eyes tortured. “In that
instant, I was my father.”

“What are you talking about?” Sean took Gaige by the
shoulders. “You just found out that a man you thought was your friend has been
fucking with you for years. To top it off, he called Violet some nasty names.
If I were you, I would have broken the bastard’s jaw.”

“Sean is right, Gaige. You stopped yourself. That makes you
nothing like your father.”

“I could have done it. I wanted to.” Gaige went to the
mini-bar, pulling some water. He ripped off the cap and downed the entire
bottle. “What was I thinking? Blood will tell. Isn’t that what they say? What
if I hit Violet?”

“That will never happen.”

“Won’t it?” He rounded on Sean. “How can I take the chance?
She thinks I’m gentle. I don’t want her to find out the hard way that she’s
wrong.”

“I’m calling Riley.”

“And Claire.”

“No.” Gaige stopped them. “I need to think. Alone.”

“You need a steak. You shouldn’t think on an empty stomach.
Logan can make that call to room service. We’ll eat, have some wine. Give
yourself a chance to calm down before you make a mistake you can’t fix.”