City of Champions (29 page)

Out of nowhere, Jenna felt someone from behind her grab the phone and remove it from her hand, causing her to jump out of her seat with a gasp, before spinning around in terror.

"What the hell…" she said in shock at seeing Trey standing behind her, a worried look on his face. "Trey, give me back the phone."

But he was already speaking to Dr. Kannan.

"This is her friend, Trey Adler. Hello. No, I will call you Dr. Kannan. That works for me. Don't worry. I'll be there with Jenna. Yes, I'll take her home. Of course, thank you. Let me give you back to her."

Trey held the phone out to her, simply waiting for her to take it back from him. She was still agape with shock, but she finally managed to grab it from him and struggle out a few words again.

"Thank you, Raj."

"You’re welcome, Jenna. There's nothing to do now but wait. So, please try to relax and enjoy your holidays."

"I'll try. Happy Holidays to you, too, Raj."

Jenna hung up and slowly turned to look at Trey's face, guilt rushing through her at being caught with her secret.

Trey put down his coat on the kitchen table and Jenna jumped with nervous surprise.

"A little jittery, huh, Jenna?" he asked.

"Yeah, a little, I guess — especially when you barge into my apartment like this."

"I didn't barge in…Aubrey let me into the building when I passed her in the parking lot."

He looked at her intently enough to convince her he'd heard every word of her conversation and Jenna felt the features of her face fall in resignation. Somehow, keeping her fear a secret from everyone had made her feel more in control of the situation, but that had been a foolish crutch. She knew that now.

"Why don't you have a seat, Jenna," Trey asked, pulling out a chair for her.

"Huh?" she asked ineloquently, only to feel him push her down into the chair.

"What are we drinking?"

"You want a drink, Trey?"

"Sure. You want one, too. Where do you keep the hooch?"

"Cabinet next to the fridge. Glasses are to the right of that," she answered, almost dazed by his casual ease as he walked around her apartment, when her own emotions were tumbling over themselves with fear and dread that he would reveal her secret to everyone they knew.

"Great."

Trey moved quickly around her kitchen as though it were completely ordinary for him to be there.

He was in jeans and a plain white tee shirt that revealed multiple tattoos up and down both arms. Jenna chose to stare at those colorful markings instead of reflecting on the inevitable conversation she still wasn't ready to have.

Before she knew it though, he was sitting at the table and looking at her again with friendly concern that sent a spasm through her chest.

"I went with bourbon," he said simply, placing the bottle down on the table along with two half full glasses. Handing her one, he clinked it with his own, "Cheers."

"Cheers," she mumbled, taking a sip and counting each silent second. He didn't speak for some time. Instead, he let her drink her bourbon while he leaned back in his chair sipping his own.

Oddly, his patience was almost maddening and Jenna couldn't bear the quiet anymore.

"What brings you here, Trey?"

"Well, I needed to get some stuff for Tea for Christmas. She said you have all the holiday stuff, not her."

"I do, I hadn't even thought about that. Ever since Jack died suddenly right before Christmas six years ago, she couldn't be near the stuff without having a panic attack. That's why it's all here."

"Wow, that's too bad. Well, I guess she's trying to rip the
Band-Aid
off," he answered simply, taking a last sip of his drink and refilling their glasses.

"Yeah, it looks like it. So you're spending the holidays with them?"

"Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, at least. They invited me to everything, but I figure they need some privacy. New family and all."

"You're pretty settled in here in Pittsburgh, then?"

"For a while. The feds still need help trying to figure out who bribed David. He claims not to know. Either he's more terrified of them than the US Government, or he really has no clue."

"God, I can't believe that all of that is still going on."

"It feels like that to you, but this case is still a baby, trust me."

"How do you know?"

"I just do," he said, with a hard edge to his voice.

"Tea and Griffen aren't worried about it, are they?"

"I don't think so. What are you doing for Christmas? You know Tea said you were welcome to join us for Christmas Eve."

"I know."

"And Aubrey said you have a computer you need fixed when she let me in?" Trey continued.

"She was probably trying to get you to service something else. She thinks sex is the cure for any bad mood."

"I can't say I disagree — generally speaking. But I don't think it would help your situation right now. I mean…"

"You heard everything, huh?" Jenna leaned back in her seat and watched him. He had a calming influence on her, like a brother she never had.

Trey had loads of money, classic good looks, and a lean muscular body, offset by piercings and numerous tattoos. Not surprisingly, most people thought she was insane for only wanting to be his friend. Yet, they'd hit it off in a purely platonic way ever since he came to Pittsburgh to continue assisting in the investigation into Jack Taylor's death. Which meant she must be the only woman in America — hell, the entire world — that didn't want to sleep with him.

"I did. I'm sorry. But in my defense, I am constantly listening in on things."

"That's your defense?" she asked, with a snort.

"I didn't say it was a good one. It's a tool of my trade."

"You mean your computer hacker, residing in the gray area of the law, trade?"

"Something like that," he answered with a small smile. "Listening in or not, I had a feeling something was bothering you when we talked at the Christmas party. It also now makes a lot more sense why you're hooking up with that McCoy guy. He didn't seem like someone I pictured you dating."

"What are you talking about, Trey?"

"I saw you with him, leaving the coatroom at Carol's party, right before all hell broke loose."

"Oh, God." Jenna threw her face in her hands, completely mortified.

"I'm guessing no one else knows about you two?"

"There's nothing to know."

"There's not? You two didn't seem like 'nothing' to me. But what do I know? Look, do what feels right for you right now. You've got a lot going on."

"Are you always so nosy?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Does that mean you expect me to tell you all about what you heard?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"I appreciate that. Please don't tell anyone about any of this. I'm just not ready for them to know."

"It's your decision to make, so I'll keep it to myself. How about you get me some Christmas decorations so you can have some time to yourself?" he asked gently, and she smiled.

After gathering years of holiday decorations, they walked out to his car and loaded it up with lights, figurines, and any other tacky festive goodies they could find.

Jenna looked at him and said, "Thank you, Trey."

"For what?"

"For talking to me, for taking me to my procedure when it comes…"

"Of course, I'm your friend, Jenna. I'm not going anywhere."

"You seem like such a tough guy, it's all a bit surprising."

He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "I like nice girls, but shh, don't tell anyone. Come here, you," he added, pulling her into a hug that smelled like leather and comfort.

Jenna allowed one tear to slide down her cold cheek, before rubbing it off on his jacket and backing away.

"You'll be all right, Jenna?"

"I hope so. Thanks," she answered with a soft smile that he returned.

"Call or text me if you need anything."

She nodded and walked away. After she'd made it almost halfway through the parking lot Trey yelled after her, "And let me know when you want me to pick you up after the New Year, okay?"

"Okay, bye," she said, with a smile and a wave.

Her emotions still felt incredibly raw as she turned back toward her building. Jenna had only made it about ten more yards before she saw Wyatt waiting for her, barely hidden behind the back end of his SUV.

She gasped a bit in surprise as she took him in — his arms were crossed and the expression on his face was one of pure fury.

"Jesus, Wyatt, you scared the hell out of me," Jenna said to him, her eyebrows raised and a hand to her heart in a cartoonish image of shock. Her cheeks were pink from the cold and her eyes a little red.

She looked beautiful to him, but he didn't let himself care. He was too busy feeling like punching a wall, or strangling her tattooed clandestine visitor.

"Get inside and get your stuff, Jenna."

"Oh, it's Jenna now, is it? Not Doc? What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at your place?"

"I said get inside — now. Unless you want me to lose my shit in your parking lot."

"Don't tell me what to do, Wyatt."

"It looks like maybe I have to, seeing as how I'm gone for one game and you're all over that asshole."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Fuck no, I'm not kidding.
Is that why you said you didn't want anything to do with me after New Year's? Because that guy is coming by to pick you up?"

"That's what you think that was?"

"It sure as hell is what it looked like. If it's not, then just tell me what you're really up to with him."

"Right, because that's the only possible reason why he’d be here. I'm not really enjoying being around you right now, you know. I guess you're perfect and don't have anything you keep to yourself."

Wyatt couldn't speak. Everything was getting out of his control so quickly.
He'd practically raced to Jenna's apartment from the airport. She was all he could think about while he was gone, though he didn't risk asking himself why he felt that way.

Her opinion about his shoulder had been the last thing on his mind. His mind had played over multiple scenarios of how she'd act when he saw her again, but none of them involved her hugging a guy who was far too close a friend for Wyatt's taste. They also didn't include her freezing him out like this.

It felt to him like she was making all the calls on the field, and he'd never gotten a chance to see the playbook.

How can one person turn everything upside down for me so quickly?
He wondered.

All he'd understood was he needed to see her, especially after she sent him that picture of her chest. He felt like he was fourteen again, drooling over a perfect pair of tits.

It had shocked him how much he'd actually missed her. He didn't even go home first. Instead, he'd headed straight to her apartment to start their planned holiday together. He was even excited to talk to her about the game.

Had she watched it? Did she notice how much better I'm playing right now?

"Oh, so now you're silent. Fine, Wyatt. You're unreal. I'm going inside now, by the way. Not because you told me to, but because I'm cold, I've had a shitty morning, and I
want
to go inside. You can stay here by your car and brood by yourself until the cows come home, for all I care."

Jenna walked briskly into her apartment and Wyatt stalked after her.

She opened her door and he could see her hand shaking slightly on the knob.

It was clear she was upset and part of him wanted to comfort her, but the rest of him was too overcome with frustration and anger to do anything but seethe. He needed her to be out of control, too — for her to remember he affected her, as well. Maybe she was mad, but he had to
make
her be glad to see him.

She threw off her coat, her back to him. Wyatt tossed his jacket on top of hers. This conversation wasn't over.

"I came here because I was looking forward to seeing you and getting our holidays started. But it looks like
you
didn't even notice I was gone," he growled out to her.

She spun around so quickly, that her blonde hair whipped aside with her, slapping her cheek. Gone was her cool exterior. Everything about her was raging and hot.

She pushed his chest forcefully and said, "Maybe I was thinking about
you
while you were away. Maybe I couldn't wait to go and see you. Maybe I was sure that seeing you would turn this day around. Maybe you'd know I felt that way if you let me speak before you started acting like a Neanderthal."

"But you touched him. You were so nice to him," Wyatt answered, but it came out quiet and almost confused.

"I can hug a friend. That's not what this is about."

"What
is
this about then, Jenna?"

"It's about you not knowing how to be with me — you’re trying to direct what I do like I'm some rookie tight end. That's not how this will go between us."