Hard and Fast

“Becker sure thought you did,” Kurt commented. “You should have seen the look on his face when he realized you and Amanda disappeared at the same time. That was one pissed-off preppy.”

Tony piled eggs onto a piece of toast and chuckled. “Yeah, he was and I loved it. As much as I enjoy watching that kid get you worked up, I enjoy seeing you do it to him ten times more.” He eyed Brad. “But it’s pretty damn clear something went wrong. What the hell happened?” He shoved the food into his mouth.

Brad narrowed his gaze on Tony. “You tell me. I just happened to be around when Laura called Amanda.” He paused to let the words sink in. “Called crying over you, claiming to have some big secret you wouldn’t want exposed.”

“Laura.” Tony’s face went pale. He dropped his toast to the plate.

“Shit,” Kurt said. “What’s she got on you?”

“Nothing.” Tony shook his head. “This doesn’t make sense. I was with Laura last night.”

Kurt’s eyebrows shot up. “That wasn’t Laura you left with.”

Tony gave a slow nod. “I met up with her a little later.”

“Two in one night?”

Tony didn’t respond to Kurt. “It was damage control.”

“Which wouldn’t be needed if you weren’t playing with fire,” Brad said. The words were directed at himself as much as Tony. His time with Amanda had certainly been playing with fire. “Laura was ready to hang you out to dry last night. For all you know, she might have.”

“Again,” Kurt said, “what’s she got on you?”

Tony’s voice took on a defensive tone. “I told you. Nothing.” He tossed his napkin in his plate. “I need to go. Doc’s expecting me.”

“There’s one more thing you might want to know,” Brad said, delaying Tony’s departure. “Jack’s asking questions.”

Tony visibly swallowed. “What’s new about that?”

“He says someone on the team is juicing.” Brad made the statement in a flat tone and let it hang out there with implication. “He brought up your name.”

“Same story here,” Kurt said. “He cornered me last night. What happened to that guy? He used to have our backs—or so we thought. Now I don’t know.”

A muscle in Tony’s jaw jumped. “That sorry bastard.”

“I told him in no uncertain terms to back off,” Brad said. “But Tony, man, watch your back.”

“Yeah, Jack’s after blood,” Kurt added. “You can almost smell his lust for a big story.”

“I agree,” Brad said. “Jack is after the bigger fish. He wants to go national. That has to be it.” He repeated the words his father had told him too many times to count. “So I say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” What about Amanda? Was she a friend or an enemy? It didn’t matter, because he couldn’t afford to keep her close.

“Right,” Tony said. “So we know what he’s up to. That makes sense.” He checked his watch and pushed to his feet. “I gotta go. Check you guys later.”

Brad gave him a quick nod then watched him leave. Beside him, Kurt said what was on Brad’s mind. “He’s about to shit his pants.”

“Yep,” Brad said, leaning back in his chair. “Something’s not right, that’s for sure.”

Kurt maneuvered his chair to the end of the table so he could see Brad better. “I’ve seen a lot of guys make stupid decisions with less on the line. So now that Tony is gone, what happened last night with Amanda?”

Brad could trust Kurt. Still, he sidestepped the real question. “I was mad when I heard her talking to Laura.”

“You can’t hold that against her,” Kurt said. “It’s her job.”

“Reporters haven’t exactly been friendly to me.”

Kurt smiled. “You two looked pretty friendly last night on that dance floor.”

“Yeah, well, I had Becker breathing down my neck about that damn bet. I almost forgot how dangerous reporters can be.”

“I guess Becker can have her, then.”

Brad shot him a go-to-hell look. “Stop trying to piss me off and eat your damn breakfast.”

Kurt chuckled and reached for his plate of untouched pancakes. Personally, Brad saw nothing to laugh at. Because the truth was, thinking about Becker anywhere near Amanda tore a hole in his gut.

If things were different, he’d find a nice secluded spot, strip off her clothes and get lost in her lush curves. His groin tightened thinking about all the things he would do to her. If things were different.

12

DRESSED IN a simple blue dress and high heels, Amanda bypassed the press box to sit closer to the action. Her attire was meant to keep her cool in the sticky L.A. temperatures. A tough order, considering she was feeling some real heat. It was the third home game since the Nashville away series and, at the rate she was going, it would be the third game she’d been shut out by Brad and Tony. Neither one of them would talk to her.