Hard and Fast

A moment passed, then he gave her a slow nod. “I appreciate the position you’re in and your willingness to come to me before printing anything.”

She swallowed, hating the next subject. “There’s one more thing.”

He scrubbed a rough hand over his jaw. “Do I want to know?”

“Probably not and honestly I don’t even want to bring it up, but—”

“Just say it.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’m following a lead about steroid usage on the team. I believe Jack is, as well. If he gets the story before me, he won’t give any of you a chance to save yourselves.”

She searched his face for a reaction and found none. No shock. Nothing. Maybe Tony wasn’t her guy.

She shifted her stance, waiting for a response. When it didn’t come, she said, “Just point the right people my way if you get the opportunity.” Deciding to end on a positive note, she charged onward. “Heck of a hit tonight, by the way. How close are you to that record?”

Tony stared at her. Finally, his lips stretched into a smile, straight white teeth showing. “Two more.”

Amanda grinned. “Amazing. So close you can taste it, I bet?”

He was quick to respond, talking openly about a subject he enjoyed. She followed with several more questions geared toward her next feature. By the time she said her goodbye, Tony seemed happy.

Now to the next challenge: Brad.

The sooner she talked to him and cleared the air, the better.

***

BRAD STOOD by his truck, watching Amanda talk with Tony. Beside him Kurt waited, as curious as Brad to find out what was going down.

“I like her,” Kurt said out of the blue, hands settling on his hips.

“Who asked you?” Brad asked. He watched the animated way she moved her hands as she talked, her hair floating around her shoulders as it had that night at her hotel.

“You like her, too,” Kurt commented.

Brad cast him a sideways warning. “Like I said. Who asked you?”

Kurt laughed, apparently satisfied he’d gotten whatever reaction he was digging for. Before he could launch his next smart-ass remark, Amanda and Tony parted and Tony headed their way.

“So, what’s the damage?” Kurt asked as soon as Tony was within hearing distance.

Tony leaned against Brad’s truck. “That was the strangest conversation I’ve ever had with a reporter.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what to make of it.”

“Off the truck,” Brad ordered. “You’ll scratch the paint.”

“It’s a damn pickup truck and you’re on it,” Tony protested, not moving.

“It’s mine and I can do what I want to it. We can’t all drive Porsches.”

“But you can drive a Porsche,” Tony argued. “You chose a truck.”

“I like my truck. Get off.”

With a low growl, Tony pushed off the truck, hands in the air before they fell to his sides. “Do you want to hear about this or not?”

“Yes,” Brad and Kurt said at the same time.

“She warned me about Laura. Told me about the phone call and other conversations she’s had with her. Says she wants to earn our trust.”

Brad snorted. He might think Amanda was hot, but he wasn’t a fool. She was a reporter and almost all of his encounters with the press eventually turned bad. “In other words, Laura didn’t tell her squat so she was trying to get the story from you.”

Tony dismissed Brad’s cynical remark. “I didn’t get that from her. But her warning, on top of what you guys have been saying about watching my back, has me thinking. Laura’s a problem and I’ve known it for a while now. Every time I pull away from this chick, she freaks out on me. And no,” he added, fixing Brad in a direct look, “she has nothing on me.”

This was where Tony’s self-centeredness and his the-world’s-all-about-me attitude backfired. He’d used Laura and it was coming back to bite him. “I told you to stay away from those groupies.” Brad had been lucky that his days of sampling the groupie pool hadn’t resulted in any scandals. No, his scandals all came from other places.

“Yeah, well, I can’t do squat about what’s already done. She can make shit up and I can’t stop her. I’m working toward the biggest goal of my career and I don’t want it overshadowed by gossip.”

“And Jack has an agenda he’s working. Watch your back with him.” Brad could relate to Tony’s dilemma. After that bar fight, legal issues and bad press had overshadowed anything he did on the field.

“Yep,” Kurt said. “You’re knee-deep in shit for sure.”

“Once you’re that far in,” Brad commented, “sometimes you just have to say screw it and face the situation head-on. If it were me, I’d stay away from Laura. You can’t let her hold you prisoner.”

“He’s right,” Kurt agreed. “Cut it off now. The longer you wait, the worse the ending.”

“I can’t. Not this close to breaking my record. I don’t need the trouble she could create.”