Changeup (Double Play Series Book 4)

by Nicole Rodrigues

  Bella and I laugh as we clink our glass against hers.

  “Can we talk about you and Nico?” Bella asks.

  “Uhhh, do we have to?” Lacey grumbles.

  “If you can't talk to us, who can you talk to?”

  “It's just...complicated. that's the best word for it.”

  “Why?” I ask, “Why is it so complicated?”

  “My...Kat is back,” Lacey says defeated, taking a sip from her wine glass.

  “What?” Bella yells. “Okay, now you need to fill us in, what the fuck is she doin’ back here?”

  “It's a long story,” Lacey groans.

  “Well then, good thing we’re sleepin’ over, right Mani?”

  “I got nowhere else to be,” I shrug leaning back into the couch.

  “In that case...you done with the wine, Mani?”

  “Yeah, no more for me.”

  “Get comfy ladies and prepare yourself,” Lacey says taking a swig straight from the bottle. “This ain't gonna be some fairytale, this is Kat fuckin’ Winters. No story involvin’ that bitch ends happily.”

  Chapter 10

  Normani

  I smile as I watch Devin jog on the field. He turns around and winks at me, catching me ogling his booty in baseball pants.

  I slide my sunglasses down over my eyes, shielding my gaze so I can do all the gawking I want.

  I sit on one of the seats in the stands, putting my sneakers up on the seat in front of me as I watch Devin warm up, throwing with another player across the field. I know a little bit about baseball because of some of the patients we have at work.

  They're long tossing in the outfield and I will my body to not drool as Devin winds up to toss the ball, his bicep flexing as he bends his arm and slings it forward.

  It's just practice today, nothing too crazy, but it's so sexy watching him in his element out on the field.

  I watch as he continues his toss for the next couple of minutes and the crowd starts to form in the front row.

  “Gavinwood! Mr. Gavinwood!” yells a little boy and girl in front of me.

  I smile as I see him jog over and take off his hat, running his fingers through his sweaty hair. He puts his hat back on backwards and grabs the pen the little boy holds out to him.

  “What's your name buddy?” Devin asks.

  “F...Finn,” the little boy stutters.

  “I'm Emmie!” the little girl yells.

  “Are y'all brother and sister?” Devin asks.

  They both nod and he messes with Finn’s hair.

  “I got two little sisters bud, I feel ya. Do me a favor though, okay?”

  Finn nods quickly and Devin leans closer.

  “Always watch out for your sister, okay? Brothers always gotta keep a lookout, that's our job, got it?”

  He nods again and Devin gives him a high five. Emmie puts her hand out for a high five and Devin laughs.

  “And you, little Miss Emmie. Look out for your brother sometimes too! Maybe introduce him to one of your friends,” he says smirking looking up at me.

  I roll my eyes and laugh as Devin moves down the line, taking pictures and signing autographs.

  The smile on his face never falters with every fan he meets.

  After the crowd clears out, he walks back over towards me and leans over the barrier, crooking his finger, summoning me.

  “Get over here darlin’,” he drawls.

  “Mr. Gavinwood, I don't have anything for you to sign,” I say innocently.

  “No?”

  “You can sign these if ya want,” I whisper pulling down the top of my tshirt.

  Devin groans and closes his eyes.

  “Do you know how painful a boner is with a cup on?”

  I giggle trying to stifle it behind my hand and Devin hops the barrier, grabbing the back of my head and pushing our mouths together. He bends me backwards and my hand goes behind his neck, the other wraps behind his back, just above that delicious ass.

  “How much longer till you're done?” I say against his lips.

  “Another hour. Plenty of time for you to keep eye fuckin’ me.”

  “Devin!” I gasp.

  “Those glasses don't hide those bewitchin’ green eyes darlin’. I know exactly what you're lookin’ at and what you wanna do to it.“

  “Is that so?” I ask, stepping back and crossing my arms over my chest.

  “You ain't starin’ a hole in my ass? Wishin’ you could grab it as I slowly slide in and out of you? Charmin’ this wicked body into comin’ undone underneath me?”

  “Devin, someone can-”

  “No one can hear me darlin’,” he whispers. “Words only meant for you, no one else.”

  I nod as he moves his face closer to me, my gaze dropping to his lips.

  “No one else,” I whisper.

  “You belong next to me, Normani. Livin’ this life together, side by side. You wanna do that with me?” he asks lifting my chin.

  “I...I thought that's what we were doin?”

  “Officially. Season is startin’ soon and I have events, I have games. I want you there. I know you have Double Play and that's important to you, but whenever you have a free night or some vacation days, I want you with me.”

  “That's very caveman of you,” I smirk.

  “I guess so, yeah,” he laughs. “Only if you want.”

  “I do,” I say cupping his cheek.

  “The media can be nasty so...just...know I'm on your team, okay?”

  I nod and he kisses my forehead before hopping over the barrier and back onto the field. He turns and waves and I wave back putting a hand to my chest.

  Mine.

  Devin Gavinwood is mine.

  I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket and reach down, the smile on my face quickly gone when I hear Miguel's frantic voice.

  “He's not dead Mani,” he says his voice low and menacing. “Where are you?”

  “At the field with Devin. Where are you? Are you okay?”

  “I'm fine. Just got to the gym. I don't know the whole story, just got the call. I'll keep you updated, stay where you are.”

  “Thanks Miguel.”

  I hang up the phone, quickly putting it back in my pocket and scramble up the steps to the parking lot of the stadium. I'm not getting Devin involved in this. This is my battle, not his.

  I jog to my car, putting the keys into the ignition and speed away, driving back to my apartment. My adrenaline pumping, my anger threatening to bubble over.

  “Fuck!” I yell slamming my hand against the steering wheel.

  Just when I start to feel normal, feel happy, he has to take it away. I shouldn't be shocked, he's taken everything from me, why not this too.

  -----

  I fumble with my keys to my apartment and I feel a presence behind me. I turn around too late and feel a hard blow to my mouth and then another quick one to my eye, temporarily making my vision blurry.

  “He's comin’ for you,” says the deep voice.

  I get to my feet quickly and cover my face as the figure tries to launch at me again. I block the punch and land one into his stomach then follow it by another one to his ribs.

  His hands go down and I jab-cross right to his nose causing him to stumble back. I follow his steps as I lift my leg for a kick and connect with the side of his face, his body falling into the wall.

  “What does he want?” I ask, lunging at the man grabbing his collar.

  “You,” the deep voice says.

  The man breaks my hold on him landing a punch to my stomach and I step back lifting my hands to fight. I land a kick to his right thigh making him fall to the floor.

  I scramble to my feet reaching under my welcome mat for my knife and flip it open as I feel strong arms wrap around my neck, cutting off my airway.

  “I was told not to kill you, but to remind you who you belong to, Roxy.”

  I swing my arm behind me and feel my knife connect with flesh and the man groans, releasing his arms as I cough, try
ing to catch my breath.

  The man shuffles down the few steps and jogs away down the street as well as he can, and I try and follow him. I get to the bottom stair and feel lightheaded, plopping down.

  I reach into my pocket for my phone and call Miguel.

  “What happened?”

  “Got jumped outside my apartment.”

  “Fuck Mani, you don't listen!”

  “There's blood here, do you want it?”

  “On my way.”

  I hang up the phone taking deep breaths and get to my feet. I wipe my lip, seeing blood and I kick the nearby trash can.

  “Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!”

  I slump down outside my apartment door and shake my head. How could everything go from perfection to disaster in less than 24 hours? Of course it did, this is the life I was burdened with, I was fooling myself if I thought any differently.

  “You okay? Come here,” Miguel says running to me opening his arms for a hug.

  “I'm fine, I'm just pissed. This...I can’t do this anymore Miguel. I won't put these people through any of this. I'm gonna go, I have to go.”

  “You are not going anywhere. We stay and fight this together, just like we always do.”

  “They don’t!” I yell. “They don't have to fight this, I brought it to them. They have no idea what they've done by lettin’ me into their lives. I won't let him take any more people that I love. Here,” I say lifting the knife and handing it to him. “Test this. I'm gonna start packin’.”

  “You can't run forever Mani. Let people help you! You can't do it all on your own!”

  “They can’t help! I can barely swing it and I learned from him! Let it be Miguel. Just test that and let me know what you find. I'll come with you to question him,” I say brushing past him.

  “I got this one. The way I'm feelin’ lookin’ at your face, he’ll talk in five minutes,” Miguel says gritting his teeth.

  “It probably looks worse than it is. I'm fine, he probably isn't.”

  I walk up the stairs and back to my apartment, opening the door and shutting it, locking the lock and sliding down to the floor.

  I feel the tears fall and shake my head. Saying goodbye to Devin is going to be the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life.

  Chapter 11

  Normani

  I get out of the shower in my robe, drying my wet hair with the towel, patting my face softly as I wince with the ache below my eye. I hear a knock on my door and walk briskly to my side table intuitively. I reach into the back of the drawer for my gun. I walk towards the door, peeking through the hole and let out a sigh of relief, stashing the gun behind the lamp quickly.

  “Open up Normani, Miguel called me.”

  “Fuckin’ traitor,” I grumble.

  I open the door and Devin’s expression hardens.

  “Dammit Normani! Are you okay?” he asks pushing through the door and wrapping me in a hug.

  I stiffen underneath his touch, knowing what I need to do, and he knows it too. He breaks the hug and steps back.

  “Don't Normani. I know what you're doin’ so don't even think about it.”

  “You have a family Devin. The kids, Bella, your parents, aunts and uncles and I can't put all of them in danger, so I have to-”

  “No you don't!” he roars. “We fight this together Normani. God dammit look at your face.”

  He lowers his head and presses his forehead to mine, cupping my cheek, running a finger across my scar and then across the swelling below my eye.

  “How did you get this one?” he whispers.

  I close my eyes remembering. I have so many scars, but I can recall every single one. How it happened, the face of the man responsible, what they used, what they said, down to the fucking hour of the day.

  “It was my first visible scar, my mark,” I said softly. “The day I realized how evil the man I share DNA with really is.”

  I walk away from Devin, breaking our touch and walk towards my kitchen, hopping up on the counter. He looks at me, unmoving until I look up and nod for him to come closer.

  “My mama was young when she had me, seventeen. My father was the bad boy she fell for, the one she thought she could change. He kept his business under wraps, but as soon as I was born, he transformed. He would force my mama to help him with some jobs, getaway car driver, distractin’ men with her looks while he stole, anything and everything. She didn’t have much of a choice. She would help him with jobs, and he wouldn’t hurt me, that was their deal.”

  Devin shakes his head, his jaw flexing.

  “She wasn't cuttin’ it anymore, couldn't keep up with the demand my father put on her. He needed someone younger, faster, someone able to go places without gettin’ detected, someone he could mold to what he needed for his jobs, someone that people wouldn't suspect. That was me.”

  “How old were you?”

  “Thirteen.”

  I close my eyes taking another deep breath, remembering how it all started.

  “He had a big job comin’ up. He was trainin’ me to fight if I needed to, trainin’ me not to talk if I ever got caught. That's where the rest of these scars came from. His men would capture me, any time of the day, always catching me off guard, tie me up, simulate torture techniques other crews used. It took a while but...I eventually learned. Whatever anyone else did to me, wasn't even a fraction of the pain they would bring if I talked. I let it all happen, I didn't have a choice. I was a kid and if I didn't, he threatened to kill my mama. He was usin’ our love for each other against us.”

  “Why didn't she leave with you? Go to the authorities?”

  I laugh bitterly.

  “He was the authorities. Him and his crew had everyone in their back pocket. The one time my mama tried to escape...this happened,” I say motioning to my cheek.

  “He found the stash of money in her dresser drawer and grabbed her, put a knife to her throat and I ran in the bedroom to stop him. I told him it was me, begged my mama to stop talkin’ and to let me take the blame. Of course, she didn't. He sliced her cheek and then mine. Marked us both so if we ever tried to run, people would know exactly who we were and who we belonged to.”

  Devin shakes his head, moving closer in between my legs and wrapping his arms around my waist.

  “Where does Miguel fall in with all this?”

  “He started to come around when I was brought into the crew. He convinced my dad to let him join, he was a great fighter and they knew he would be a good addition. He didn't tell my father who he was, only told me. Said he was gonna get us both out of that life. Trained me on top of my father’s trainin’, taught me a lot of different things my father never did. My father only taught me what I needed to survive, not to rebel.”

  “So y’all worked for him, secretly plottin’ an escape…”

  “Yeah. Once my mother became paralyzed some DA startin’ sniffin around. Knew my father and the crew and what they did, wanted to clean up the streets. He couldn't be bought, and they wanted him gone. That was the job I was supposed to do...the one that...I didn't and…”

  “You were supposed to kill the DA and you didn't. That's why he pushed her down the stairs?”

  I nod. “She told me to get out. Convinced Miguel to follow through with our plan sooner, get me out of the crossfire before I got caught up in it.”

  “Then he found out and she came down with an infection…” he trails off.

  “It wasn't a coincidence Devin. After that, I didn't care. I ran away from the house, right to the DA and spilled it all. Their whereabouts, their plans for drug shipments, everything. I didn't give a shit if they found out, caught me, did whatever they wanted. She was dead and it was my fault. They were all arrested, I was sent to Second Chances and that's it.”

  He studies me and him and I both know that's not it, but he lets it slide.

  “What do they want now?” he asks.

  I break his gaze and shake my head.

  “Revenge? I don't know. Miguel's on i
t but...”

  “So then why are you pushin’ me away? You want this, I can see it, I can feel it. You're already so strong darlin’. With me by your side we can be unstoppable.”

  “Dev I just...I don't wanna do this right now. I'm drained and I just...just hold me tonight, please. I don't wanna talk, I just want you,” I plead lifting my head and pressing our lips together