Undefeated

by C. D. Gill

  “Ms. Carter, we’re not completely confident yet whether the incidents you reported had anything to do with either man, but Mr. Carter requested that Detective James be put on your other cases since they’d worked together on this shipping case. We do believe that Grant was monitoring your friend Lucy’s business with cameras as he is the landlord through a shell company,” Agent James said.

  Gia gasped. Grant was Lucy’s landlord who’d required that new security system. She’d said it was some investor guy from Denver that she’d never seen in Golden before.

  Agent Pirrip clasped his hands on the table in front of him and cleared his throat. “The point of this briefing, however, is about tomorrow evening’s meeting. Please be dressed and ready to go by five o’clock so that we can fit you for mics and cameras. Ms. Carter, we believe your presence will capture Daniel’s attention and with some persuading, you can reassure them that you will be taking over the family business since your father is there to bid that his company get the contract with Masters International.”

  A hysterical laugh threatened to bubble to the surface. “Agent Pirrip, I think you must be mistaken. I severed my relationship with Daniel and did not leave on good terms. I strongly doubt my presence would seal the deal for Daddy’s company to get that contract,” Gia said.

  Daddy held his hand up. “Agents, if I may.”

  At their nod, Daddy squeezed her hand. “Giovanna, to both Grant and Bronc you are a prize. Not only because of how smart and beautiful you are, but because you represent the future of my company and the potential alliances they could acquire for their business. They see dollar signs when they look at you which is why both men have pursued you so hard. Bronc probably thought Grant would get you back into their control. You were wise to call it off with both of them, but now I need you to go to that dinner tomorrow night, act happy to see them, and let them think they have earned your respect because of their business acumen. Once I get this contract with them, we’ll continue to deal with them until the agencies have all the evidence to shut them down for good and throw the whole book at them.”

  “When we catch them, we’ll be able to put them away for a long time and you can move on with your lives,” Agent Wheeler said, tapping the table.

  Gia inhaled. “And if this goes terribly wrong, then what?” Was she alone in her concern about these two very volatile men not acting predictably?

  Agent Pirrip met her eye. “There’s a backup plan, but don’t worry. Everything will go off without a hitch. Cocktail dress is the attire for the evening.” There was a steadfast confidence she hadn’t seen in a long time. He turned to Daddy. “All good?”

  Daddy reached out and shook his hand. “We’ll see you tomorrow at five.”

  She offered them a smile and followed Daddy out the door through the hall into the elevator lobby. Her head throbbed. They were seated in her car when it hit her. “Daddy, tomorrow are the meetings with the heads of Xander’s previous soccer team.”

  “You’re worried about them. I have every confidence that they will be okay. Joey and Tommy are thinkers. They are working with a good team of behind-the-scene investigators.” Daddy kissed her forehead. “Tomorrow is our chance to go after Bronc, for your sake and for Uncle Angelo’s sake. Mama Ferra deserves to know Angelo’s killer is no longer running free, doesn’t she?”

  The air disappeared from the car. Gia searched Daddy’s face for a hint of insincerity but found none. The thought stuck in her mind.

  Bronc pulled the trigger on Uncle Angelo?

  “No. It was an accident. A stray bullet. We were running to his car and Uncle Angelo was clipped in the neck.” Hot streams poured down her cheeks. “There was gunfire all over the place. It was dark. Bronc had already run off.” Daddy pursed his lips and nodded. “How do you know?”

  “I hired the best private investigators I could and they found witnesses.”

  “They didn’t tell the cops?”

  “The witnesses were responsible for some of the deaths that night, so they didn’t confess outright.” Daddy wiped her tears from her cheeks.

  “Why did Bronc want Uncle Angelo dead?”

  Daddy sucked his cheek in and looked out his window. “Baby girl, the best we can think of is that he wasn’t aiming at Angelo.”

  Then— “No, Daddy, no.” Her sobs racked her body. “He died in my place.”

  His strong arms embraced her, holding her tight against him. “Our witnesses say Bronc started the rioting and firefighting as a cover. When you broke up with him, that meant he’d lost his chance at marrying into our family.”

  He had been so angry that he’d tried to shoot her down in the dark. And then missed. “Why wouldn’t Bronc have been taken down by the police by now?”

  Daddy sighed. “The agents have been tracking him for three years since I suggested they look into him as the murderer. And once we catch him, he’ll receive a life sentence, if not two. Murder is one charge, that may or may not have stuck with witnesses that weren’t willing to testify at the time. But he’s racked up so many charges now that he won’t ever get out.” Daddy lifted her chin so she met his gaze. “And you’ve heard what it’s like on the inside. That’s a very tough life on a guy like Bronc. He’ll pay, baby girl. He won’t have gotten away with anything. We need tomorrow to go seamlessly, okay?”

  Gia wrapped her arms around him and squeezed, letting Daddy’s familiar scent wrap around her like a blanket. “He’s going down.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  Chapter 25

  Today was the day of the final scheduled interviews. Xander was bone-tired, down to his soul. A weariness that came with dissolving hope. He’d almost told the guys not to waste their time with the higher-ups. The other coaches had been on the front lines of the shock-and-horror crowd with comments to the press about their disappointment and surprise. The media ate that up. They loved the “good guy gone bad” narratives.

  He couldn’t sit still on the couch and watch and wait. He paced the floor from the kitchen to couch and back. His stomach settled into a squeamish nausea as the two other assistant coaches talked to Joey and Tommy via video. Neither of them had heard of someone calling themselves Victor Frankenstein, nor did they know any people who had a science lab. Life had moved on for them and they were at different universities coaching their own teams now.

  Five years was a decent chunk of time to try to recall obscure details like nicknames. College boys called each other all sorts of names. It was ridiculous to expect people to remember stuff like that. Xander typed that out to send to Tommy but didn’t press send. They had a reason for it, right?

  The next meeting was with the athletic director who was still the athletic director for the University of Colorado. A waste of time. Even if he did know something, he wouldn’t risk his position of luxury to tell them anything. The man’s pockets were padded with the off-the-books donations of the rich who insisted their kids get an invitation into a solid school to maintain appearances but didn’t have the motivation or the grades. He probably did a swan dive into his vault of money every night.

  His interview was shorter than the rest. Joey and Tommy obviously sensed his unwillingness to entertain their line of questioning. For the last interview with the head coach, they went to his house. Coach Randall had made a joke about not really understanding technology like the kids these days, so they offered to sit in his living room.

  During their lunch break, Xander went for a run. Gia locked herself into her home office to finish up her project that was nearing its deadline. The remodel crew would finish their work today, leaving her with a fresh space. A punch of guilt hit his stomach as he thought about all the insurance claims she had in the works because of the recent chaos. Her car insurance had sent a check already for her to get another car. She was going this afternoon to pick it up before her evening out with her father.

  She’d been very tight-lipped about it. Distant even. Her chill confused him after the progress they’d made o
n their dates. The interviews occupied his mind so he didn’t press the issue. She could initiate when she was ready.

  Xander toweled off from his run and made it back to the couch as Tommy got the tech set up in Coach Randall’s living room. Randall’s gut popped out enough to rest his hands on it and his white hair was cut closer than usual. Retirement had turned him into a lush.

  He made some crass jokes about his glory days as he signed the forms Tommy set in front of him. The guys grunted and finished the set up.

  “Coach Randall, you’ve been retired for four years now. Did the steroid scandal encourage you to bring forward your retirement?”

  He laughed a hearty belly laugh. “Not at all. You don’t spend your career in sports without weathering your share of scandals. I’d been planning on retiring the next year anyway. So many people got upset about the whole ordeal, but there were a lot of positives to the steroid mess.”

  “What were those?” Tommy asked.

  “It brought attention to steroid use in the college programs. Athletes had been doing it for years. Schools winning tournaments they had no business winning. There wasn’t much attention paid to the college kids despite the fact that those players were recruited into the majors for their performance. The NCAA finally started actually following thru on their quarterly steroid checks for all schools and players. Not the odd school here and there who seemed to be performing better than normal. Overall, I think everyone benefited.”

  “Did you benefit, Coach Randall? Personally?” Joey asked, his tone bristly.

  Randall froze, eyes narrowed. He looked one second from walking out of the room. Xander took a swig of his water. This was going to be fun. No one ever pushed Randall around. Joey had some serious Brazilian attitude.

  “I did benefit. I got rid of the person poisoning my players. I call that a big win.”

  “That isn’t what I meant and you know it. Who is Victor Frankenstein?” Joey asked.

  Coach Randall pursed his lips and sat forward, his eyes dead. Xander couldn’t move, waiting for Randall to make this whole interview a joke. “It’s not me.”

  “Who is it?” Tommy asked.

  “It’s time for this interview to be over. You guys are in too deep for a research team on steroids.”

  “Give us a name, Randall. Who is it?” Joey’s tone grew increasingly annoyed. Randall obviously enjoyed stringing them along.

  “Bob something. Last I heard he was an addict and living on the streets. He was so torn up over destroying Alexander’s life. He was going to find him and apologize, as if that would make a difference.” Randall laughed.

  Xander’s heart almost stopped. Bob. Bob the homeless guy who happened to show up at Gia’s door. He’d tracked Xander down to apologize? He’d never confirmed that he was homeless, but he had apologized profusely for ruining Xander’s life. Apologized and then turned up dead.

  Tommy recovered first. “Did you drug your own players, Coach?”

  Randall hawked the phlegm from his throat. Xander almost gagged. “My lawyer says I’m in the clear now, so I guess I don’t have any problem saying that—yes, I did.”

  “Gia. Gia! GIA!” Xander screamed, but he didn’t care. Gia usually worked with headphones on. What if she didn’t hear him? He pulled out his phone to call her, but dropped it back on the table when he heard her running footsteps pound into the living room.

  “What?” Her eyes were wild. In her hand was a gun. “Is someone here?”

  “Whoa.” He put his hands into the air. “Gun away.” He motioned to the computer screen. “Coach Randall admitted to framing me.”

  Joey’s voice came in low and dangerous. “You set up Alexander Reinerman to look like he’d drugged the players. Why?”

  Randall laughed. “Several reasons. My players needed a leg up in their performance. They were talented kids not getting a look from professional recruiters because other coaches let their players cheat with steroids and then bragged about it. They won tournaments, boosted their confidence, and started putting more time in the gym because they were seeing results.”

  “Every single one of those players wished they hadn’t been on steroids. Then and now. We asked them. Some had suffered long-lasting consequences,” Tommy said.

  Randall’s face didn’t change. No sorrow or regret.

  “What else did you get out of it?” Joey asked. “Did you get paid? You were one year away from retirement. Why risk the scandal? They could have scrapped the whole staff and started over. And you—”

  “You don’t understand,” Randall roared. “I’d been coaching for twenty-eight years. I was one year away from retirement and there was talk about replacing me with the younger guys. The newer fresher talent. I did what I had to do to keep my future intact. I worked my entire career only to get one year away from an honorable discharge and they thought they could can me for some half-talent showoff who snaked his way onto the National team list? Not on your life. Reinerman took the fall and I was the hero for helping rebuild the program. We can afford to live comfortably now and we don’t have to worry about whether or not my team will perform well enough to keep me at my job.”

  “You wasted five years of Reinerman’s life to keep your mini-mansion afloat?” Joey wasn’t calm anymore.

  “It was a trade-off I was willing to make.” Randall gave a twisted grin. “I’d do it again.”

  Xander suppressed the urge to flip the coffee table over and toss the computer against the wall. Instead, he punched the couch and yelled. “It’s a good thing I’m not there.”

  “So your science buddy hooks you up with enough steroids to ground a herd of elephants and you walk away looking like Coach of the Year.”

  “Don’t forget having my picture in the university’s Hall of Fame.” Randall leaned back into his chair with a smug look.

  “You’re going to lose everything for this.”

  “But I won’t.” Randall shrugged. “There can’t be any legal repercussions and the university has a policy that nothing can take away earned retirement income. The worst you can do is fling stones at me, but they won’t leave a mark. I have everything I dreamed of. I made sure of it.”

  Xander let out a loud curse as he paced the room. “I need to break something.”

  Gia handed him a hammer and pointed him outside to the dumpster on her front lawn. “Help yourself.”

  There had to be a way to make him pay. Where was his justice? Where was his victorious ending?

  Chapter 26

  If Xander’s low whistle and the double-take from Tommy were anything to go by, her appearance was in top form for the evening. Physical appeal was half of her game, while the other part required her acting skills to possess definite finesse. However, pretending she liked someone whom she found revolting was going to be the hardest thing she’d done in a long time.

  With a deep breath, she envisioned shoving aside her disdain and admittedly deep-seated need to take a nine iron to their shins. Putting Bronc behind bars with a life sentence for murdering Uncle Angelo had to be enough to inspire an award-winning performance from her, not to mention making him pay for attempted murder. Uncle Angelo deserved at least that.

  Gia tucked her hand under Daddy’s arm and accompanied him into the restaurant downtown. After a word to the hostess, they climbed the stairs to an upper dining room. A bouncer of sorts guarded the top of the staircase, checking off names on his list. His slightly over-sized suit jacket threatened of the heat being packed beneath. Bronc would never allow just anyone into his meetings. Daddy handed the guard an invitation which granted them entrance and an approving nod from the bouncer.

  Show time.

  As soon as her heels touched the carpet on the other side of the threshold, Gia came face-to-face with Grant. His whole body straightened to attention as recognition registered on his face.

  “Grant, what a surprise. I didn’t know any other businesses from Golden had been invited.”

  He squirmed a bit before offering
her a smile. “I was recently approached by friends of mine looking for investors in this shipping venture. Thought I’d get in at the bottom.”

  Seemed like a well-rehearsed line. “Have you met my father?”

  At her words, a shadow passed over his features before he offered his hand to Daddy. Was that intimidation? “Mr. Carter, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Your reputation precedes you, sir. We’re delighted you could make it to our presentation.”

  Daddy smiled, showing his straight white teeth as he shook Grant’s hand. She was partial but she wasn’t the only one who thought Daddy was ridiculously handsome. “Mr. Harrington, we are looking forward to it. This business opportunity has captured the attention of my company’s executives. There is much we could do with resourceful minds like yours.” Daddy leaned forward as Grant attempted to stifle a wince. “I do hope you try to make a more favorable second impression on my daughter this time around.”

  “Yes, sir. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about that.” Grant swallowed.

  Her arm twitched as she tried to disguise her disgust when his lips brushed the skin on the back of her hand in a pathetic display of repentance. But with one glimpse of the terror written on Grant’s face when he stood, Gia turned her head to the side, covered her mouth, and coughed to conceal the smile that threatened to give her delight away. Guys wouldn’t do half of what they attempted with girls if they remembered the wrath of the fathers waiting for them on the other side. In Gia’s case, Daddy held a particularly fierce reputation for those who went against his wishes. Only men who hadn’t heard of Daddy or didn’t believe the rumors about him dared to date her.

  As her boyfriend four years ago, Bronc had lost the lottery of Daddy’s goodwill. That news didn’t go over well when she’d told him that in front of a small group of people the night of the shooting. Revenge was the only reason Gia could fathom as to why Bronc would shoot Uncle Angelo in cold blood. Other than his daily encouragement to dump the unworthy Bronc, Uncle Angelo had nothing to do with the public breakup she’d chosen. What other option did she have? A private breakup would have meant Bronc put Gia in her place by any means necessary.