“Tell me what’s happened.”
Since Rowan already knew, she didn’t see the harm of filling in his friend. “There’ve been a few hang-ups on my cell, calls here from a guy who didn’t want to leave a message, a suspicious car parked outside my building, flowers—”
“Jesus,” he said, raking a hand through his dark hair. “Isn’t your brother a cop? Can’t they do something about this?”
Brant would be all over Justin if she went to him with this, but legally, she suspected his hands were tied since they couldn’t prove Justin had done anything wrong. “He’s probably just trying to scare me.”
“Yeah, well, it’s working, isn’t it?”
It wasn’t easy for her to admit to being scared. She prided herself on being fearless, which was a crock. She had plenty of fears. Most of them circled around what her ex would do to her if he got his hands on her again.
“I’ll get through this,” she said, reaching for Ace’s hand. “Please don’t waste any more time worrying about me.”
He brushed a strand of hair off her face. “I can’t help it. Somewhere along the way, I started thinking of you as a friend, and I always look out for my friends.”
She appreciated the sentiment, but his loyalty really lay with Rowan. If she was no longer dating his friend or Ace was no longer dating Stacey, their connection would cease. Just like so many other friendships in her life had waned when the other person realized she could be distant, wasn’t into bitchfests, and rarely picked up the phone unless she had to. She was a lousy friend. She still couldn’t figure out why Stacey put up with her.
“Well, I appreciate that. But you don’t have to look out for me.”
“Is that your polite way of asking me to back off and mind my own business?”
Tenley glanced at the clock and noted she had to wake up in three hours. “No, I’m telling you to go back to your girlfriend so we can all get some more sleep.”
“Okay.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “But call if you need anything, okay?”
She grabbed his hand before he could leave. Embarrassed as emotion welled up in her throat, she whispered, “Thanks for coming in to check on me.”
“Any time.”
Chapter Seventeen
Rowan was beating on the heavy bag in his home gym when Ace let himself in.
“What do you want?” he grunted. He was already dripping with sweat, but refused to stop. After the night he’d had with Tenley, he knew this was the only thing that would make him feel better.
“I want to know why you’re here instead of over at Tenley’s, trying to make up for what happened last night.”
He glared at his friend out of the corner of his eye, still punching the bag as though it were the enemy. “What the hell did I do? Aside from asking the girl whether she slept with some dou—”
“Why should you care who she’s slept with? You’ve been a player since the day I met you.”
Rowan couldn’t deny it, so he punched the bag even harder, adding a roundhouse kick for good measure.
“I hate this guy.” Imagining the car salesman’s face on the bag, he hit it hard enough to break the skin on his knuckles, which was stupid, given how important his hands were to his livelihood. “He’s an arrogant ass who thinks he’s better for Tenley than I am.”
“Is that what’s bothering you?” Ace asked, jumping on the treadmill. “Maybe you think that too, huh?”
“Screw you.” By the time Rowan stepped away from the bag, he was breathing so hard he had to rest his hands on his knees as he caught his breath.
“If you didn’t, you wouldn’t give a shit whether she’s slept with him or not. You’d be able to let it go.”
Rowan hated that Ace was right, so he fought back with the only ammunition he had. The truth. “I’m not the only one who can’t let go. Don’t think I don’t know you’re scared shitless that Walker is going to decide he wants Stacey back and that’ll leave you out in the cold.”
He grabbed two water bottles from the mini-fridge and threw one at Ace. He’d hoped it would hit him, but with Ace’s reflexes and a Golden Glove to his name, he caught it instead. Figures.
“Let’s stay focused on your problems,” Ace said, pressing a button to speed up the treadmill as he broke into a jog. “I can’t believe you haven’t busted that guy’s head open by now.”
“Who’re you talking about? The car salesman?”
Ace rolled his eyes. “Man, you need to get over that shit. She doesn’t want him. She wants you. Though I have no idea why.”
Rowan glared at him as he tipped his water bottle back, draining half of it before he reached for a towel to wipe the sweat off his face before it stung his eyes.
“You need to trust her, buddy.”
He let Ace’s warning settle in while he sank against the wall, sliding down it when his legs felt too weak to support his weight. “I do trust her. I don’t trust other dudes.” Tenley was a gorgeous woman who had guys coming on to her all the time. Rowan had to figure out how to deal with that… or risk losing her. If he hadn’t already.
“The only one you shouldn’t trust is that son of a bitch who’s been messing with her mind.”
“Her ex.” He drained the rest of the bottle before throwing it against the wall. The pathetic crackle as it hit the drywall gave him no satisfaction. He wanted to break something. Preferably someone else’s bones.
“Why haven’t you tracked him down?”
Rowan had been asking himself that same question as he tried to fall asleep last night. He kept circling back to killing him with his bare hands when he thought about what he’d done to Tenley, but he assumed the part of his brain still responsible for rational thought had put the kibosh on the idea of going to see Justin before he could act on it.
“I’d probably kill him.”
Ace laughed as he slowed the treadmill so he could continue talking. “Yeah, well, I can’t let you do that. You’re too important to the team. The Skip would kill me if I let that happen. But you can put the fear of God into him so he doesn’t mess with your woman anymore.”
Rowan didn’t want to damage his relationship with Tenley any more than he already had, so he looked at his long-time friend and hoped Ace had it in him to tell the truth, no matter how much it hurt. “I’m assuming you talked to her last night, since you stayed at their place. Is she done with me or what? I want the truth, Ace.”
“The truth? What happened last night wasn’t even about you, man.” He jumped off the treadmill and headed for the elliptical, but not before wrapping a clean white towel around his neck. “It was about her ex. Flashbacks.”
Flashbacks? It killed Rowan to think he’d reminded her of him in any way.
“Apparently, her ex had been accusing her of sleeping with some dude when he lost it and decided she didn’t deserve to live anymore.”
Rowan got a cramp in his stomach that he knew had nothing to do with how hard he’d trained. “Shit.”
“Yeah. I think she’d been trapped in a car with him at the time too.”
That made sense since Tenley said he’d taken her to some abandoned warehouse. Rowan dropped his head into his hands, cursing himself for being such an insensitive ass. Ace was right. It didn’t matter who the hell she’d slept with before they met. The only thing that mattered was making sure he was the last man to share her bed.
“You can fix this, you know,” Ace said, watching Rowan. “Let this coward know that you’re not messing around, that you’ll tear him apart if he goes near her again.” Ace smirked. “I’ll go along, just to make sure you don’t actually do it.”
He knew his buddy was right. He should have paid this guy a visit as soon as he found out what he’d done to Tenley. He reached for his phone and fired off a text to Brant. “Her brother must know where we can find the guy. He’s been keeping an eye on him.”
“You think he’ll tell you?” Ace asked, raising an eyebrow. “He is a cop, right?”
“He’s Tenley’s brother first,” Rowan said, confident he would give him the information he needed. “A cop second.” He tossed his sweat-stained, bloody towel at Ace before peeling the tape off his bleeding hands. “You should take your own advice. Forget about Walker and just focus on what you have with Stacey.”
“I was thinking about that on the way over here,” Ace admitted. “I think you’re right.”
“I’m always right, dumbass.”
“Not always,” he said, rolling his eyes. “When it comes to women, you’re as thick as a brick. You were running around in circles for that cheating little golddigger for months, then you finally get a shot with a girl like Tenley and you manage to screw everything up… twice.” He held up two fingers before rapping his knuckles against his temple. “Over the same goddamn guy who doesn’t mean a thing to her.”
“You sure about that?” Rowan asked, still trying to quash the uneasy feeling that lingered whenever he thought about Tenley and the guy who’d come before him.
“A hundred and ten percent.”
Rowan nodded, knowing he could count on Ace’s word. His cell phone chimed with an address. He chuckled as he read Brant’s warning to Ace: Don’t do anything stupid. I don’t want to arrest you.
“So what are we waiting for?” Ace asked. “Let’s make sure this clown knows he messed with the wrong girl.”
***
Rowan stood outside the dingy motel room, his hand raised to knock on the door when Brant pulled up in a non-descript black truck.
“Hey,” he said, jumping out. “Glad I caught you before you went in there.”
Rowan wandered over and introduced Brant to Ace before he asked, “What’re you doing here? You didn’t trust me to keep it together?”
“No, I didn’t.” He gripped Rowan’s shoulder. “Look, man, I think you’re a good guy. And I also happen to think you’re good for my sister. But the last thing she needs is more drama in her life.”
“Meaning?” Rowan asked, quirking an eyebrow.
He’d come here for a fight, but not with Brant. So he sure as hell hoped he didn’t plan to get in his way. ’Cause one way or another, he was going to teach Tenley’s piece-of-shit ex a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.
“I know dirtbags like this,” Brant said, gesturing toward room 709. “Deal with them all the time. They talk tough, but when push comes to shove, they cower like pussies. Then they call us when somebody gets sick of their shit and beats the hell out of them.”
Rowan heard his warning loud and clear. If he laid a hand on this guy, he’d press charges. Which would put his career, not to mention his relationship with Tenley, in serious jeopardy. He wasn’t even sure where they stood. He’d texted her to check in, hoping he’d get the chance to apologize face to face, but she had yet to respond.
“I hear what you’re saying.”
“Do you?” Brant put his arm around Rowan as he led him away from the building. Only a few cars were in the lot, but when a middle-aged guy wearing stained jeans and a wife-beater shirt stepped outside to have a smoke, Brant clearly wanted to widen the gap. “I get how you feel. Believe me, when this all went down, it took everything in me not to blow his brains out.”
Rowan took a deep breath, trying to imagine if he would have shown the same restraint had he been a part of Tenley’s life back then.
“But I didn’t. You know why?”
“You didn’t want to lose your job?” Rowan knew cops weren’t well received in prison. Even a tough guy like Brant would have a rough time surviving on the inside.
“I didn’t want to lose my sister.” When Rowan frowned, rubbing his forehead as he tried to make sense of what he was saying, Brant explained, “She’d already been through enough. Seeing me go away would have done her in. I have no doubt about that.”
“She’s stronger now,” Rowan said, praying that was true. After last night, he didn’t know what she was thinking or feeling, and that uncertainty was killing him.
“Yeah, but she needs stability to continue to heal from this.” Brant gripped his shoulder, looking him in the eye. “She needs a man she can count on to be there for her. Not a hothead who’s gonna go off at the slightest provocation.”
Rowan’s eyes drifted to his best friend, and he knew Ace was thinking about what had gone down between him and Tenley last night. Brant’s warning almost made him wonder whether he’d talked to his sister about last night’s fiasco. Or maybe the cop who drove her home had filled him in. Either way, he seemed to know things Rowan wasn’t proud to admit. Even to himself.
Everything he said made perfect sense. Rowan was a master at controlling himself on the mound, practicing patience until he could capitalize on his opponent’s weakness. But with Tenley, he was the one feeling weak and vulnerable, and he hated that.
“I hear you,” Rowan said.
“You sure?” Brant stepped back, folding his arms as he gave Rowan a hardened look that he was sure made his suspects cower in fear during interrogations. “I’m telling you that it would break my sister’s heart to see you get led away in handcuffs for putting this guy down. No matter how much he might deserve it.”
Rowan inhaled deeply, trying to find an ounce of the control he was so famous for.
“I’m not suggesting you back off.” Brant pointed at the window of Justin’s room. “Tell him you’ll break both of his legs if he comes near Tenley again. Just don’t make good on that threat today.”
He nodded slowly, considering his options. “Yeah, okay.”
“I mean it,” Brant said, thrusting a finger in Rowan’s face. “You hurt her, and you’ll answer to me. I’ve been watching her go through the motions for seven years, pretending she was fine when I knew she wasn’t. It killed me to know she was living half a life because some asshole robbed her of the ability to trust someone.”
When Rowan would have said something, Brant raised his hand. “But I saw her with you, and it was like she’d come alive again. And I can’t tell you what that does for me.” He flattened his hand against his chest, the movement pulling his black jacket back enough to reveal the piece strapped to his waist. “I feel like I’m finally getting my little sister back, thanks to you.”
Ace, who was standing behind Brant, gave Rowan a half-smile to let him know he was there if he needed him.
“But I’m not going to lie to you. Life with Tenley won’t be easy,” Brant said. “Especially in the beginning. There will be setbacks while she tries to figure out how to let someone back into her heart and her life. It’s been a long time since she’s done that, and given how it turned out, I don’t think you can blame her for being scared.”
“You talked to her, didn’t you?” Everything he said led Rowan to believe he knew what happened last night.
“I just came from her place. She was miserable because of the fight you guys had. She’s beating herself up, questioning whether she’s ready to be in a relationship at all. She thinks she’s too messed up and you’d be better off without her.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“I know that, but I’m not the one you have to convince. She is.” He nodded toward the motel room. “Don’t waste too much time on this loser. Say what you’ve got to say, then focus on what really matters—making things right with my sister.”
Rowan extended his hand, and he pulled Tenley’s brother in for a half-hug. “Thanks, Brant.”
“You can thank me with tickets to the home opener,” he said, grinning.
“Done.”
Ace and Brant shook hands, and they watched him walk toward his truck before Ace asked, “You ready to do this?”
It was suddenly clear to Rowan—he didn’t have to waste any more time or energy worrying about the guys who wanted to take Tenley away from him, one way or the other. He had to worry about driving her away with the kind of shit he pulled last night.
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
As soon as Brant’s truck pulled out of the lot, they walked up to the door.
“What if he doesn’t answer?” Rowan asked, raising his hand to knock.
Ace grinned, leaning his back against the brick wall between Justin’s door and his neighbors’. “We kick it in.”
“What if he’s not here?” Rowan asked, scanning the parking lot. No vehicles were parked outside his room, but since he’d just gotten out of the joint, he assumed he couldn’t afford one.
“We wait,” Ace said, shrugging. “He’s got to come back sometime. Right?”
Rowan didn’t want to wait. He wanted to see Tenley. But he couldn’t walk away until he’d faced the son of a bitch who tore her life apart.
He was surprised when the door flew open a few seconds after he knocked.
“Hey, you’re late,” Justin said, his smile slipping when he realized they weren’t the company he’d been expecting.
Rowan stuck his foot in the doorway before he could close the door. He pushed him back while Ace slammed and locked the door, in case Justin was stupid enough to think he could run.
“Hey,” Justin said, looking from Rowan to Ace. “You’re ball players, aren’t you? Phillips and…” He snapped his fingers. “The pitcher… Rowan Nixon, right? What the hell do you guys want with me?”
“You call my girlfriend again”—Rowan stepped toward him—“you’ll wish you were back behind bars, where there are guards to protect you.”
Justin looked as Rowan thought he would. The remnants of a good-looking guy lingered behind unruly dark hair, yellowing teeth, dull green eyes, and pasty skin. He appeared to be in decent shape. Probably because working out was the only thing that kept him from becoming someone’s bitch on the inside.
“What’re you talking about, man?” he asked, looking nervous as his gaze jumped from Rowan to Ace, who was guarding the door in case Justin tried to make a run for it.
“Tenley.”
Rowan watched the shift in his demeanor at the mention of her name. He went from nervous to scared spitless in the span of a second. He could practically see his heart thumping beneath his thin cotton shirt.
Sweet Spot (Summer Rush #1) Page 18