Hard to Catch: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (The Beasts of Baseball Book 3)

by Alice Ward

  My phone lit up, my mother’s face showing on the screen. I fought back tears and picked it up, answering in my strongest voice. “Honey, are you okay?” her warm voice opened the floodgates, and tears began streaming down my cheeks.

  I could barely speak between sobs but managed to utter, “I just got fired.”

  I listened to my mother’s “everything’s going to be okay” speech, not feeling as irritated as before. I needed to believe it. I had to believe. If I didn’t, the alternative was more than I could bear.

  “How’s Daddy?” I asked, wiping my tears and clearing my throat.

  “He’s doing okay. You know Bobby, he’s too proud to admit he’s hurting.”

  “They missed one finger he said, the middle one,” she laughed. I laughed too. It felt good, even though I knew it’d probably be the last time I did for a while.

  A text appeared on my phone from Lana, telling me a car would be ready in an hour. Fuck, she didn’t waste any time. Why did she hate me so bad anyway? It didn’t matter. Besides, without Todd in my life, there was nothing here for me now.

  “I’ll be back in New York in a few hours,” I told my mother, and then gave her the information that was sent to my phone. “I’ll call you and let you know when I confirm the flight home. I have a few personal items to pack at the condo.”

  “I’ll be there to pick you up,” she promised and hung up the phone.

  That scared little girl inside of me was grateful to be sent home to Mommy and Daddy. But the woman in me, the one who loved this job, the one Todd had awoken, hated that I was crawling back to my parents.

  I packed my suitcase and gave one last look around the condo I’d called home for the last several weeks. The large bed in the center of the room was my focal point, remembering Todd’s body tangled around mine. I hated that the last memory in that bed was his eyes filled with such hurt it made my heart break.

  My thumb slid across my phone, gliding effortlessly to Todd’s number. Should I call him? Would he want to know what happened? That I’d gotten fired?

  I shuddered at the thought of Lana telling them why I left. What would she tell them? Would she out Todd? Throw Rhett under the bus and accuse us of fucking? She was vengeful, filled with hate and jealousy. Anything was possible with that crazy bitch. She’d been out to get me since day one, so let her say whatever she wanted. None of it mattered anyway. Did it?

  I settled my thumb across Todd’s number as tears filled my eyes. No. I needed to let him go.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  Todd

  “Where’d you take off to last night so quick?” Kane asked during practice.

  I didn’t want to share Katrina’s personal business with him, or anyone for that matter. My anger toward him had faded, though, knowing she'd called me and not him. “I was worn out,” I lied.

  “Darla was pissed,” he laughed, slapping me on the back.

  “Darla?” I asked.

  “The bartender. She said you ditched her.”

  I hadn’t even bothered to learn her name. One-night stands were never my style. She was a crutch for my heart. When Kat called, she just wasn’t necessary anymore. “I left her a nice tip.”

  “I thought maybe you snuck off to see Kat.” His smile was genuine.

  “Nah,” I lied again.

  Lana took a seat in the stands next to Rhett, but there was no sign of Katrina. I was distracted, letting balls slide past me, missing my opportunity to crush a third base steal, and even called several bad pitches. “What the fuck?” Calvin yelled from the mound.

  “Sorry, man,” I shrugged.

  I was glad it was over. The day wasn’t getting any better, and with every passing moment that Kat didn’t show up, my mind raced with reasons why. Had those guys come back? Found her in the condo alone and taken her off somewhere?

  The autograph signing after practice was Katrina’s event, one she’d set up for every practice. She never missed an opportunity to snap shots of the players, go live on Facebook or send out Tweets about the interaction between us and the fans. But she wasn’t there.

  Lana took her place, smiling, and greeting fans. “Where’s Katrina?” I asked Lana as she snapped a shot of Ace and Kane with a young boy wearing a Beasts shirt.

  “I’m not her babysitter,” she said with a bitchy smile.

  I reached into my pocket, dialed her number. It went straight to a recording that told me her voicemail was not set up. What the fuck? It was set up, I’d left her messages plenty of times.

  My thumb rolled over to Facebook, figuring she may have left some sign of her whereabouts if she left willingly. Her account was gone. Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, even Pinterest, all gone. It was like she never existed.

  I searched Google for her name, nothing for her came up, but an article on Bobby did. Headlines spilled the beans about his gambling addiction, how he'd lost everything and was living in a small condo after his possessions were either sold or repossessed. How did these details hit the press this way? Katrina must be devastated.

  “I’ve gotta go,” I told Kane, telling him to cover for me if Rhett came back.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ll call you if not,” I promised, and then rushed toward the parking lot to catch the next shuttle.

  My heart raced as I ran into the condo building, catching the elevator before it closed. Katrina’s door was locked, and no matter how loud I beat, she didn’t answer.

  Back downstairs at the front desk, I pleaded with the round man with white hair to open her door. “It’s an emergency. I need to know she’s okay,” I told him.

  “I’m sorry, sir. There’s nothing I can do. You can call 911 if it’s an emergency, and the cops can order me to open it,” he said coolly.

  “Is there a problem?” a woman wearing a manager tag asked.

  “Yes, I need in Katrina Delaney’s room,” I told her.

  She punched a few keys on her computer and looked up at me with a strange smile. “I’m sorry, sir. She checked out this morning.”

  “Checked out? Where did she go?”

  “I’m afraid I have no idea.”

  I walked out the front doors and slid down to the curb with my head in my hands. “You alright, man?” I looked up to see Kane standing over me.

  “She’s gone,” I sighed.

  “Who? Katrina?” he asked curiously.

  “Yeah. She checked out this morning they said.”

  The shuttle pulled up, and the guys all started piling out. Calvin, Ace, Luke, and Blake all walked over, each asking what was going on. When I explained the situation, that Katrina was gone, none of them seemed too concerned. I still couldn’t tell them why I was worried so badly, not without betraying her trust. They already knew about Bobby, but not her run in with his loan sharks.

  “There’s Lana, let’s ask her,” Calvin said, moving toward the black car that held the bitch.

  I got up and walked over as she was getting out of the car. Calvin cornered her, asking about Katrina. “If you must know, she was fired,” Lana snapped.

  “Fired? For what?” Kane asked.

  “Fraternizing with a player for starters,” she said, her eyes glaring in my direction.

  This wasn’t news to any of the guys, not after her confession in the bar. “That’s bullshit, and you know it,” Ace scoffed.

  “Oh, it’s not bullshit. I can assure you of that, can’t I Todd?” She smirked in my direction.

  “Where did she go?” I demanded.

  She let out a long sigh. “I have no idea where she went, or what her plans were. I suppose she was off to find another playmate, one with money, I’m sure.”

  I’d never wanted to punch a girl so badly in my life. With the exception of the time my sister painted my fingernails pink while I was sleeping.

  “You need to worry about fulfilling your contract, not Katrina Delaney. The way you were playing out there today, I’d say you’re better off without th
e distraction of that whore.”

  “What whore?” Rhett asked, stepping up behind Lana.

  She seemed nervous at his presence, no longer soaking up the glory of destroying poor Kat. “I’m sorry. I was going to tell you earlier. I had to let Katrina Delaney go today.”

  Rhett’s eyes filled with fury, his chin tightened, and for a moment I thought he was going to hit her himself. “Who gave you the authority to fire Katrina, or anyone for that matter?” he snapped, his tone icy and stern.

  “I caught a player in her room this morning.” Lana’s smile of vengeance returned.

  “I don’t give a fuck who was in her room. What right did you have in firing her?”

  Lana lifted her chin. “Sir, with all due respect, she was a gold digging troll looking for a free ride after her daddy lost everything.”

  How did Lana know about that? I pulled up the story on Bobby I’d seen earlier. The timestamp was around noon, well after Katrina was fired. “How did you know about Bobby?” I asked.

  She glared at me. “It was all over the Internet. I am the social media manager after all.”

  “Did you leak that story?” I demanded, not backing down. “It was posted after you fired Katrina.”

  Rhett’s eyes pierced into her. “What story?” he asked, holding his hand out for my phone.

  I handed it to him, watching him as he read the details of Spaceman’s financial demise. “Did you leak this?” he asked Lana.

  Her body language oozed with guilt. “No,” she insisted.

  “Give me your phone, iPad, and laptop,” Rhett demanded.

  “No. That’s my personal property,” she hissed, pushing the leather bag that hung on her hip toward her back.

  Rhett chuckled, reached around her, and grabbed the bag she tried to conceal from him.

  She growled and handed the bag over. “That’s fine. You can’t get into them without my passcode,” she smirked.

  “You seem to forget that these devices are team property, and your passcodes are a quick phone call away,” Rhett said calmly as he dialed the tech department.

  Lana shifted her weight from side to side, and fidgeted with her hands as Rhett unlocked her phone, and then her iPad. Her face turned paler than usual as Rhett gave her a disappointed look. “You’re fired,” he said without revealing what he’d found on her devices.

  The woman turned scary mad and took a step toward him before seeming to think better of it. She snarled and turned on her heel, stomping down the hall.

  “I need to speak to you,” Rhett said to me.

  There was a pit in my stomach growing as I followed him. We made it to the bar, where Rhett pulled out a chair and sat down at a small table tucked in the corner. Great, privacy. Is this where he fires me?

  “I’m not stupid. I knew you two were an item,” he said nonchalantly.

  My mouth hung open. I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t going to deny anything. It was too late for that.

  “Lana did leak the story,” he said, pushing her iPad across the table.

  There were images of checks, written to Bobby Delaney, from Rhett’s account. A deed to a condo was in Rhett’s name, with a lease agreement for Bobby at one dollar a month. I scrolled through documents, emails, all with personal information about Bobby’s addiction, including checks written to several rehab facilities.

  “You’ve been helping him?” I asked.

  “Yes. And I suppose Lana helped herself to my desk while I watched the beginning of practice.”

  “Why would she want to hurt Spaceman?” I asked, confused by her motive.

  “I believe there was some jealousy involved. That may have been my fault. I did bring Katrina on without consulting her, and I put her in a position that may have been out of her league. Lana is a smart woman, but a vindictive one. She knew something wasn’t right, so she was determined to prove it, no matter what it was.”

  I listened to him talk about the relationship he’d developed with Bobby over the years. He’d offered Bobby a coaching position on the team if he promised to get help, and he was even continuing to pay for that. When he found out Katrina had a journalism degree, he checked out her work.

  “Yes. Hiring her started as a helping hand to Bobby and his family, but once I saw what she was capable of, it was all on her own merit.”

  “She’s turned off her phone and deleted all her accounts. She could be in real trouble,” I said, leaning in to talk softer in the empty room.

  I explained what happened the night before, and why I was in her room. Rhett leaned back in his chair, his eyes drifting toward the ceiling as I told him about Bobby’s enormous debt, and the week he had to pay it.

  “I’ll take care of everything. Including making sure Katrina is safe,” he promised. “So you really care for her, don’t you?”

  My eyes itched as tears struggled to surface. I pushed them back, swallowing hard to clear my throat before answering. “I love her.”

  “Then what are you doing here?” he asked. “Go to her.”

  “What about practice?”

  He laughed. “We’re almost done here anyway. You’re not gonna be worth a shit if you don’t go after her, tell her how you feel,” he stated.

  “Thank you,” I said, scooting my chair out from the table. I reached out, shook his hand, and took off to my room to pack. Even if she didn’t want me, I had to tell her how I truly felt.

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  Katrina

  I scrolled through my phone, erasing all traces of my existence online as I waited for my plane to start boarding. The airport was small, only offering a cart with apple juice, water, and a few snacks. I doubted the growling in my stomach was from hunger anyway. More likely stress.

  “Now boarding to New York,” the woman called over a loud speaker from her small podium. There were three other people at the gate, all seated within ten feet of the woman. She continued to speak through her microphone regardless of the need.

  I grabbed my carry-on bag and boarded the plane. I was relieved to find a couple dozen more people on the plane as I took my seat. I hated flying, and for some reason, the thought of only having a few other passengers scared the living shit out of me.

  The plane was small, much smaller than the ones I’d been on before. My seat was in the back, all the way in the back. I could smell the cleanser from the bathroom at my seat. This was as far away from first class as you could get. I wondered if Lana had done that intentionally. I laughed, sure she did. The bitch.

  A small elderly lady was seated next to me, her lap filled with balls of yarn. I stared at the colorful strings, smiling when she caught me looking. “Can you believe they wouldn’t let me bring my knitting needle?” she asked.

  Yes. Yes, I could believe that.

  The fasten seatbelt sign came on, and the flight attendant instructed us on the safety features of the plane. I tried to tune out their speech so I wouldn’t have to think about emergency exits, oxygen bags, and inflatables in case of a crash into the ocean. Damn, I wished Todd was here to hold my hand.

  My eyes closed as the plane took off, and they didn’t open again until I could feel the plane level out. The woman beside me was smiling like a loon with her lipstick smeared on and around her lips. “You scared of flying, dear?” she asked.

  I nodded, and then quickly closed my eyes again to pretend to sleep. The one thing I hated more than flying was talking about my fear of flying while in the air.

  When I got off the plane in New York, the environment felt as though the earth had shifted. No more casual, relaxed mood surrounding me. Instead, stress, a rushed feeling, and a high-tension mood floated about. Gathering my bags was like trying to fight my way into a Black Friday sale where the most popular toy of the season was offered at half the price. By the time I made it to the curb, I was exhausted.

  Yellow cabs, limos, and shuttle buses lined the passenger pickup area. I wasn’t sure what to do. I’d never done it completely on my own before. I had
very little cash and only one credit card to my name. Everything I’d saved while working was needed to go toward my dad’s debt, so I opted for the shuttle, where I shared a ride with forty other passengers and had fifteen stops every few miles. It was the cheapest option, and I had to face reality. I wasn’t rich anymore. I didn’t even have an income anymore. I was one step away from a homeless shelter.

  I packed my belongings quickly, leaving behind what wouldn’t fit in my second suitcase. I sent a quick text to my mom, letting her know when I’d be arriving. Again, she promised to pick me up and hung up with another, “Everything is going to be okay.” I wondered if my dad would be with her, or if he’d even want to face me.

  I sucked it up and called a cab after arranging my flight back to Georgia. The extra thirty dollars wasn’t going to make a big difference in my budget after the four hundred for the one-way ticket. I noticed a missed call from Todd before I turned my phone back off. Lana had probably made me look like a real fool by now, and I wasn’t in the mood to hear about it. The driver stuffed my bags into the trunk of the cab, and I slid into the backseat.

  I turned to look out of the back window as we pulled off, watching what I was leaving behind. My freedom, my independence, my chance at happiness. A cab pulled up, taking our spot from in front of the condos, and I could’ve sworn Todd got out of the backseat. The traffic, the fog, and the fact that my heart was still aching for him must’ve been affecting my eyes.

  “Everything okay?” the driver asked.

  I turned back around in my seat, leaving the image of what I thought I'd seen behind. “Yes,” I sighed, slouching into the worn leather seat.

  My phone was still in my hand but turned off. I stared at the black screen, wondering if I should turn it back on, just in case. Quit being silly, Katrina. Todd’s in Florida, probably relieved to be rid of you.

  Back in the airport I’d just left, I fought my way through the line at the ticket kiosk, and then through security. The plane was packed, my seat between a large man who was sweating bullets, and a young boy who had been separated from his family.