Lead Player: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Alex Grayson

  Giving him his request, I tell him with conviction, “I love you, Enzo.”

  Again, he closes his eyes, as if savoring those words. When he opens them again, they fall to my stomach. Grabbing my waist, he forces me to stand before lifting the bottom of my shirt. He presses soft kisses to my lower abdomen.

  “I love you too, little baby,” he coos tenderly, softening my heart even more. “And I’ll never leave you or your mother again. I swear I’ll be the best dad there is in the history of dads.”

  I giggle and brush back the hair that’s fallen on his forehead. I really love this soft side of him.

  He stands up, and I’m immediately in the air when he scoops me into his arms. He carries me around the couch and sits down with me in his lap. He cradles me like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever touched.

  “Thank you,” he says quietly, looking deeply into my eyes.

  I press another kiss against his lips, because I can’t get enough. We’ve got five days worth of kisses to make up for. I plan to cash in at least two of those days today.

  I snuggle against Enzo’s back as he hangs up his phone and tosses it onto the nightstand. He rolls to his back and drags me across his chest. I turn around so I can see his face.

  I’m blessedly content after two rounds of making love to the man I’m in love with. Enzo, on the other hand, looks irate with his brows slashed down and a scowl marring his face.

  I reach up and smooth away the wrinkle between his eyes. His expression softens at my touch.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “That was Allison.” His fingers tighten against my hip as his eyes turn hard again. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you, but I stopped by Heidi’s house before I came here.”

  I stiffen, angry all over again at Heidi and her nefarious plan to try to seduce Enzo. Then the questions slam into my brain. Why was he there? And especially, what happened while he was there? My heart thumps heavily in my chest, and I open my mouth to ask, but he beats me to it.

  “You were right about her. She did have a thing for me.” The muscles along his jaw clench. “I was on my way here when she called me and claimed her ex—the one I told you about a few weeks ago—had been outside her building and was threatening to come in. Allison would have killed me if something happened to her, and it didn’t feel right to let her fend for herself. So, I went over, and when I got there I found her in her bedroom. Decked out in fucking lingerie waiting for me.”

  My mouth slams into a firm line and anger vibrates through me. It makes me sick to think Enzo saw her like that. It makes me even sicker to think of what all she did to try to seduce him.

  Enzo smooths the hair back from my cheeks when he sees the anger on my face.

  “She tried her damndest to get me to sleep with her but, baby, there’s only one woman I want.” His words mollify me some. “I told her to stay away from you and me, and my sister. But before I left, I found out her ex never existed. It was all a ploy to get me there. Which also meant she did the same thing the night I fixed her sink. It makes me wonder if she busted her sink herself. I wouldn’t put it past her.”

  Sliding to my knees, I throw one of my legs over his lap, straddling him. “I always knew there was something off about her. The way she looked at me made me feel like she was killing me a hundred ways in her head. She hated that you were with me.”

  “Well, she’s got no choice but to get over it, because her and I will never happen. Even if you never forgave me, I still wouldn’t touch her.”

  “Thank goodness for that, because I’m not sure I would have been able to hold off the need to hack your balls off if you did touch her.”

  He laughs, the sound rich and deep, but sobers a moment later. “She also told me something else.” He pauses. “She said she overheard you yesterday telling a friend you were going to have an abortion.”

  “What?” I screech. “That fucking bitch,” I seethe, ready to go after the woman and beat the ever-lovin’ shit out of her. Or rather send Juliet to do it for me. No way will I put my child in danger. How dare she try to plant something so horrible in Enzo’s head!

  I grab my phone from beside Enzo’s and press the button to bring it to life.

  “What are you doing?” Enzo asks, watching me warily.

  “Calling Juliet,” I mutter. “Giving her the go ahead to go after Heidi like she wanted to yesterday.”

  My phone is plucked from my fingers before I can find Juliet’s name. He takes my hands and puts them on his chest. “No, you aren’t. Heidi won’t be bothering either of us anymore. I’d like for us to forget she ever existed.”

  I’m still extremely pissed, but I give in. Besides, I can’t ask Juliet to fight my battles. I won’t risk her getting hurt or Heidi pressing charges against her.

  I look down at my hands on his pecs, a thought occurring to me. “Did you…. Did you believe her?”

  “Fuck no,” he barks before lowering his tone. “I may have doubted our relationship for a moment, but I never once thought you would harm an innocent baby. She made that claim out of desperation, a last-ditch effort to sway me to her side. I knew right away she was lying.”

  “Thank you,” I say quietly.

  “For what?”

  “For not doubting me on that. I’m not sure I would have been able to get over you believing I would harm our child.”

  He sits up to get in my face, cradling the back of my head. “I’ll never doubt you again.”

  Pressing his lips against mine, I soak in the fact that Enzo is really here with me.

  After a moment, he pulls back and scoots up so he’s leaning against the headboard, taking me with him.

  “That’s not why Allison called. Well, it is, but she told me something else. I called Allison on my way over here to tell her what happened. To warn her about Heidi. Evidently, she already knew and had been trying to call me since yesterday. Come to find out, she slashed her own tire that night a few weeks ago. And she purposely drove to that side of town to do it. Knowing I was here and would leave to come to her rescue.”

  “I know they’ve been friends for a long time, but I can’t help but hope Allison dissolves her friendship with that bitch.”

  “She has. It’s a given she’s upset, but she refuses to have anything to do with someone who would purposely try to hurt me. She’s also furious.”

  “She actually cornered me in the bathroom, you know,” I tell him, fiddling with the hairs on his chest. “The day I had lunch with Allison. She finagled her way into dining with us. Allison said it was because Heidi was like a sister to you and wanted to get to know the woman you were involved with. But I’m not stupid. That may have been the reason Heidi gave her, but I knew she wanted to learn more about our relationship. See if there were ways to destroy it.”

  “What did she say to you?” he demands, his own anger returning.

  I shrug. “Nothing that I didn’t know already. That she was after you. That you’d soon see that you belonged with her.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me this before?”

  “I had already told you my reservations about her, but you didn’t take them seriously. You also told me if they were true, I had nothing to worry about. I trusted your word. I refused to give her the satisfaction of putting doubt in my head.”

  “But you didn’t doubt me,” he observes somberly.

  “In the beginning I would have, but by that time, no, I didn’t.”

  His expression drops and shame reflects in his eyes again. “Which makes what I did so much worse.”

  “Stop.” Leaning down, I put my forehead to his. “We’ve moved past this. We’re not going backward. We’re together and going to have a baby. That’s all that matters.”

  Before I know what’s happening, he jack knifes up, wraps his arm around my waist, and has me flipped to my back with him hovering above me.

  “I don’t deserve you,” he murmurs against my lips. “But I’m going to keep you anyway.”


  I smile. “And I think I’ll keep you too.”

  “We’re forever, baby. Nothing and no one can take our forever away from us. Promise me.”

  I look deeply into his eyes and give him the words that have never held more truth.

  “I promise.”

  Epilogue

  ENZO

  Seven Years Later

  “Daddy!” A yell comes from the hallway at the same time I hear little patters of running feet. Looking at the doorway, not even a second later, a blur passes by, followed by a thump.

  “What have I told you about running in the house, Ayden Taylor Bishop?” Alaina calls, stopping with her hands on her hips to glare down at our son as he picks himself up off the floor. “One of these days you’re going to slip and crack your head open.”

  “But Mom,” he whines. “I don’t want to eat them!” His frantic eyes, the same beautiful blue as his mother’s, turn to me. “Dad, tell her I don’t have to eat them!”

  Alaina looks at me, one brow lifted in challenge, as if daring me to go against her. I may not be the smartest man, but I know better than to go against my wife when it comes to caring for our children.

  “Sorry, son, no can do. Your mom says to eat carrots, you best eat them carrots. Besides,” I drop the notebook I was writing the last few lyrics to a song in and get up from the couch. I never did open my own music studio; opting to stay with Tanner Down. I stop beside Alaina, using one arm to wrap around her and the other to ruffle Ayden’s hair. “Don’t you know if you eat enough carrots, you’ll be able to see in the dark?”

  His eyes go wide in wonder and his mouth parts. “Really?” he breathes, utterly amazed.

  I barely keep the laughter from slipping out. Alaina’s shoulders shake against my side and she buries her face in my shoulder. “You betcha. But you have to eat a lot of them. And not just once. Your mom knows how much, so every time she gives them to you, you better eat them. When you’ve eaten enough, you’ll be able to see in the dark.”

  “That’s really cool!” He beams a smile at his mother. “We’re gonna need lots and lots of carrots! I want them every night! I better go eat the ones on my plate before Ryker steals them.”

  With that, he takes off running. He’s halfway down the hallway when he remembers he just got in trouble for running. With a look over his shoulder, he slows down.

  “See in the dark? Really, Enzo?” Alaina says once he disappears into the kitchen.

  “What? It’s an urban legend that started during World War II and was the first thing I thought of. Now you won’t have to fight him on it anymore.”

  Facing me fully, she loops her arms around my neck. “What happens when he never gets to see in the dark?”

  “We’ll deal with that when it happens.”

  I back her up until she’s pressed against the wall, then devour her mouth.

  A loud screech comes from the kitchen, pulling us apart before I’m ready to let her go. Alaina drops her forehead to my chest.

  “Your kids are demons,” she mumbles.

  Laughing, I lift her head. “Only because you’ve spoiled them rotten.”

  “Oh? And you had nothing to do with it?”

  “Maybe a tad.”

  “This one,” she pats her growing stomach, “better be a girl, because this is it.”

  “Baby, you said that with Ayden, and look where we are now.”

  “Well, I’m serious this time,” she asserts. “I already told Juliet if we have another boy, I’m trading one of ours for one of her girls.”

  A chuckle vibrates from my chest. “We could always do the in vitro route and pick the sex of our baby.”

  She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Yeah, that’s a firm no for me. Nothing wrong with other people doing it, but I like God making those decisions for me.”

  Another yell comes from the kitchen, followed closely by a crash. Alaina pulls away from me, her mom face coming into play. Before she can walk away, I snag her by her shirt and pull her in for one more kiss. After, I bend over as I lift her shirt and give our new baby a kiss too.

  With her expression softened, she turns away to check on the kids. I follow, enjoying the sway of her delectable ass.

  “What in the world is going on in here?” she demands, looking at the mess on the floor before glancing at our children.

  “I wanna see in the dark too!” Ryker says loudly, his bottom lip sticking out. “But Ayden took the rest of the carrots!”

  “Well, it doesn’t look like either of you will be able to see in the dark. All of the carrots are on the floor.”

  “We can still eat them.” This from Ayden with a hopeful expression.

  “You will do no such thing. We don’t eat food that’s been on the floor.”

  “But—”

  “No buts, mister. I’ll make more tomorrow. You’ll just have to wait until then.”

  I help my wife clean up the mess the boys made while they sit dejectedly at the table and finish the rest of their dinner. After we’re done, we take our own seats. Alaina, noticing the crestfallen looks on the kids’ faces, picks up her plate and dumps her carrots on Ayden’s. I do the same with mine to Ryker’s. The smiles they give us could light the entire fucking world. All because we gave them a vegetable they both hate.

  Dinner passes with the boys babbling happily. They’re two years apart and ordinarily get along very well. Alaina may claim they’re demons, but I know she wouldn’t have them any other way.

  Once we’re done, the boys are excused from the table, and I help Alaina clean the kitchen. The boys rush back into the kitchen right as I’m closing the dishwasher. They wait expectantly in the doorway.

  “You ready?” Alaina asks, drying her hands with a hand towel.

  “Yes!”

  Laughing at their excitement, she walks over to them and kisses each on the tops of their heads. I flip off the light switch as we leave the kitchen.

  “Can we sit all the way in the back?” Ayden requests as he slips on his hoodie.

  “Sure, buddy.”

  A giggle comes from my left, drawing my attention over to Alaina tickling Ryker as she helps him with his jacket.

  The four of us leave, heading to the theater to watch the latest Pixar movie. Once the kids are buckled in and Alaina’s in the car beside me, I grab her hand and lean over for a quick peck on the lips. She smiles softly at me when we pull apart.

  Even after many years of marriage, I can’t get enough of her mouth. I’ll be eighty-years old, shitting in my diapers, and will still be locking lips with my woman.

  I look in the rear-view mirror at our sons.

  Life is good. Really fucking good.

  KB Worlds

  Want to keep up with all of the other books in K. Bromberg’s Everyday Heroes World? You can visit us anytime at http://www.kbworlds.com/ and the best way to stay up to date on all of our latest releases and sales, is to sign up for our official KB Worlds newsletter at https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/n4b5s3

  Are you interested in reading the bestselling books that inspired the Everyday Heroes World? You can find them at https://www.kbromberg.com/books/everyday-heroes/

  Also by Alex Grayson

  THE JADED SERIES

  Shatter Me

  Reclaim Me

  Unveil Me

  Awaken Me

  The Jaded Series: The Complete Collection

  THE CONSUMED SERIES

  Always Wanting

  Bare Yourself

  Watching Mine

  The Consumed Series: The Complete Collection

  HELL NIGHT SERIES

  Trouble in Hell

  Bitter Sweet Hell

  Judge of Hell

  Key to Hell

  Hell Night Series: The Complete Collection

  STANDALONES

  Endless Obsession

  Whispered Prayers of a Girl

  Pitch Dark

  The Sinister Silhouette

  Treacherous

&n
bsp; Malicious

  Acknowledgments

  I’d first like to thank K. Bromberg for allowing me to write in her amazing Everyday Heroes World. It has truly been a spectacular experience, one that I’ll never forget. My gratitude is beyond words!

  Another big thanks to all of the new author friends I’ve made. Thank you for making this journey unlike any journey I’ve ever taken!

  To Deborah with Tugboat Designs, thank you for the beautiful cover!

  To Rose with Rose David Editing and Erin with Edits by Erin. Thank you so much for taking care of Lead Player and making it shine!

  A special thanks to by Fiona J, Mina K, Marjorie L, Angela G, Robert P, Deb B, Brittany H, Ashley W, Diane P, Emma M, Erin B, Elaine K, and Debi G! Thank you all for finding those pesky little mistakes!

  To Patricia with River Designs. With each and every graphic you make for me, you amaze me!

  Thank you to all of the blogs, friends, and fellow authors who shared Lead Player with the world!

  To all of my readers, new and old, thank you for taking the time to read Lead Player! Without you, Enzo and Alaina wouldn’t exist!

  About the Author

  Alex Grayson is a USA Today bestselling author of heart pounding, emotionally gripping contemporary romances including the Jaded Series, the Consumed Series, The Hell Night Series, and several standalone novels. Her passion for books was reignited by a gift from her sister-in-law. After spending several years as a devoted reader and blogger, Alex decided to write and independently publish her first novel in 2014 (an endeavor that took a little longer than expected). The rest, as they say, is history.

  Originally a southern girl, Alex now lives in Ohio with her husband, two children, two cats and dog. She loves the color blue, homemade lasagna, casually browsing real estate, and interacting with her readers. Visit her website, www.alexgraysonbooks.com, or find her on social media!