Obsession (The Plus One Chronicles)

by Lyon, Jennifer

  John tossed his wrapper in the trash. “Spot-on. He works as hard as anyone we have. He still lets his temper get the better of him in sparring, but he’s working on it.”

  Self-control and a clear head were key to winning a fight. At twenty-one, Ethan needed to master that now. “Let’s meet tomorrow after I take Kat to work. I’ll spar with Ethan.” Sloane had agreed to work with him as time allowed, but between his own training, work, Drake and Kat, there was never time. That needed to change.

  “He responds to Kat. She’s the one who coaxed him to join in decorating the cookies.”

  Warm possession wrapped around his chest. His friends liked Kat, and somehow she’d seamlessly become a part of them. Like offering to have the kids come by today after her bakery closed to decorate some cookies to take home. Sloane couldn’t take his eyes off her with her easy smiles and gentle directions. She loved sharing her bakery with these kids.

  No other woman he’d done the plus-one thing with ever showed interest in the kids. They were throwaways. The most those women had done was donate money to the Fighters to Mentors program, and that was to get Sloane’s attention.

  Money was easy when you had it. But time and interest? Truly caring enough to share your passions with disadvantaged kids? That was real and priceless.

  He rubbed his chest as cracks of fear penetrated the warmth. Sloane didn’t want to lose Kat, but he didn’t know how to keep her. Things had been simpler when he only had women as a plus-one, not this emotional relationship that left both of them vulnerable. Shoving off the fridge, he slapped John’s shoulder. “You ate her cupcakes, you can help wash up. Let’s go.”

  Kat smiled up at him as she quickly formed square boxes from the flat stack on the table. “What’s up?”

  He wiped a smear of frosting off her cheek. “You’ve done enough. Sit and have fun. We’ll clean up.”

  She lifted her eyebrows. “This is mostly buttercream icing, which is shortening based. It’s hard to wash.”

  Sloane drew his eyebrows together. “Are you questioning my dishwashing skills? I have experience, you know.” He’d been a dishwasher the first time he saw Kat at her sweet-sixteen party. That girl had invoked a complex stew of emotions in him, while the woman in front of him now flat-out owned him.

  Skepticism masked her face. “You have an invisible staff that cleans your house and stocks your fridge.”

  “I worked as a dishwasher in some of the finest hotels and the country club. Prepare to be amazed.” He bracketed his hands around her waist and lifted her onto a stool next to Kylie. “Sit here and observe.” She needed to rest her leg, but he wasn’t dumb enough to tell her that in front of a group of people. Instead, he employed a secret weapon. “Kylie, you watch Kat and make sure she doesn’t try to help. She did all this for us, so it’s only fair we clean up, right?”

  Kylie considered that and nodded solemnly, her eyes huge and serious. “Do a good job for Kat.”

  Sloane couldn’t help grinning. “You bet.” He turned to the boys. “Bring the dishes to the sink, men. Let’s show the girls what we can do.”

  * * *

  Kat stretched her achy leg in the back of the limo. The boys had settled down to watch a movie playing on the two screens, while Kylie showed Kat the wet bar. “These are my favorite juice boxes. I like cherry.”

  “Dad said you can only have water. You had enough junk today.”

  Kylie made a face at her brother. “I was just showing Kat.” She shoved the juice back in the fridge.

  Ben glared at his little sister. “You have to get your way about everything. You made Kat ride in the limo.”

  “I didn’t make her.”

  “Did too.”

  “Did not.”

  Kat began to see why John had been reluctant to leave her alone with the kids. Well, she wasn’t alone, Ethan was driving with the partition down, keeping an eye on things. Sloane and John followed behind them in her car. Kylie had begged Kat to ride with her, and Kat sucked at saying no. Trying to change the subject, she asked, “Ben, did you guys have fun at the baseball game today?”

  The boy’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! Sloane took us down to meet some of the players before the game. We got these Padre hats, and some of the guys autographed them. He removed his hat and held it out.

  She took it, studying every autograph. “Oh cool, you have signatures from—”

  The car swerved left. Kat threw her hand out, bracing herself on the seat to keep from smacking into Ben.

  Ethan must have maneuvered to miss something in the road. She opened her mouth when they were thrown by another jarring shift.

  “Kat!” Kylie screamed, scrabbling toward her.

  The car careened wildly. Kat’s heart jammed into her throat. Her pulse jacked to nuclear. “Ethan!”

  No answer.

  “Ethan’s not moving!” Robert, an older boy, knelt on the seat toward the front of the car. His face had bleached to terror.

  Crap. This was bad. Fear rushed her, trying to seize up her lungs as the car zigzagged. They were going to crash.

  Sobs cut through her fear. Kylie stared at Kat, huge tears rolling down her face. “I want my daddy.”

  The little girl’s fright snapped Kat into action. She grabbed Kylie, pushing her to the floor. “Everybody down. Tuck in tight and cover your head.”

  The kids scrambled down.

  The squeal of brakes pierced the normally quiet interior. But the limo wasn’t slowing. Kat threw herself to the front to look through the opened privacy window. They were flying through an intersection. The brake squeals were from other cars skidding to avoid them.

  She jerked her gaze to Ethan. “Oh God.” He was slumped over against the seat belt, unconscious or dead.

  Do something! Climb through, get up front. Stop the car. Kat gripped the edges to shimmy through when she looked up.

  Too late, they were headed at a diagonal angle toward a block wall. Desperate, Kat grabbed Ethan’s shoulder, shaking him hard. “Ethan!”

  The man slumped deeper into his seat belt, and the car started to slow. His foot had slid off the accelerator, but they hadn’t swerved enough to avoid the wall entirely.

  No time!

  Kat twisted and dove to the floor, covering as many of the kids as she could.

  Seconds later, a horrible crunching, scraping noise exploded in the cab. Screeching metal and pain-filled screams bounced in her head as they were helplessly tossed around between the seats. Kat’s right cheek slammed into something, dazing her.

  Then eerie silence except for the kids sobbing and her own ragged breathing.

  She was alive, but what about the kids? And Ethan? What the hell had happened?

  Chapter Five

  Sloane shoved a hand caked with dried blood through his hair. Every damn time he closed his eyes, he saw the crash again, replaying the way the car slowed at the last minute, the front left headlight hitting the wall at an angle. Then the long car slid alongside the wall until it stopped entirely. He and John had raced to the hissing vehicle and forced the jammed doors to the limo open. Not knowing if Kat and the kids were dead or alive had taken years off his life.

  And now this.

  “Ethan had a heart attack?” He looked around the ICU waiting room, unable to fucking believe this. “We put our fighters through medical screening. He’s twenty-one years old.” Sloane faced the doctor. “So how did this happen?”

  Dr. Morris kept a carefully blank expression on her haggard face. “His heart muscle is swollen and couldn’t handle the strain of what he was doing to his body.”

  “Training?” Sloane began to suspect the culprit, but he didn’t want to believe it.

  “Steroids.”

  Fuck. He crossed his arms in an attempt to contain his rage and worry. “Ethan is doing steroids. In my training program.”

  “He admitted it. He’s scared, Mr. Michaels. His heart is damaged, and his career as a fighter is over. He also suffered some injuries from the crash a
nd the airbags deploying.”

  “I want to see him.”

  “No. Not tonight. You need to understand that young man is very sick. He will recover, but he could have died.”

  Blind fury ripped through him. How could Ethan have been so stupid? He could have killed himself, the kids and Kat. He could have lost her.

  No. He couldn’t think about Kat dying, or he’d snap the very last threads of his control.

  He needed to keep his shit together. Kat must be out of x-ray by now, and he needed to get back to her. But he had to do one thing first. “I hear you. Now you need to hear me. I’m all that kid has. I’m beyond furious and disgusted, but he’s scared. Let me in there to assure him that I’m here. We won’t talk about the steroids until he’s stronger.”

  She eyed him. “Your word?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fine. This way.”

  Sloane followed her past the nurse’s desk into Ethan’s room. Wires and tubes sprouted from the pale young man. His breathing was shallow, and his hands trembled. A shaft of pain sliced through Sloane. The young man was as sick as the doctor said. “Ethan.”

  He opened his eyes, taking a second to focus. “I’m sorry.”

  Regret was etched deep in his voice, and his eyes watered. He was a damned kid. Sloane had had Drake looking out for him, making sure he didn’t do anything so fucking stupid like taking steroids.

  Sloane had failed Ethan.

  Laying his hand on the boy’s shoulder, he leaned down. “I don’t want sorry. I want you to concentrate on recovering. That’s all that matters tonight.”

  “How bad are the others hurt? Please. They won’t tell me.” Tears leaked from his eyes.

  Pity welled in his chest. “Everyone is okay. Ben fractured his arm, Robert broke a finger, and Kylie needed a couple stitches in her leg. Otherwise, scrapes and bruises.” Thank God that car had slowed and angled before the impact. What could have been a head-on collision ended up being more of a hard skid.

  “Kat?” His voice rasped.

  “In x-ray now for the right side of her face, but it’s a precaution. She’s okay. I had to make her agree to be examined, and she’d only do it after the kids were all cared for.”

  Ethan’s shoulders relaxed. “Thanks.” He swallowed. “I never wanted to disappoint you.”

  Sloane’s throat knotted. Shit. “Then get well. Hear me? Rest now, and I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  * * *

  Kat woke to her face throbbing and her body aching. She glanced at the clock. Nearly two a.m. She tried to ignore the pain and will herself back to sleep.

  It was too sharp and penetrating. Carefully she slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom. The light hurt her eyes. Then she saw her face in the mirror. Ugh. A deepening bruise beneath her right eye and slashing over her cheekbone. Turning, she hiked up the tank top and, yep, a dark mark spread over the back of her ribs.

  She fumbled for the ibuprofen when the door opened, spilling in Sloane wearing only boxers, dark scruff on his jaw and mussed hair.

  He set a cold pack on the counter and took the bottle of pills from her hand. “We tried this your way. It didn’t work. You’ve been moaning in your sleep for the last twenty minutes.” He set them aside and picked up the brown bottle. With her bracketed between his biceps, his front pressed to her back, he poured out two prescription pain pills. “Take them. Please.”

  She stared at his hands which were covered in cuts and scrapes from getting her and the kids out of the car. They were still shiny from the ointment Kat had insisted on putting on them after she and Sloane showered. Sloane had let her care for him, and now he was trying to care for her. “I was stupid to think I could go to work in a few hours.” Sloane had known it, but he hadn’t tried to force her to take the pain pills earlier. He’d let her handle it her way.

  “You have to rest.” His worried eyes captured hers in the mirror. “Kellen and his parents are going to run the bakery for you tomorrow.”

  She was making it worse on Sloane. He’d been upset about Ethan, dealt with everything at the hospital, brought her back to his house, helped her shower and put her in bed. “Okay.” She swallowed the pills with the water he gave her. “Thanks. Go back to bed. I’m going to sit up for a few minutes and I’ll use this.” She picked up the cold pack. It would really help her hot and throbbing cheek.

  He shifted, gently lifting her in his arms. “I’ll sit with you. Hold that pack on your face.” As he passed the bed, he snagged the quilt and then headed out the deck doors into the cool, sea-scented air. He sat on the padded bench of the wide glider and wrapped the quilt around them.

  The night surrounded them, the waves rose and crashed in a soothing rhythm, and Sloane tucked her left cheek against his chest while she held the pack to her right side. He pushed the glider, rocking them slowly.

  Her face was already numbing. But she hadn’t wanted Sloane to have to get up with her. “I wanted you to sleep.”

  “Every time I close my eyes, I see that car swerving then heading for the block wall. I couldn’t stop it, couldn’t do a damned thing.” He sucked in air. “This is better. I can feel you breathing.”

  They were both reliving it over and over. “I didn’t know what to do. Kylie cried for her dad, she was so scared. They all were.” Kat couldn’t stop the words. “By the time I realized Ethan was unconscious, there wasn’t enough time to get in the front and stop the car. I shook him, and that jerked his foot off the accelerator.”

  “That saved your lives. The car was barreling through intersections, swerving all over. If it’d gone into that wall full speed and head on, you’d all be dead.”

  She closed her eyes and shuddered as her thoughts bounced around. “I can still hear Ben scream when I moved Kylie off his arm.”

  Sloane eased his hand beneath her shirt, bypassed her bruised ribs and rubbed her upper back in slow strokes. “You did everything you could. The doctors said it’d have been much worse if you hadn’t gotten everyone on the floor. From now on, the kids will be in seat belts in the limo.”

  It didn’t feel like she’d done enough. Kat wished she could have gotten through the privacy window to stop the car entirely. “How bad is Ethan?”

  “He’s banged up, but the heart attack did the most harm, causing permanent damage to his heart. They don’t know how much yet. He’ll recover, but his career as a fighter is over.” All Sloane’s muscles stiffened. “Jesus, Kat, I didn’t know. I swear it. I’d never let my fighters do steroids. I didn’t know.”

  Kat lifted her head. The cloud cover shifted, allowing a shaft of moonlight to slice through and illuminate the agony in his eyes—the pain for Ethan, anger at him and guilt that he hadn’t known. Here she’d been whining about how scared she’d been when she was fine, and Sloane was hurting deep inside. “He’s one of yours? The kids you mentored?”

  He kept her gaze. “Drake found him on the streets trying to get into underground fights. I took over mentoring him soon after.”

  “How old was he?”

  “Sixteen. Just barely.”

  Old anger showed in the faint lines around his eyes. Kat didn’t ask anything else. Ethan’s past was his own. Instead she set the cold pack down and rubbed her thumb over the scar next to Sloane’s mouth. “I believe you didn’t know. The important thing is what to do now.”

  “The doctor doesn’t want me questioning Ethan yet, and okay, I get that. But we’ll be questioning everyone else in our program. John and I are going to toss the guesthouse in the morning and find Ethan’s doping kit. Get that shit tested and isolated to figure out how to detect it since it didn’t show up in the drug screens we do regularly. Then we’ll retest everyone.”

  “Ethan was getting designer steroids?” Kat sat up, adrenaline dropping into her blood, fighting the pain pills. “Testing for anabolic steroids is very sophisticated. Beating that takes a high skill level.”

  “Could you do it?”

  The old shame at not being smart enough s
urfaced, but she wouldn’t lie about this. “No. I wasn’t that good. And even if I was smart enough, I wouldn’t do it. Look at what steroids did to Ethan, and that was likely short-term use. Long-term, they’ve been linked to the destruction of brain cells, and of course ’roid rage.”

  Sloane picked up the cold pack and resettled it against her face. “Are you good enough to check the results we have on file and make sure our team doctors aren’t missing it?”

  “I can look it over. But Amelia would be better. Marshall could absolutely do it.”

  “I want you to look first and tell me if you see anything abnormal. We have to check every damned thing, from monitored collection to results and their evaluation.” He stared at her. “I trust you—no one can buy you off, and you won’t lie to me. You know that it’s more than my business at stake, it’s the health of my fighters. I’m not going to have another Ethan because of lazy staff.”

  Her heart clenched. “You trust me with that? I’m not that good.”

  “I trust you. You’ll tell me if it’s beyond your abilities. I’ll have all the records sent here in the morning, and we’ll start there.” He brushed her hair back, keeping the pack on her face. “Will you do that for me?”

  He trusted her. Believed in her. “Yes.”

  “Good. Now lay back down.” He pulled her against him, tucking the quilt around her. “Let me hold you awhile.” He rocked the glider in a smooth, easy motion.

  Kat sighed against him, starting to feel the meds working through her system.

  “How come you never told me you used to dance?”

  In the dark night, it all felt far away. “I just did it for fun, and I can’t do it anymore. Not like that.”

  “You dance when you bake. You look damn sexy doing it too.”

  Did he really think so? “Habit. I used to bake at my grandmother’s, and we danced all the time. Her name was Sylvia, she was my mom’s mom. At first, my mom didn’t want me in her dance school, but I cried when they put me in science or math programs and camps. I hated them. They made me feel stupid.”

  Sloane brushed her hair. “Your grandma rescued you?”