The Total Package

by Stephanie Evanovich

  “Dani?”

  She dropped her hand and looked up, expecting to see Tyson. But it was Marcus who was now standing beside her. She glowered at him, not trusting herself to speak.

  “Walk with me?” he asked, already taking a step in the direction across the lawn of rocks. It sounded like a plea. She might have refused, but curiosity won out, and she followed. She thought about picking up one of the landscaping rocks and beaning him with it, but a very healthy-­looking red tabby cat dashed from around the back of the house to join them. The cat ran to catch up and tried to brush against him as he walked. Marcus stopped, reaching down to give it an absent-­minded pat. The cat rubbed up against one of Marcus’s legs and then the other as he stroked it, then plopped down on the ground in front of him, meowing when Marcus straightened back up and went back to walking. The cat gave Dani a disgruntled glance, its tail slapping against the dust hard enough to create a small cloud as Dani passed it.

  They walked around the back of the house and across the property to an octagonal wooden gazebo by a large pond. Beneath its canopy were several picnic tables. Marcus took a seat on one of the long benches and patted the space beside him in invitation. Dani sat down next to him. It was serene and lovely, rich with the sounds of the wildlife around them. She could see the top of a white steeple from above the tree line in the distance. The pastor’s church. Her anger began to ebb, and she could feel a difference in Marcus as well. All his edginess was gone, replaced with a demeanor she had never witnessed before. Tranquility maybe? Or vulnerability?

  “I thought football would be fun.” Marcus sighed wistfully.

  Dani couldn’t help laughing. “So did I.”

  Marcus grinned, before spreading his legs apart and hunching over, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked down at his hands as if they held the right words and then gave up. “We were so damn poor. I went to bed hungry a lot. And alone, I was always alone. I had to grow up fast.”

  Dani could feel her chest beginning to tighten. She had wanted Marcus to explain himself, but now that he was actually doing it, she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the story. With each word he spoke, the more vulnerable he looked. He picked his head up and gazed out over the pond in a way that suggested he was still searching for words.

  “I thought I was so smart, you know? The more ­people started to suck up to me, the cockier I got. By the time I was all buttoned up with the Blitz, it was already too late. . . .” His voice trailed off.

  “Too late for what?” Dani probed gently. She wanted to stay angry with him, but seeing him so defenseless brought out all her motherly instincts.

  “All I saw were the dollar signs. It never dawned on me, all the debauchery and mess that came with it. I thought the streets of New Orleans were bad, but at least when I was getting attacked there, it was up close and over fast. I learned how to fight for survival, and when it was over, I knew I had lived to fight another day. I got good at honing my instincts. But now, it’s all about back-­slapping fools who grin as they feed off me. Before the first shovelful of dirt was thrown into the hole where they dropped my mother’s coffin, they were telling me I should get back to business. I was terrified they would grind me down until there was nothing left.”

  Dani knew who “they” were. Not only the paparazzi, but also the master manipulators like Clinton Barrow, whose only focus was the bottom line and winning seasons. She had been their victim as well. But that still didn’t explain why she currently found herself in Cedar Creek.

  “Marcus, none of that gets me any closer to why you’re here. And I think I’ve earned the right to hear the whole story.”

  He took a deep breath, sat back up, and for the first time since she met him, did exactly what she told him.

  “I met Beth and her family at the hospital after they thought I dislocated my shoulder in that game with Houston during preseason the year before last. Her grandfather was dying, and they had been there for days. They all looked at me with the kindest eyes. None of them had a clue who I was. She told me she would pray for me. Before I knew it, I was asking her to have coffee with me. Her parents said they didn’t think it was a good idea for her to go out with a stranger, so I ended up inviting all three of them. I was so sure they would be impressed once they found out I was a rich and famous football player, because heck, isn’t everybody?”

  He chuckled at his own sarcasm.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be gay?” she said.

  “Gay? I never said I was gay. Y’all were the ones who said I was gay. I just didn’t bother correcting anyone. ” He chuckled again but the pained look returned and he continued with his confession.

  “Not only was her dad not impressed, the man was downright disapproving, especially after he found out I had never set foot inside a church. After he thanked me for the coffee, which he insisted on paying for, he said it was probably for the best if I didn’t try to contact his daughter again. I was a nice kid and he would keep me in his prayers, but they were simple, godly ­people and he didn’t want his only child falling in with hotshot athletes like me. He said it as we all sat at the same table, so it wasn’t like he did it behind my back. And Beth looked like she agreed. For the first time in my life, I was truly ashamed. I told all of them I would do anything they asked to change their minds. I think the pastor saw me as a soul that needed saving and he couldn’t turn his back on that. I walked away from that meeting with an open invitation to join them at their house whenever I wanted to, and I used it to get my foot in the door.”

  Dani couldn’t help but smile. She had firsthand experience of the power of persistence.

  “I knew I wouldn’t be able to wow them by trying to bring them into my world, at least not at first. I was already behind with my Sundays dedicated to football. So I joined their church. I had to do it without anyone finding out and blowing my cover. If the media found its way to their door, it’d be all over. I was already good at being sneaky. I started spending all my free time there, which was hard to do when I was with Boston. I’d fly in and ditch anyone who happened to notice and try to follow me. Then take a cab, sometimes the bus. Nobody’s looking for a football star on a crappy bus rolling through small towns, even if this is the middle of football country. If anyone did recognize me, I’d just hop off the bus or ditch the cab, jog a few miles, and try again.”

  “That’s why you wanted to sign with the Mavericks,” Dani said slowly as the pieces came together. It was awe inspiring. “You did all this to date a girl?”

  “I know it sounds crazy, and looking back when I started it I was probably just doing it to be stubborn. But I love this girl. When she looks at me, I get all hot and cold inside.”

  And with that quietly spoken declaration, Marcus LaRue, the coolest, most aloof character Dani had ever met, willingly reduced himself to a puddle of lovestruck mush. His eyes were still as blue, but the ice had melted from his stare. For the first time since she’d met him, the cold, jaded look was gone and Marcus looked his age.

  “It looks like you succeeded in winning them over,” Dani remarked sarcastically, if not bitterly. In the end, he had sealed the deal. All in the name of love no less, a feat she couldn’t manage to accomplish.

  “It wasn’t easy. At first the pastor really made me earn it. They wouldn’t even let me sleep in the house and set up a little room for me in the barn. He made me go fishing and sit around in nature, picking berries and stuff. He was really good at getting me to tell him about where I came from. Sometimes he’d put his arm across my shoulders as I did, like he was trying to hold me up and support me. I could tell he felt bad for me too. This place became my sanctuary. The more time I spent with them, the more it turned from wanting to get them on board with my way of living to this desperate need to keep them shielded from it. The longer it continued, the higher the odds got that someone was going to find out.”

  “So you used me to run interferenc
e.” Dani sighed. She looked at him with more empathetic eyes now. He hadn’t singled her out. He had used everyone and everything to his advantage. She began to realize just how much they had in common. Dani had also been living within enormous lies and ulterior motives. But he hadn’t trusted her completely. Someone else had gotten full disclosure. “But you let Tyson in on what you were up to.”

  Marcus gave a shrug. “The deeper I got into it, the more I realized I would eventually have to trust someone on the team. Tyson gets me. He knew what I was feeling.”

  Dani shook her head. More proof she would never see the inside of the boys’ club. “That’s what cuts the deepest.”

  Marcus put his hand on her knee. “Look, Dani, I didn’t know my dad. My mom was sunk in her addictions before I got out of grade school and everyone in the league knows what happened once she had money to burn. Tyson has a lot of experience with addiction. I knew from the time I was little that I wanted what the rich folks have. But it’s nothing if I have no one to thank for it or share it with. These ­people have become my family, the family I never had. I’d do anything to protect them. I’m really sorry you got caught up in that, baby girl.”

  Dani could’ve chosen not to forgive him, but that thought never crossed her mind. She could only imagine where Marcus was coming from. She knew nothing of dysfunctional families or addiction. Her tight-­knit clan had rallied around her without judgment whenever she needed them—­no questions asked. They wanted her to pursue her dream, even if it was completely misguided. Besides, her grudges had already weighed her down for a long time.

  “Apology accepted. So what’s next?” she asked.

  Hearing her words of forgiveness, he visibly relaxed. Shades of the Marcus she knew returned with his insolent grin. “For me, I’m going to finish out this year with the Mavericks, hopefully win the Super Bowl. Then I’ll cash my check, walk away, marry Beth, and give her parents all the grandkids they can handle. I’m through leading a double life. The Greens are tougher than I ever gave them credit for. They’ve wanted me to stop living in this mess for a while now. What’s next for you? You going to keep running?”

  Dani sucked in and held her breath, the hairs on the back of her neck rising in the same way they did every time he got too close to her truth.

  “I’m not running from anything,” she protested.

  His grin got wider. “You know, I never expected you to take it all so seriously. All my instincts told me you just loved the publicity. I thought I was just going to be making it easier for you to work your own agenda. I really got that one wrong.”

  He wasn’t talking about her aspirations in broadcasting. The conversation had just been flipped on its head. He was giving her a new sort of grin. There were times his intuitiveness was fascinating. But most of the time it was a real pain in the ass. At the moment, it was a whole lot of both.

  “You’re not as smart as you think you are,” she said, making one more valiant effort to ward off his knowing look. “And my only agenda is to make it to the top.”

  “Getting fired is really going to put a damper on that.”

  “You didn’t fire me.” She was flustered. “I quit.”

  “Oh yeah,” he said slowly, and started to rise from the picnic table. “Then I guess you better make this last car ride count.”

  Dani watched him make his way out of the gazebo and start heading back across the field. After a few steps he turned back around. He stuck his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, his thumbs sticking out. If he had a cowboy hat on and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, she’d have sworn he was the Marlboro Man. For the first time since he’d come onto the scene, he looked truly comfortable in his own skin. “You coming?”

  He waited for her to catch up and she fell in step beside him. They strolled leisurely together in silence for a bit. Dani had a lot to process. Marcus was really an enigma. And his story was nothing short of remarkable. As they passed the barn behind the Greens’ house, she smirked, picturing him sleeping inside it, on a cot next to some hay, surrounded by the lingering smells of the animals that had once lived inside it. He chose to forsake his twenty-­four-­hour concierge ser­vice to win over not only a girl, but also her entire family. And he was completely at peace with having done so, all because he had broken free of his deception.

  “Were there rats in there?” she asked, pointing to it.

  “Not that I saw. Plenty of mice though. But Tigger and Meowsy are good at earning their keep. Why, you looking for a place to stay?”

  “I don’t think so.” She gave a half laugh. “Not a fan of vermin in general.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s right.” He chuckled along, another trait he had picked up that suited him. “I thought it was just insects that bothered you. Remember when that wasp wouldn’t leave you alone in Philly? You were jumping around like you were being Tasered.”

  “Excuse me, but those things are nasty. For crying out loud, they build their nests out of their own spit.” She shuddered at the recollection.

  “And let’s not forget about the fly,” Marcus mentioned casually.

  How could she ever forget the infamous suicidal fly? Its death had launched her wild ride. Dani couldn’t tell if he was just making conversation or trying to prove a point. The house was starting to come into view. So were the Bentley and the minivan in the driveway. And leaning up against the beautiful car with his long muscular legs crossed at the ankles was its equally attractive owner, who never seemed to look out of place anywhere anymore. He hadn’t noticed them yet, busy studying his phone. Her heart began to speed up at the sight of him. She wanted to fill the air with something, anything to cover up the sound of it, afraid of it beating so loud that Marcus would hear it and it would blow her flimsy objection to his observation.

  “I won’t really quit if you don’t really fire me.”

  “I would never fire my partner in crime. It would be bad karma. I know you’re not a quitter. In another ­couple of weeks, it won’t make any difference.”

  She knew what he meant. If he had spoken the truth, which Dani knew in her heart he had, he wouldn’t have the need for any reporters. She wanted to be the first to congratulate him if by chance they won it all. And she wanted one more opportunity to watch Tyson from the sidelines, doing what he did best. Well, second best, in her personal opinion. The three of them had come so far in the course of the season, with her fighting at least one of them most of the way. They were a strange triad that had been guided by fate and perseverance and maybe something more.

  “Marcus? At least tell me who was calling you all day?”

  He stopped walking, gave it a moment of thought, and then broke out into a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

  “It was Palmer. And just for the record, I didn’t willingly tell him what I was up to. He followed me after practice one day and I couldn’t shake him. It’s funny. He was the only person I couldn’t outrun.”

  She wasn’t sure if he was kidding or serious. But either way, this time it took all her will to not reach for two rocks. She’d be aiming to hit one and then the other, right between the eyes.

  CHAPTER 17

  TYSON LOOKED UP from what he was doing as soon as he heard the crunch of feet on gravel. His gaze met briefly with Marcus’s.

  “We all good?” he asked.

  Marcus nodded. “Yup. See you on the field.” He proceeded to make his way into the house without looking back.

  Tyson’s look tempered as he settled it on Dani. She attempted to meet it head-­on but failed and looked at the ground instead. He opened her car door.

  “I made our good-­byes, spitfire. I’m getting pretty good at that. The Greens asked me to tell you that it was nice to meet you.” He gave her a little wink when she caught his eye and then he closed the door before she could fire off any retort. He couldn’t tell if her blush was courtesy of her talk with Marcus or
the memory of her tantrum in front of the pastor and his family, but he adored it either way. Once again, he had her alone. With every fiber of his being, he was going to make sure that this time it wasn’t going to end with either of them getting away.

  Within minutes they were back on the road, each of them lost in their own thoughts, his about the right words to convince her to give them a chance, hers about how it was time for her to stop living in lies. It wasn’t until they reached the highway that she finally spoke up.

  “Tyson, how did you know it was me when I called? I got a new phone number after New Year’s.”

  “Marcus gave me your new number,” he told her.

  “As part of this jacked-­up conspiracy?” she asked with a false sense of righ­teous anger to keep herself ahead of the mounting guilt and attraction.

  “Nope.” He grinned, his eyes shifting briefly off the road, to give her a palpitation-­inducing once-­over. “Just ’cause I wanted it.”

  “So you’ve been keeping tabs on me?”

  “Guilty as charged.” Tyson didn’t take his eyes off the road, but Dani could tell by his profile there wasn’t an ounce of remorse in his expression. He turned to look out his window in a failing attempt to hide the grin. “Marcus taught me the basics. It’s not like I was sleeping under your bedroom window.”

  Tyson wished he wasn’t driving. Having to keep his eyes on the road prevented him from being able to fully appreciate her blush again. But he could wait. If he had his way, he was going to make sure she blushed for him every day for the rest of their lives. If he had his way, her next one would be occurring within the hour.

  “You know what else I want?” Tyson asked her.

  “What?”

  “To take you home.”