Razor's Edge: A Bad Boy Romance (Bad Boys of Football Book 2)

by Clementine Roux

  “I know Edge,” I said as I took in what could easily be described as the most adorable dad and baby photo ever. “I’m his teacher.”

  “Of course, you are,” she said as she motioned for me to take a seat in the living room, adjacent to the foyer. “I’ll have him come out here to speak to you.”

  Mimicking her sarcastic tone, I said, “Of course, you will.”

  She muttered something under her breath while she walked across the foyer to a hallway that led to what I supposed was E.J.’s home office. I took the time to look at all of the family photos and personal items in the room. I was quite impressed. I don’t know what I expected to find, but a home adorned with such personal items wouldn’t have been high on my list of expectations.

  “Are you disappointed?” E.J.’s voice startled me. “Didn’t you see those photos the night you came over?”

  “Oh, you scared me. Disappointed would be an understatement,” I said, turning to face him. My breath caught as I took him in. Did he ever have a bad day? Even in gym shorts and a t-shirt, he looked amazing. His hair was slightly tousled in the sexy manner he normally wore it in, like a man fresh from the shower.

  His eyes followed my gaze. “If I’d known you were on your way over here, I would have worn something nicer.”

  I blushed. Why did he always do this to me? Why did he always make me forget I was angry with him. “You’re fine like you are. No need to dress up for me,” I offered as heat rose in my belly.

  He walked over to me and pulled me in for a hug as if nothing had happened between us. “Did you slip and say something nice to me? I’m touched. Here; touch me again,” he said, offering his neck for me to touch.

  As tempted as I was to sink my teeth into his neck and cause him pain, I refrained. “I didn’t come here to play with you.”

  He feigned disappointment. “You don’t want to play? Aw, now what are we going to do? Would you like the grand tour? I guess, I was too distracted by your beauty the last time you were here and forgot to offer you a tour.”

  I had to do it. I couldn’t lose my nerve now. He needed to know he ruined things for me. “I still don’t have a job. They won’t give me my job back because of you.”

  His face turned serious. “They won’t? Why not? You didn’t get arrested.”

  My voice started to shake. “Your mess is killing my career. I went to talk to the superintendent today. He said, it would be better to look for employment elsewhere.” I fought back tears. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. When I made the decision to come home, I never imagined, I’d be in the middle of some stupid scandal. Now, what am I going to do? It’s not like I can find another teaching job. School has already started. And, what am I going to say? I got laid off because this guy I’m dating may have attacked his ex-wife?”

  He pulled me in for another embrace. “I’m sorry I got you into this. I didn’t know things would get this bad. Let me make it up to you.” He massaged the back of my neck.

  I really wanted him to make it up to me. I closed my eyes, hoping he’d do just that. But, the sensible part of my brain told me not to fall back into the rabbit hole because there was no guarantee I’d ever find my way out. E.J. was the kind of man any person with half a brain should steer clear of. He may have made women swoon, but being near him came at a high price. I didn’t have much more to give, if anything at all.

  “You’re bad for me. I can’t get mixed up in any more stuff.” I pulled myself from him, fearful if I stayed too close to him, I’d end up in his bed. I’d never work in Chicago or anywhere else again if I made that mistake again.

  “I’ll talk to your superintendent,” E.J. offered. “That’s easy. Why didn’t you ask me a long time ago? All of this could have been avoided.”

  The woman who answered the door appeared in the doorway. “What are you doing? What are you talking about?”

  E.J. had his back to the door. He winked at me and turned to address her. “We’re talking business. Is there something you need? Don’t you have something to do? Like write a press release or something?”

  I wondered what else she was to him.

  She glared at me. “What are you up to? I thought, Kelly told you to let this go -- let her go.”

  What? “Excuse me? What did I do wrong? Why does he have to let me go?” I asked.

  E.J. placed himself in between us. “Now ladies, no need to fight over me. There’s enough of me for both of you and then some.”

  The brunette and I both groaned.

  I hadn’t forgotten what the woman said. “Why do you care who he speaks to? Are you his girlfriend? Believe me, you can keep him. I don’t need a man in my life. Men are more trouble than they are worth.”

  She laughed, crossing her arms in front of her. “No, I’m definitely not his girlfriend. I don’t need that kind of drama in my life. I’m his business manager, so that means everything he falls into... ahem.. is my business. I’m just wondering why… well, no offense, but why is he keeping you around? What’s in it for him?” She looked at E.J. for answers.

  “You can go now,” E.J. dismissed her. “Lock the door behind you. Ms. Jackson and I need some adult time.” He turned to face me, licking his lips.

  My breath hitched. I needed the distraction before I ripped the smart-mouthed manager’s hair off her head.

  Chapter Twelve – Razor

  My day couldn’t have gotten any better if I’d won the lottery. Lying here with this curvy beauty on top of me was as close to heaven as anyone could get. I wasn’t even bothered by the fact, she’d shown up on my doorstep to give me hell about how her life had turned upside down. Like she was the only one who was dealing with shit right now. If she had to deal with a fraction of what I was dealing with, she’d lose her mind. So, yeah, bedding her -- taking her down one lick at a time -- is exactly what I had to do. I needed it, and based on the moans and groans that escaped her beautiful, luscious lips, she needed it more.

  Hillary stirred in my arms.

  “Good morning, sunshine,” I offered, caressing her soft, silken skin. She was the picture of perfection. Everything about her was flawless, from her bright hazel eyes to her dark hair and copper skin. She was probably the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. It floored me that I had no memory of her as a kid. She couldn’t have been very different back then. I’m sure if had she looked like this when we were kids, I would have never forgotten her.

  “How long have you been awake?” Hillary asked, nuzzling her nose into my neck. “Let me guess; you never sleep because you’re a machine.”

  I had to laugh. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

  She planted a kiss on my cheek. “You said a lot of things last night. Maybe I should have recorded you.”

  I loved these moments almost as much as I loved the moments that led up to them. Anytime a woman wasn’t trying to convince you to buy her something or perform any favors for her, things were good. But so far, Hillary didn’t give me any indication she was one of those women. She’d never asked me for anything, other than to leave her alone, but considering neither one of us was wearing more than a smile on our faces, I didn’t think she truly meant what she’d said.

  “What are you grinning at?” Hillary asked as she tucked a wayward curl behind her ear.

  “You,” I said.

  I mentally counted the seconds until she asked me what it meant.

  “What? Why are you laughing at me? Am I funny? Did I say something funny?” She lifted her head up to look me directly in the eyes.

  “Three seconds,” I said, stifling a laugh.

  “Are you drunk?” she teased. “What are you talking about?”

  We remained in bed for a half hour more, talking more than playing, but I was okay with that. For now. There would be plenty of time for more later.

  As we made our way down to the kitchen, Hillary hesitated, wrapping one of my bathrobes tighter around her. “Who else is here?” she asked.

  I looked around. “Who do you wan
t to be here?”

  “No, where’s your staff?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  That was funny. “I have a staff? Wow, I didn’t know. How many people do I keep on staff?” I teased her.

  Poor thing; she really thought I was one of those guys. Like I couldn’t handle anything on my own. Wow! “I have people who work for me, but I don’t have maids and butlers. The only people who live here are me and Edge.”

  “Who helps you with Edge? Nannies?” Hillary looked genuinely confused.

  I didn’t mean to sound offended, but I had to admit, I was a little offended. “I take care of him by myself. He’s my son. I’ve taken care of him by myself since he was born. Even when his mother was around, I did most of the work. She was too busy partying and whoring around to be a mother.”

  Hillary didn’t have time to ask me anything else because both my house phone and my cell phone rang at the same time.

  “What’s wrong now?” I groaned, knowing whoever it was, wouldn’t be calling with good news at this hour in the morning. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen. Let me see who that is.”

  I didn’t have to wait long to find out the bad news. By the time I got the phone to my ear, the buzzer at the front gate was going off and police vehicles were parked outside of it.

  Kelly’s voice was shrill as she tried to warn me. “Hey, the police are on their way to your house with a warrant.”

  “They’re here,” I said as I walked to my front door, wearing nothing more than my boxer shorts. “They’re everywhere.”

  Hillary must have noticed the commotion because she was standing in the living room, staring out the front picture window. “What’s going on?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  Kelly said, “Don’t say anything to them. I’m on my way.”

  Hillary watched for Kelly out the window while I phoned Kelly’s daughter to ask her to keep Edge for a few more hours. He didn’t need to see or hear any of this. It was bad enough that he knew his mother and I were having issues again. He didn’t need to be exposed to anymore adult problems.

  “She’s here,” Hillary said, looking like a deer in headlights. Just hours earlier, I’d promised her, there wouldn’t be any more problems. I’d told her, I’d keep her out of the line of fire. I lied. I didn’t mean to. She would probably argue with me about it, but the truth of the matter was, I had inadvertently lied to her.

  My cell phone rang again.

  “It’s Kelly.” I lifted the phone to my ear, confused as to what she wanted me to do. “What’s going on?”

  “They have a warrant to search the house,” she said.

  I swallowed hard. “Why?”

  “Open the gates, Edgecott. You have to let them in,” she said.

  I pushed the button on the control panel, my hands shaking. I didn’t have anything to hide, so I wasn’t nervous about that, but having police at your home rarely ended well for anyone.

  Kelly and the officers pulled their vehicles in front of the house.

  I looked at Hillary, realizing she was still wearing nothing more than my robe. “You might want to get dressed.”

  She turned and ran up the stairs to get dressed while I walked over to the door to find out what they wanted with me.

  “Mr. Edgecott Razor,” an officer said, his hand hovering over his service weapon.

  “Yes, what’s this about? I haven’t done anything wrong,” I said, nodding at Kelly, who wore a worried expression on her face.

  “We have a warrant to search the property,” the officer said, handing me the court documents. “Here’s the order.”

  I didn’t acknowledge him. I decided to focus on Kelly instead. “Can they do this?” I asked her.

  She nodded, looking at me with sympathy in her eyes. “They can. The judge signed the order. Just let them in to look around. I’m sure they’ll be out of here quickly because you’ve got nothing to hide.”

  “What are you looking for?” I asked the officers.

  “You’ve been accused of assaulting your ex-wife. We’re here to look for evidence,” the officer explained.

  I couldn’t believe my ears. “What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t do anything to her. She’s a lying bitch.”

  Kelly interjected. “Wait; if she accused him of attacking her at her house, why do you have to search his home? What exactly are you looking for? Did she say he attacked her here?”

  The officer motioned for the other officers to go inside. “Your wife--” he started.

  “Ex-wife. She’s not my wife. She hasn’t been my wife for a long time,” I said, as I watched the officers walk into my home and begin looking through my things.

  “Okay. Your ex-wife says when you assaulted her, you threatened her with a weapon. Do you own a weapon, sir?” the officer asked.

  Hillary stepped out of the house just then. “What’s going on? The police are searching through all your stuff.”

  My heart sank. I didn’t own a weapon. I’d never owned a weapon. Where did she get that cockamamie idea from? “It’s fine, Hillary. Stephanie made up some stupid story and they’re here to prove she’s nothing but a no good lying whore.”

  Kelly scolded me, through gritted teeth. “Shut your mouth. If you keep talking, they’re going to think you’re guilty of something. Suck it up. Let them look, then, they’ll be on their way.”

  She was right, but I was too angry to listen to reason. I wanted my life back. I wanted my son. Stephanie could take everything I owned, but I’d never let her take my boy away from me.

  Hillary reached for my arm. “Stay calm. I know you didn’t do anything wrong. Everything is going to be okay.”

  I turned to look at her, but noticed some more movement behind us. “What the hell are they doing here?”

  Stephanie and her crackpot attorneys were parked outside the front entrance gates watching the whole ordeal.

  Kelly followed my gaze. “That dumb broad. What is she doing?” she muttered. To me, she said, “Don’t move. I’m going to talk to them.” She waited for me to agree before she stepped away, saying, “Hillary, don’t let him leave your sight.”

  I didn’t know what to do with myself. If I tried to go back inside my house, I’d end up doing something to make things worse for myself. If I stayed outside, I wasn’t entirely confident, I wouldn’t actually attack my ex-wife. If anyone deserved to have her clock cleaned, it was her. And that was saying a lot because I didn’t believe in harming women physically. In fact, the thought of it, made my skin crawl, but she was making it really hard for me to resist the urge.

  “Why is she doing this to you? What does she want?” Hillary asked the million dollar question.

  I shrugged. “She wants my son.”

  “Why now?” she asked. “What’s different now? I thought, she walked out of your lives?”

  I wondered the same thing. What had changed in her life? What was she really after because I didn’t believe for a minute she truly wanted to be Edge’s mother. If she did, she wouldn’t have walked out on us in the first place. What was she really after?

  Hillary unknowingly answered the question for me. “Do you think maybe it’s you she wants? Maybe she’s doing all this because she wants you back? Could that be possible?”

  I didn’t have an answer for her. All I could do was stand there and try to keep myself upright to weather the current storm. Figuring out what Stephanie really wanted required energy I didn’t have at the moment. What I needed to focus on was doing everything I could think of to keep Edge with me. “She’s not getting me or my son back. I can guarantee you that,” I said with conviction. I’d never been a good loser and I wasn’t about to start now.

  Chapter Thirteen – Hillary

  Felicia held her head in her hands. “Have you gone crazy? Please, tell me that’s what’s happening here because nothing else makes any sense to me.”

  I knew, it sounded nuts. Even I couldn’t believe I’d agreed to something as
ridiculous as this, but after witnessing what I witnessed at E.J.’s house, I felt like I had no other choice. I had to help. That sick woman was trying to take an innocent little boy away from his father -- a very good father, at that -- to get back at him for some perceived wrong a long time ago. How could I sit there and do nothing? Edge deserved to be happy. He needed to be with his father.

  “Woman, are you listening to me? You can’t move some kid in here and raise him like he’s yours! That’s insane. You’re his teacher, remember? And, where do you plan to put him? You don’t have any room for a kid here.” Felicia was right. I didn’t have the space in my home, let alone my life, but I felt compelled to do this. Something about it felt so right.