Page 23 of Fastlander Fighter

Captain jutted his chin at Naomi. “You brought her. How many times have you rubbed Naomi in Sloane’s face? Sloane isn’t doing that to you. We’re old friends. Don’t cause problems where there aren’t problems. We won’t be airing dirty laundry here. It’s a kids’ baseball game. Grow up and focus on the boy.”

“Bro, I am focused on the boy,” Ryan barked.

“Yeah? What position is he playing?”

Ryan scanned the field, then shielded the sun from his eyes.

“Shortstop, bro,” Captain muttered.

Ryan got real quiet after that, thank goodness.

For the last month she had been at the mercy of the Ryan-and-Naomi show, and it had been calculated to hurt her maximum amounts.

Now? After a few minutes of awkwardness, the parents started talking and cheering for their kids again, and Sloane got to enjoy something with a bodyguard setting boundaries for how Ryan and his little lemmings could behave around her. She felt safe with Captain standing right next to where she was sitting. He didn’t know that he was her hero in this moment.

After that, Captain served as first-base coach when Ruger’s team was up to bat, and even stepped into the outfield for the last inning and explained what the boys were supposed to be doing.

She loved it. Loved that he was confident enough to step in, and she knew Ruger was over the moon about it. He kept telling his teammates that was Cap, and he was a huge bear shifter.

Her kid was happy. After everything they’d gone through over the last year, he was grinning and playing and excited, and it did her well to see it.

So okay. Okay! Captain was turning out to be a very handy friend.

After tonight, she had no regrets about giving him her number.

If she had it all to do over again, she wouldn’t change a thing.

Chapter Eight

Captain caught himself looking over at Sloane again. God, how many times had he done that tonight?

He didn’t like the way Ryan treated her, and found it harder than he would’ve thought to be out here working with the team while she was unprotected near Ryan and the Asshole Squad.

He could hear everything Ryan and Naomi were saying to their friends from here, clear as day, thanks to his shifter hearing. They were taking shots at Sloane, and another growl rattled up his throat. He wanted to rip the skin from Ryan’s body in front of these dipshits. Bleeding him would be so satisfying.

“Hey mister, there’s a beetle on your shoe,” a little boy said from where he stood beside him.

“Are you paying attention?” he asked him, jutting his chin toward the batter who was taking a swing.

“It’s a big beetle. I watched it all the way from over there, and it’s on your shoe.”

With a sigh, Captain shook his foot and dislodged the little bug.

“It’s coming back,” the kid said.

“What’s your name?”

“Thomas.”

“Thomas, if that kid connects with that ball, it’s coming straight to you. He’s got a good swing.”

“…she’s such a skank…”

Captain jerked his attention back to the Asshole Squad. Naomi had always been good at talking shit. A woman who did that wasn’t an alpha woman. She was insecure.

Sloane, on the other hand, wore a tight-lipped expression. Her cheeks were pink, but she didn’t respond to them. If he was a betting man, which on occasion he was, he would bet she could hear what they were saying, and the stupid giggling that followed their snarky insults. She wasn’t making a scene though. As he watched her, she slid a glare over to Naomi and held her gaze until Naomi dropped her gaze and looked away, feigning interest in the game for the first time.

The smile that stretched Captain’s lips was unintentional. He chuckled as he watched Sloane continue to glare. Naomi was looking everywhere but at her.

---