Page 63 of Stealing Home

“Let go of me,” I snap.

“Do as she asks, or I’ll rip your arm off and beat you with it,” Griffin threatens.

Nando squeezes tighter. “She’s my wife, stay out of it.”

Charlie and Donovan close in on Nando. “I suggest you do as he says,” Charlie warns.

He lets go, but points his finger in my face. “You’re going to regret this.”

Something snaps inside of me. All the rage that has been building for years spills over, and I’m so fucking done. “The only thing I regret is marrying you in the first place. You dare talk about me seeing someone else? You’ve been cheating on me for years.”

Nando sneers. “You think the golden boy will be any different? I’ve never seen a player who avoids all the pussy thrown at him on the road. What did you expect? You knew what you were getting into. And don’t tell me you didn’t like the attention being married to a pro ball player. Bitches like you weigh us down. I’ve provided for you, so what if I got some on the side.”

I laugh. “You provided for me? You were an average player in the minor leagues. I worked my ass off so you could continue to delude yourself that you were special enough to go pro. The fact is you were as good at baseball as you were at being a husband.”

The vein pops out in his head, and I brace myself. I know I’ve pushed him too far, but for the life of me I couldn’t keep that bottled up inside of me anymore.

Nando backhands me across the face, and I laugh. It hurts like a bitch, but everything inside of me feels cracked.

My hand shakes as I bring it up to my mouth. It comes away bloody. “They all see you now.” I point to his team. Most of them look ill, and Scott looks murderous.

I turn to them, letting them see my busted lip. “This is the man you’ve been lying for. I know you all know he’s been cheating on me. Now you know that he’s the type of man to hit a woman.”

Looking at his girlfriend I give her the only kindness she’ll ever get from me. “I suggest you run. If you believe any bullshit about how I deserve this, remember when I’m gone, someone is going to have to be responsible for all the shit that goes wrong in his life. Because it will never be him. He’s got too high an opinion of himself to ever take blame for anything.”

Nando takes another step toward me, but Scott has moved closer. His fists are clenched, but it’s too little, too late. I’m walking away from baseball and all the shit that comes with it.

Donovan steps in between them as Griffin grabs Nando and shoves him out the door. Donovan shouts, “You’re not welcome back here.”

Wren puts her arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go. You can stay with us for a few days. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

I nod, thankful that even though it feels like I’ve lost everything, I still have them. I’ve survived with less.

22

Scott

I moveto go after Harlow, but Taylor holds me back. “Let her cool off.”

“That video is bullshit. I don’t know when it was taken, but it wasn’t recently.”

He nods. “I know man. You haven’t been drunk like that in months. She’ll see reason, but not tonight.”

“What the fuck did you do?” I yell at Campbell.

He smirks. “Doesn’t feel good when someone takes everything from you, does it?”

Taylor holds up his hand. “I swear, I didn’t tell him shit. I haven’t told anyone.”

Campbell rolls his eyes. “You’re not that stealthy, Ryan. I followed you from practice the other day and wouldn’t you know who was waiting to greet you, but Coach’s slut of a wife.”

Without thinking, I throw a right hook and hit him in the jaw. “I don’t give a shit if I get benched, I’m kicking your ass.”

Donovan jumps in and pulls me back. “Easy there, killer. Kicking his ass might be worth getting benched, but it’s not worth jail.”

“You invited Coach tonight, didn’t you?” I ask Campbell.

He shrugs while he rubs his jaw. “I thought he deserved to know his star pitcher was fucking his wife.”

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