Page 75 of Dump and Chase

Warde wanted to roll his eyes, I could tell, but he thought better of it. “I got to know her while she was treating me. She’s funny, smart, gorgeous, but you already know all that. But I got to ask why you care if I’m interested or not. Weren’t you engaged five minutes ago?”

I balled my hands into fists, but quickly unclenched them. I wasn’t going to lose my cool around this loser. “She’s pregnant.”

“I know. Congratulations.”

My blood went cold. Tangi told this piece of shit? I fought hard not to look or act surprised, but based on Warde’s satisfied expression, I’d failed miserably.

“She told you?”

“I guessed.”

“We haven’t told a lot of people, so I’d like to keep it that way,” I said, suddenly on the defensive.

“You mean that you slept with your ex while you were engaged, got her pregnant, got ditched by your fiancée, and are now living with your baby mama?”

How could Tangi even want to spend five minutes with this asshole? “Yes. Do you want to embarrass her?”

“No. I don’t. And believe it or not, I don’t want to embarrass you either. But I think you’ve been screwing around with her feelings for a long time, not that she’s said as much. I also think you’ve had a ton of chances with her, and you’ve fucked up every time. Maybe it’s time for you to step aside and let her try to be happy.”

I let out a humorless laugh. “With you?”

“With anyone but you, actually. I know you think I’m being a jerk for saying this, but I’ve figured this out. She’s loved you for years, and maybe deep down she still loves you, and that’s why she came out here. She thinks subconsciously that there’s a possibility of being one big and happy family. But you’ve had months to prove that to her, and you’re still wasting time and pissing all around her to mark your territory. Either you let her go, or you fight for her. And may the best man win.”

He patted me on the shoulder and headed for the buffet. I wanted to slam my fist on the table, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of a scene.

“Aren’t you going to eat something?” Ryan said, taking a seat at the table with a heaping pile of food. I could smell that he’d gone for all the spiciest stuff even though we both knew his stomach couldn’t handle that kind of heat. And I was the unlucky person sharing a room with him.

“Yeah, in a minute.”

Ryan grabbed a piece of naan. “What were you guys talking about?” he asked, then ripped off a piece and stuffed it in his mouth.

“The future and how I’m going to have to fight for what I want.”

ChapterThirty-Six

Tangi

To my chagrin and utter un-surprise, Chris Dube returned from suspension with a warning. What the warning was, the training staff wasn’t privy to for privacy reasons. And that was bullshit. Jim and I bitched about it Monday morning as we waited for Dube to show up for practice. Allan had suggested that Jim take a few days off, but Jim wasn’t about to back down. If Dube linked Jim to his suspension, Jim wasn’t going down without a fight. An unfair fight, but a fight all the same.

Before and after practice, guys liked to hit the gym, so it wasn’t unusual to see a bunch there. I was treating one of our defensemen for some neck and shoulder pain. Rogers was a new kid, one year out of junior, and the Kodiaks had high hopes for him. He liked to play through injuries, so I was trying to relieve some of the strain in his neck with acupuncture. I was applying the heat compresses when I heard a commotion in the gym.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to Rogers, who already had his earbuds in and was listening to rap music so loud I could hear it.

While he took no notice and seemed oblivious to everything going on around him, I headed to the gym. The first thing I saw made me gasp. Dube had Jim up against a wall. He didn’t have his hands on him, but by the pure rage on his face, I was sure he was going to hit Jim. A few of the guys were in the room staring, and one had his camera out. I marched up to him. Figured it would be Munroe.

“Go get Allan and Coach Fontaine,” I said quietly. “Right now. If you aren’t back in two minutes with them, I’ll make sure everyone hears about it. And since you have your phone out, call security.”

Even though Munroe was six foot four, he cowered and jogged off. I turned and calmly walked up to Dube and Jim, even though I was internally freaking out. When I approached, Dube was telling Jim he’d betrayed him and deserved a fist up his ass.

“Hey, gentlemen,” I said as lightly as possible. “What’s going on?”

Dube faced me, his face red with rage. “Fuck off, you little bitch.”

All right, not a good start.

“I don’t know what’s going on here, but it looks like maybe you both could use some air before we regret anything.”

“He said he was going to tear my head off,” Jim said. “That’s a threat.”

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