Page 106 of Through the Water

I shook my head, refusing to play her game any longer. “Nah, I’m good.”

“Are you?” She cut her eyes over to me. “You seem a little, I don’t know, flushed. And also, why are you still hauling around the crutch? Thought you were cleared.”

“Just feel a little more comfortable having it with me.”

“So, the crutch has become your crutch. That’s really deep, buddy.” Tsega tried for serious, lasting all of three seconds.

“How have they not fired you yet?” I shook my head. Truthfully, I was grateful for the distraction. It had given me a chance to get certain parts of my anatomy under my control again.

“Probably because I’m awesome,” Tsega responded with a snort. “Although, if I’d been assigned to you—whew, boy—we would have had some trouble!” She suddenly tensed, all traces of amusement gone.

“What?” I followed her glare to a man about my father’s age standing near the nurse’s station.

“Just—go along with anything I say,” Tsega finally said. Her tone made it seem as if things were normal, but it was impossible to miss the way she watched the man—like an animal would a hunter. “Please.”

I nodded and reached out, trying to decide whether to go for the side hug or a pat on the back. Tsega didn’t seem likely to respond well to either, so I just let my hand hover a few inches above her shoulders. In the elevator, the pretend frustration had been fun to watch, but this Tsega was scary—like capable of ripping someone’s throat out with her teeth scary.

The man smiled when he saw her and crooked a finger, signaling her to come.

“Do you want me to handle this?”

She shook her head, refusing to meet my eyes. “Just please don’t say anything, okay?”

“Yes, sir?” Tsega asked with a forced smile.

“Yeah, she’s having a rough night. I think it’d be best if the nurses gave her medicine early—let her sleep it off, you know?” He reached down to adjust his expensive watch, drawing attention to the fact that he had money. He reminded me of a peacock, or maybe Theo, although my agent didn’t seem to have the confidence that this guy did.

“Okay, Mr. Phillips. I’ll let them know.”

The man turned as if suddenly realizing I was standing there. His annoyed expression quickly turned to scrutiny. “Hey, aren’t you that baseball player?”

There was an undercurrent of condescension in his tone. Apparently, being a player was somehow beneath him.

“I am,” I said tightly, clenching my fist around the flowers. I wouldn’t hit the guy, because Tsega had asked me to let her handle it. And also, because there was a clause in my contract forbidding fights.

“Brad Phillips.” He extended his hand with a slight sneer.

Tsega has it under control…

Four hundred twenty-five million…

I reluctantly accepted his hand, feeling as though my bones were going to crack.

For Christ’s sake, it was a handshake, not a power-play.

“Killian Reed.”

“So, what brings you here?” Brad asked as he released me from his iron grip. His bored expression made it clear he didn’t care to hear my answer.

“He’s visiting his grandmother,” Tsega interjected quickly. “If you don’t mind giving me a moment to show him to her room, I can take care of you, Brad.”

“Oh, I bet you will,” he said, making no attempt to disguise the fact that he was checking out her ass.

No wonder Tsega hated this prick.

He was a grade-A sleazeball.

“Buddy,” I bit out through a clenched jaw. “Her eyes are up here.”

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