Page 88 of Broken Player

“So, he won’t be able to kick them out?” I wanted to be sure.

“No. He must’ve signed everything before Ryan confronted him because if she’d done that before, I bet he would’ve hung onto it a few extra days just to give her one extrafuck you.”

“Well, that’s a fucking relief,” I sighed before a smile crept up on my face. “I can’t wait to tell her and see the look on her face.”

“Dude, I can’t believe you’re so gone for a girl. I never thought I’d see the day,” Connor noted, leaning back in the chair, his bulky frame making it creak ominously.

“Believe it. I buried that shit deep,deepdown when I was a kid, but now all the feelings are out, and I don’t want to put them back. She’s incredible, and I’m never letting her go again. I was such a fucking idiot.”

“Hell, you better hold onto her tight because women like her are one in a billion.” He sounded almost wistful. I narrowed my eyes, wondering if I needed to worry about him hitting on my girlfriend.

He held up his hand in surrender, a smirk on his face. “I’d never lay a finger on your girl. Unless you asked.” My glare melted into a low chuckle. It’d been a while, but it wasn’t like we hadn’t shared before. Unfortunately for him, I’d never share Ryan with anyone.

My phone buzzed on the table, and I groaned when I saw who was calling.

I pressed the phone to my ear. “No offense, but I’m getting real fucking sick of talking to you this week,” I answered, not bothering with any pleasantries. Whenever my publicist called, it meant some bad shit was happening, and I’d had enough of that lately to last me a few decades at least.

“Yeah, well, right back at you,” Harrison snapped, his British accent making him sound extra pissy. “What’s up with all of your family drama coming out of the woodwork this week?”

A cold sweat broke out immediately across my forehead at his words. What other family bullshit could there be? “What do you mean?”

“Your father the other night with his lovely interview, and now your long-lost mum and brother hitting the headlines? I’ve been working with you for years, and I never knew you had anyone but the guys in the band,” he noted, a question in his voice.

“Fuck. How bad is it?” I pinched the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. An unfamiliar emotion gripped me as my hands turned clammy, and my stomach churned. Ryan tried to deal with Yates, and it worked about as well as my going to his office and threatening him had. At least he wasn’t five million dollars richer.

“Not bad. At least not yet. But you may want to warn them because right now only one outlet is covering it, but it’s about to be picked up by them all. You know what that bloody well means for them, right?”

“A fuck ton of reporters all over them. Yeah, I’m familiar.” Especially considering that was how I pretty much lived my life every goddamn day.

“Good. So, I’m thinking we spin the reunion as you making peace with your estranged family, and maybe we do an interview or two? I think it’d actually help smooth the edges of your bad boy image,” he suggested.

“Is that something I need to do? Smooth the edges?” I tossed his words back at him. “I like my reputation just how it is. I’ve worked hard to build it so that people don’t fuck with me, and their expectations aren’t too high.”

“No, you don’t need to do anything. Like with your father-”

“Russell,” I spit out, hating the taste of his name in my mouth.

“Right. WithRussell, you ignored it, and it’s mostly old news. There’s no reason you can’t do the same here. I don’t know what the person doing this is trying to accomplish.”

Sighing, I leaned forward, resting my elbow on the table to prop my phone up to my ear as Connor watched me with only mild interest. “He’s trying to hurt me the only way he thinks he can, by using my family against me.”

“Is it working?” I could hear the smile in Harrison’s voice. He worked in the right field, considering how much he lived for people’s drama.

“I’ll admit putting Russell on TV pissed me the fuck off. But I’m not sure how to feel about my mom and my brother. I don’t even know them.”

“Well, maybe now’s the time. I’ve gotta go. Hopefully, I won’t need to talk to you until you’re back in town with a new album to promote.”

“With any luck,” I agreed before ending the call.

“Yates?” Connor asked as if he already knew the answer.

“Is there anyone else who doesn’t realize how dangerous it is to fuck with me?” I countered, practically growling. I hoped this was the last card he had to play, and if it was, it wasn’t a very good one. What did I care if my mom got thrown to the wolves? She’d abandoned me and never looked back.

I didn’t like to admit that it still fucking stung.

Connor’s laugh was interrupted by my goddamn phone ringing again, a number I didn’t recognize. I usually just let that shit go to voicemail, but with everything happening, I decided to pick it up. “What?” I snapped into the phone, not really caring who was on the other end.

“Maddox?” A woman’s voice filtered through the line, and my mouth went slack as I inhaled sharply. I hadn’t heard it in years, but I’d recognize that voice anywhere.

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