Page 75 of A Chance at Forever
Alan worked his jaw to make sure it wasn’t broken and glared at Rusty. “I video recorded us, you know…” His voice trailed away when he saw the menacing expressions on their faces. “And I showed it to some of the guys…”
This time Derek flew at Alan in a rage. He pounded Alan’s face, and Rusty and Carter had to pull him off the other man.
Blood dripped from Alan’s broken nose. He glared at the brothers. “You’ll be sorry you did that.”
“Hardly,” Derek tossed.
“Finish it, Alan,” Rusty ordered. “What did Tori do when she learned about the sex video?”
He wheezed and his chest heaved. “She paid me a hundred thousand dollars to keep the video private.”
Carter and Derek exploded in outrage. Rusty stepped in front of Alan to prevent them from attacking him again.
“Is it on your phone?” Rusty asked. Alan nodded. “Show us.”
Alan loaded it and held his phone up for them to see. After a few seconds, Carter and Derek turned away in disgust, and Rusty snatched the phone from Alan’s hand. He threw it against the wall with the force of a long pass. It shattered. Then, he stomped it with his shiny black dress shoes.
“Hey, you’re going to pay for that,” Alan cried.
Rusty responded with a short, caustic laugh.
Carter poked Alan in the chest. “So, here’s what’s going to happen now. On the twenty-sixth you’re going to meet me in my office with two hundred thousand dollars in cash by noon, sharp. That’s twice what you got for what you did to my sister. Tori won’t want the money, of course, but she can donate it to the high school where she teaches. If you don’t show up, I will hunt you down, Alan, and I will break every bone in your body. Once I get done with you, you’ll be unrecognizable and there goes your precious contract with Calvin Klein.”
Alan’s eyes widened in shock. “I’ll be there.” His voice shook with fear.
Carter nodded, satisfied. He called the head of security working the event and asked him and his team to escort Alan, his girlfriend, and his teammates out of the ballroom.
The commotion caused by rounding up the unwelcome guests disrupted the festive mood. Everyone gawked as the orchestra stopped playing and conversations came to an abrupt halt. Richard and Victoria followed the security team out of the ballroom as they escorted Alan’s teammates and his girlfriend to the nearest exit.
Victoria marched up to Alan as he stood between her brothers in the hallway outside the ballroom. “You thought you broke me. Ruined me. You were wrong. When I left New York, I wasn’t running away fromyou. I was running tohim.” She slipped an arm around Rusty’s waist. “Rusty is the most wonderful man I’ve ever met. He is my strength. My rock. My only love. I feel sorry for you because you’ll never know what that’s like.” Turning to the actress Rilynn Parker, she added, “If you’re wise, you’ll dump him before he destroys your life and your career. Oh, and Alan? As a quarterback you don’t hold a candle to Rusty. Everyone knows he’s one of the best to ever play the game. Merry Christmas.”
“Get him out of here,” Carter ordered the security officer holding Alan.
Most of the guests left after the incident with Alan and the others. Rusty asked the orchestra to play a holiday love song for him and Victoria and led her onto the empty dance floor. He held her close against his body. “This is our first dance. You feel amazing in my arms.”
They swayed to the music.
“Rusty, I still can’t believe you’re here. I wanted this so badly. You came when I needed you and saved my reputation. What caused you to change your mind?”
He pressed her hand to his heart. “You. And the hole I felt here when I said goodbye to you at the airport. Alex set me straight, and I flew to New York as soon as I could catch a flight.” The music ended and Rusty lowered his voice. “I can’t wait to be alone with you. To make love with you.”
She shivered. Dread commingled with desire darkened her eyes, and her mouth parted slightly. “But…”
Rusty held a finger against her lips. “Shh. We’ll figure it out when we’re alone.”
*
Tears misted Richard’seyes when they told him what Alan had done to his baby girl. He held his daughter in his arms, and they cried.
“Forgive me. I should have known what was going on. I should have been paying attention.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.” Victoria wiped away her father’s tears and kissed his cheek. “It’s over now, and Alan received his just desserts.”
“Thanks to Rusty and your brothers.”
“What do you want to do with the two hundred thousand dollars he’s paying me?” Carter asked.
“Write a check to Marysville High School. I could use some of the money for the drama department. We need novels, too, and science lab equipment.”
