Page 51 of Getting the Grinder
“Or not.” I look away, my pulse pounding.
“What’s that mean?” Bash asks. “You’re not gonna die from a meniscus tear.”
I shrug. “No, but I might not make it back if I get surgery.”
“You’ll make it back.” Carter puts his hands on my shoulders. “I know you, man. Don’t sweat this.”
I almost laugh, wanting to tell him I sweat absolutely everything. Anxiety is a part-time job for me at times. But I’m not ready for anyone but Mara to know about it yet.
“I’m beat,” I say. “I hardly got any sleep last night. I’m going back to the hotel to crash.”
We usually take off for the next city after finishing a game, but our team plane is getting a part replaced, so we’re flying out in the morning. It’ll be an early morning, but at least I get to sleep in a bed tonight.
I go back to my locker and get my stuff, seeing a text back from Mara.
Mara: Work wasn’t great. I’ll talk to you about it when you get back. Great game tonight. Thank you for the roses, they’re beautiful.
I frown at the phone. Like hell are we talking about it when I get back. We’re talking about it tonight.
“You’re at Dex’s?”
I’m on the ride back to my hotel, and I’m about to jump out of my skin.
“It’s probably nothing, but I’ll sleep better here tonight.”
Mara’s drowsy voice reminds me of last night—or maybe I should say early this morning—when she was safely in my arms in bed.
“Why do you think it’s nothing? Does Dex have a security system? Are the police out looking for this guy?”
“Slow down.” There’s a smile in her voice. “I’m okay, Leo. Dex has a security system and a dead bolt.”
I want to board the next flight back to Cleveland. This guy who threatened her is dangerous and unhinged. It’s making me sick that I’m so far away from her right now.
“If the police know who it is, why is he not in jail?”
“They’re looking for him.”
I about blow a gasket. “So he’s on the loose?”
“The last I heard, he was, but they could have him in custody by now.”
I run a hand through my hair, my blood pressure rising with every word she says. “Can you call and find out?”
“It doesn’t work that way.”
She sounds so calm and relaxed. Which is making me even more uncalm and unrelaxed. This maniac could be waiting around any corner for her. He could fuck with her car or break into her apartment.
“This is part of the job,” she says. “People don’t like getting fined or put in jail or having their loved ones put in jail. I’m taking precautions, I promise.”
I sink into the back seat of the SUV I’m in, my heart still thudding like a drum.
“I’m not used to having someone to worry about,” I say. “Am I moving too fast?”
She hums in amusement. “No. But isn’t it funny that going balls deep is fine, but if you show you care, you’re worried about moving too fast?”
“I want to do things the right way,” I say, unsure how this conversation got so off course. “Not that I know what that is when we’ve already known each other for a year.”
“You’re doing things perfectly. I loved the roses so much.”
