Page 14 of Heartbreaker
There’s a commotion from the other side of the room, near the lobby doors. It drowns out the sounds of Bennett and Austin Murray, better known as “The Showstopper”Spencer Austin—a main roster wrestler who occasionally joins us when he’s home from the road—grappling in the center ring. Bennett has been traveling with him recently, ever since he found out that he’d be making his official main roster debut at the end of this month.
Whatever is going on distracts Rae, and she loosens her grip just enough to allow me to bring my left knee forward, followed by my right. Gripping Rae’s calves, I force myself to stand and run backward, slamming her back into the turnbuckle.
“Good, Sav!” Juliet yells over the continued noise.
I do my best to ignore the commotion; whatever it is will have to wait because I need to finish this match first. Raelynn rubs her lower back as she uses the ropes to pull herself up. At the same time, I climb to the top rope of the opposite turnbuckle.
“Finish it!” An unfamiliar voice rings through the air. Baritone and heavy, but smooth like a good whiskey. Was he the cause of all the racket moments ago?
Focus, Sav.Finish the match, then you can figure out what’s going on.
Jumping from the top rope, I extend my legs and kick Raelynn as she begins to cross the ring—dropkick. It drops us both to the mat, and I land on top of my left arm. Ignoring the twinge in my elbow from the landing, I crawl on top of Rae, and Juliet slams her hand down on the apron for the three count.
“Nice job, ladies!” Juliet claps her hands together as I roll to my opponent’s side, both of us trying to catch our breath.
“Fuck, Sav,” Raelynn groans, sitting up.
“Same to you,” I say, rubbing my lower back, sore from her submission hold. It’s definitely going to be sore tomorrow from the way she overextended during that last hold. Raelynn offers me her hand, and I take it, hoisting myself up to my feet. When we glance outside of the ring, piercing eyes stare back at me. The man beside Juliet looks oddly familiar, but I don’t know where we would have met. His intense gaze mirrors the sharpness of his features—strong jawline, broad shoulders, and muscular arms covered in black ink are crossed over a wide chest—with a face made of stone. When he narrows his gaze, the realization hits me.
This is the same man from the bar when…Holy shit.There’s no fucking way.But if he’s here…then that means—
“Raelynn, Savannah, I’d like to introduce you to Brody Wilder,” Juliet says, interrupting my thoughts. His gaze narrows even further. “He’s one of our legacies here at EWE and is currently on the main roster.”
“I know who you are. I fucking love you,” Raelynn says without warning, and her hands quickly cover her mouth. The outburst seems to break whatever spell Brody and I are under, drawing our attention to her. “I cannot believe I just said that. I am so—Oh my gosh, I’m so embarrassed.”
Brody chuckles—a deep, gravelly sound—and I swear it sends a shiver down Rae’s spine. He rubs at his chin and bites down on his bottom lip, looking Raelynn up and down. “I’m guessing you’re Raelynn?” My friend nods, cheeks now a cherry tomato-red color. I can practically hear her heart explode when he smiles at her, but the small gesture falls when his gaze returns to me. “And that makes you…Savannah.”
A chill runs down my spine when his eyes narrow, the same way they did that night in the bar, and his head tilts to the left ever so slightly. What is going on? Why is he here? And if he’s here, does that mean John is here? He said they worked together, didn’t he? Is Brody going to say something, right here and now? In front of the entire NextGen locker room? I hope not. I don’t need these people thinking I got my foot in the door because I know either one of them.
After what feels like the longest moment of my life, the corner of Brody’s lip quirks up and his tongue pokes out to wet his lips. Taking a breath, he shakes his head before looking back to his number one fan. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’ll be seeing you around. Jules, I’ll see you at Fest?”
“You know I won’t miss a chance to see you get your ass kicked.”
Brody rolls his eyes. “Ha. Ha.”
“Brody!”
My heart stops. No. This cannot be happening.
“What the hell are you doing over there?”
“Should’ve known he’d be here, too.” Raelynn scoffs, not sounding impressed in the slightest.
My gaze falls from my friend to Brody, who, despite his friend’s calls from the other side of the room, stares straight at me. The small smirk in the corner of his mouth never falls before he glances at the hand that just landed on his shoulder.
“I know you’re desperate after Alex, but I didn’t think I’d find you over here flirting with the rookies, Brods.” John laughs, slapping his friend on the back before his gaze travels up to finally meet mine. What was surely meant to be a quick glance turns into a long, hard stare. His face falls, and his blue eyes narrow, homing in on me. I can see the questions rising to the surface—the same ones running rampant in my own mind.
“Brooks, this is Raelynn and Savannah, two of Juliet’s best and brightest,” Brody says, and without looking, I can picture the look on his face clear as day. The smirk overtakes his features, mischief twinkling in his gray eyes. He is living for this right now.
Brooks. That’s what the man we saw in the elevator called him. Wait…what was his name?
Theo.
You’ve got to be kidding me. How could I be so stupid? How could I not put two-and-two together? While I’ve never met or seen the son of the man who started this organization, I’ve heard all about Theo Rafferty. The playboy heir to the company who doesn’t mind getting his hands a little dirty when it comes to the female talent. His father has come to his rescue on more than one occasion over the years, according to the rumors. They say Theo is good at his job and never goes after anyone who didn’t initiate first…at least that’s the official story.
Brooks…Is that what I should call him? But that’s not what I know him as.
John…Brooks…whoever he is, I watch his throat bob with a hard swallow, more questions than ever swimming in the cerulean sea of his eyes.
