Page 28 of Tempting the Player
“Hen? You there?” Logan asks.
“Yeah. I’m here.” Archer and Brogan come through the front door, and I can hear Knox’s bike pulling up outside. Everyone’s home. “Give me a few days to figure things out here.”
“Yeah. All right. Let me know.”
Brogan slumps down on the couch, eyeing me carefully. “What’s up with you? You look grumpier than usual.”
As Knox comes through the door, I let out a sigh. “I need to talk to you. All of you.”
I knock loudly on Flynn’s door three times before calling, “Flynn, can you come out here?”
Arch, Brogan, and Knox are all seated and looking at me with obvious concern by the time Flynn saunters out and takes a seat.
“What’s up? Why are we having a family heart-to-heart at two in the morning?” Knox asks. “Can’t this wait until tomorrow?”
“No. It can’t wait.” I rub my palms together and gather my thoughts. “Something happened tonight, and it might make certain things come out about me. I want you to hear it from me before it’s going around campus.”
The surprise and interest that plays out over their faces is almost identical.
“What the hell did you do, Henny?” Arch asks.
“Nothing.” I ball my hands into fists and then stretch out my fingers. “I mean, something.”
“Spit it out already,” Knox says.
I meet his gaze as I deliver the next sentence. “I didn’t come back here just to visit you guys.”
Knox is quiet as he considers me, then crosses his arms over his chest. Always the first ready to attack. “Then why did you?”
“After I got injured during my first season, I took a few security jobs. Doors at night clubs, concerts, small jobs mostly. It was good money and kept me busy while I was rehabbing. Once it became apparent I wasn’t going to bounce right back to playing condition, I decided to take on more.”
“We know all this already, but what does that have to do with why you’re here?” Brogan glances between my brothers and then back to me.
“I got a job doing security for a student at Valley U.” I don’t know how much of the NDA I signed is still valid, so I don’t say her name, but it takes Archer and Brogan only a few seconds to piece it together.
“You were working for Jane? You’re Ivy Greene’s bodyguard?” Brogan’s brows disappear under the hair hanging on to his forehead.
“Her parents hired me, but yes. After she revealed who and where she was last semester, they wanted someone to keep an eye on her. But they didn’t want to draw any extra attention to her while she’s at Valley, so I agreed to do it under the guise that I was returning home to be with my family. I hung out on campus during the day, and sometimes at night I’d check in on her.”
“That explains why you finally came back to visit,” Knox says.
“It wasn’t the only reason,” I bite back. It wasn’t, but admittedly I don’t know if I would have come back so soon if it weren’t for the job.
Arch shifts on the couch, sitting straighter. “Wait. Say that again because I don’t think I caught that right. You’re Jane’s bodyguard?”
I run a hand over my jaw. “Was. They released me about an hour ago after Jane found out who I am.”
I don’t tell them about what happened to her room tonight. The fewer people who know, the better.
“Fuck,” Brogan says quietly. “I thought you were checking purses and shuffling people through metal detectors.”
My youngest brother finally speaks. “So you’re leaving now?”
Knox stands. “Of course he is. The job is over. Nothing for him here now.”
“That’s not—” I start, but he’s already halfway to his room. The door slams behind him. The other three are still sitting and staring at me. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet, but I thought you should all know the truth about why I’m here. I should have told you sooner, but I couldn’t reveal details about the job to anyone. Now that Jane knows, I’m sure you all would have found out eventually.”
Silence hangs over the room for a few minutes. Brogan is the first to speak again.
