Page 62 of Playing with Temptation

Edge chuckled. “What I showed you three years ago? That ain’t even the half. Been keeping tabs on this one just for the hell of it. With the way she operates, it was only a matter of time until she ended up on someone’s shit list again.”

“Good. Same as we agreed on last time?”

“Double the content, double the price.”

Nate gritted his teeth. Hell, he’d be willing to pay four times what they’d agreed on previously if it would expose Stephanie for the snake she was and help clear the rumors about Kendra. “Fine. There’s a generous bonus in it if you use your pipeline to put this info out to the media, rather than having it come from my camp.”

“Done.” There was a smile in Edge’s gritty voice. “I’ll send you a text with my account number in the Caymans. Wire half now, the rest after the news hits the airwaves. Then ding dong, the wicked witch’s career is dead.”

“I’ll wire the money as soon as I get the info.”

“One more thing,” Edge said. “My gut is telling me Weiss isn’t in this alone. If I tug on that thread, it may unravel something you aren’t prepared to deal with.”

“What do you mean?”

“The person she’s colluding with may be a teammate.” There was the clink of ice in a glass in the background. “Maybe even someone you consider a friend.”

“I don’t believe it.” Nate paced the floor. Could one of his teammates have enough malice toward him to jeopardize his career and his family? “But if it’s true…”

“It’ll be included in the story.”

Nate ended the call with Edge and poured himself a shot of whiskey. When the truth came out about Stephanie’s “reporting” methods, she’d be done. She’d be a pariah with whom no reputable news outlet would want ties.

He hadn’t resorted to this option three years ago, because despite what Stephanie had done, he’d once cared for her. He hadn’t wanted to destroy her career.

But now she’d left him no choice.

His family meant everything to him. He’d do whatever it took to protect them. Even if it meant Stephanie Weiss and her co-conspirator getting what they deserved.

CHAPTER 21

“Have you seen the news?” There was a lilt in Kendra’s voice that he hadn’t heard since the reports questioning her parenting abilities hit the airwaves.

“Been preparing for a trip.” Nate threw a couple days’ worth of socks and underwear in his luggage. “Why, what’s up?”

“Stephanie is all over the news. It looks like the Marauders’ personnel manager, Lee Davis, conspired with her to compromise your image, so the team wouldn’t offer you a new contract.”

“Marcus mentioned it,” he said nonchalantly. “He suspects that’s the reason the Marauders were so quick to offer me such a generous final contract.”

“She’s been tapping people’s phone lines and using a bunch of shady tactics. Plus, it looks like she’s been known to falsify sources. It’s been going on for years.”

“Hmm…” He put the phone on speaker and tossed it on the bed while he rummaged through his nightstand for a few pictures of Kai and Kendra he kept there. “Guess we won’t have to worry about her anymore.”

Kendra was silent for a moment. “Nate, you didn’t have anything to do with this, did you?”

He scratched the back of his neck. “You really want to know?”

“Did you do anything illegal or unethical to make this happen?”

“I did not.” He couldn’t vouch for Edge, but that was the beauty of working with a guy like him: plausible deniability.

“Then I don’t need to know anything else.” She paused momentarily. “I didn’t realize you were going out of town. You have another segment on the Donnie Jones show in a few days.”

“I’ll only be gone a day or so. I’ll be back in plenty of time.”

“Good, because Stephanie might be out of commission, but we’re still on mop-up duty. I’m negotiating a one-on-one with John Chase to clear the air about the video and the rumors about me. Unless you’ve changed your mind. You’ve got your new contract and your two major sponsors have offered you new deals, so skipping the interview won’t hurt you financially.”

---