Page 75 of Truth or Tequila (Grand Slam 1)

“Not now, Seb,” she whispers. Her voice is shaking. She’s trying to keep her face light, but I can tell her eyes are about to release all the tears that are building up. “I don’t want to talk about it. Not here.”

“Did he hurt you?” I whisper, trying to act as casual as possible. It’s taking every bit of restraint in my body not to hug her right now.

“No,hedidn’t hurt me.” She’s glaring at me now. One tear escapes her right eye and is slowly making its way down her cheek.

“What does that mean?” I take a step closer to her. “Soph? What did he say?”

“Seb, you playing tonight?” Bud yells from the clubhouse door. “Or did you take the night off without telling me?”

“Later,” Sophie says, turning away from me. “Do not follow me right now.”

“Soph.” I reach my arm out to her as Joe moves in front of me.

“Let her go.” His eyes are burning a hole through me. He knows I’m about five seconds from being splashed all over social media again and dragging Sophie there with me. “We’ll deal with it later. You need to get geared up if you’re playing tonight. Seb, you asked me to have her back, too. Following her right now would be the worst thing—for her. You know that.”

My eyes are still on Sophie as she walks way too briskly down the hall. “Get somebody on her. Make sure she’s safe. I want a report by the middle of the first or I’m walking out of this fucking stadium. I don’t care how much it costs me.”

“I’m on it,” he says as he turns me toward the clubhouse.

* * *

The top of the first took almost thirty minutes. Manny’s slider is hanging. He gets super slow when that happens. Just what I don’t need tonight. Joe’s in the dugout when I come off the field.

“Report.” I yank off my mask and throw it to our equipment guy.

“She left. I had Max follow her. She’s home. That friend from the night we met her just arrived.”

“Is she okay?”

“I don’t know, Seb. Max said she’s really upset.” He leans against the wall next to me and whispers. “I snuck into Gentry’s office when he left. He had Liza’s bank statements on his desk. They show your payments to her. I told you we should have done it from an anonymous account.”

A wave of panic shoots through my body. “I’ve got to get out of here and explain to her.”

“You can’t leave, man. You know that.” He points toward the field. Alex just got on base. That means I’ll have to bat this inning. I snap off my chest protector. “Give her some space. We’ll deal with it after the game. She’s safe.”

“Bring me my phone,” I say as I grab my batting helmet. “I need to text her.”

“And say what? You can’t tell her the truth—”

“Bring me the phone. I can explain without explaining. She trusts me.”

“Does she? That shove to your chest back in Gentry’s office would suggest otherwise—”

“Bring me my phone.”

“You’re going to get fined for having a phone in the dugout,” Joe says. “This is starting to be an expensive day for you.”

“It’s well worth any amount of money. I’ve got to at least try to explain.”

As I walk onto the field, I glance back at Manny. “Hey, I need you to keep it tight tonight.”

He laughs. “Why? You got someplace worthwhile to go after the game for once?”

I glare at him. “No more throws to first when somebody gets on. Just pitch the damn ball.”

“All right, Seb. Just call for my heater all night and we’ll be out of here in a tight two.”

* * *

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