Page 92 of Raine Out (Grand Slam 2)

Roman grabs Gentry’s clothes from the chair and throws them at him. “Get dressed, Gentry. You’re out of the Florida jurisdiction. I believe that’s a no-no for you, so you get to go directly to jail. Manny, let him go. Jail’s going to be worse for him than anything you could dish out.”

Manny shoves him one more time and then walks across the room and collapses down on a chair.

Gentry pushes Roman away from him. “Man, get away from me. St. John is part of the U.S. I’m not going anywhere near a jail.”

“It’s not part of Florida, dumbass,” I say, walking up to him. “Do you know the difference between a state and a country? I’m trying to gauge your level of ignorance, so I know where to go from here.”

Gentry tries to shove me, but Alex pulls me behind him and punches Gentry so hard that he crumbles to the ground. Butch grabs Alex by the shoulder and pulls him back.

“All right, champ, that’s plenty,” Butch says as he picks Gentry up. “Get up, asshole. You’re interrupting my beach vacation and that pisses me off. Let’s go, Roman. I’ll come with you to take him to the local authorities.”

As they walk out, I turn to Caroline. “Did you leave the notes for Sophie and Seb?”

“What notes?” Manny says from the corner of the room.

I look back at Caroline. She’s doing a very bad job of hiding her surprise. “Your wife left anonymous notes for Seb and Sophie trying to break up their relationship or ruin their wedding or something. I’m still not sure what she was trying to accomplish.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Caroline squeaks as she looks over at Manny.

“Yeah, you do.” I walk over to the side of the bed. “Guess what? They never got the notes because I intercepted them. Nice try, though.”

“Raine,” Alex says, pulling on my hand. “Come on. Let’s leave them alone.”

I lean down and get right in Caroline’s face. “If you ever come at Sophie again, I’m coming after you, and believe me, I’m going to the last woman standing. And some free advice from me to you, grow the fuck up.”

“Raine, let’s go.” Alex grabs me around the shoulders and pushes me toward the door. He looks back at Manny. “You good, man? Do you want me to stay?”

“No, you can leave,” he says, looking at Alex briefly and then walking over to Caroline. “And you can leave, too. Get dressed, pack your bags, and get out of my room. You have two minutes.”

“Manny—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Manny says, holding his hand up to stop her. “Gentry Randall? Fucking Gentry Randall? If you’re not dressed and out of here in two minutes, I’ll throw you out wearing that sheet.”

“Where am I supposed to stay tonight?” She pulls the sheet up higher. “Our plane doesn’t leave until tomorrow.”

“Ourplane? Ah, no honey, that’s a team plane—reserved for players and their guests. Which one are you?”

Caroline stands up and edges around the room to get her clothes. “You can’t leave me on the island, Manny. We’re married—”

“And that’s the first thing I’m going to change when I get back to Florida.”

As Alex pulls the door closed, I grab him and hug him. “I’m sorry that just happened to your friend.”

“So am I, but honestly, it’s probably for the best long term,” he says, burying his face in my hair. “Are you okay? I didn’t think we’d start the morning with criminal apprehension.”

I smile up at him. “That’s pretty much how I start most of my mornings when I’m not on vacation.”

“Hmm,” he says. “I’m not ready to get back to reality just yet. Can we fight against it for the day?”

“Yes, please,” I say, grabbing his hand and pulling him down the hall. “What do you have in mind?”

“How about we find a private beach? We can read, nap, swim, makeout—”

“Umm, let me see,” I say, tapping my lips. “Yes, yes, yes, and definitely yes.”

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