Page 107 of Broken King

Cade shoves him off with a laugh. “You don’t pay now, asshole.”

The baby kicks, and I wince and reach out for the table in front of me.

“What’s wrong? Is she kicking?” Becks reaches out to rub my belly with his hand, but I smack it away. “Hey. What was that for?”

“Never touch a woman without permission, Becket.”

He looks back at me with wide, offended eyes. “You’re not a woman. You’re my sister.”

“Oh, I assure you. She’s all woman.” Cade smirks, and Becks gags.

Then, our little girl settles down, and her momma goes to work.

The first half of the game goes well. It’s not hard to spend time in the owner’s box and then walk down the hall to the one for the family. This level of the stadium is all boxes. There are forty total, with a Kings Club bar set in the middle. Ten boxes and the bar separate our new box from the owner’s. It’s a bit of a walk, but I don’t mind. If splitting my worlds means I get to keep Brynlee and her baby sister out of the public eye a little while longer, I’ll do anything.

I hope they both learn to love the game and this team the way I do, but for now, I just want Brynlee to have fun. And I want to be able to bring Baby St. James with me here so I don’t miss any time with her.

Lord knows this team takes up a ton of my time.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to have it all at the same time.

But I’m damn sure going to try my best to find a happy balance.

And I think this is step one in that process.

As I cross in front of the VIP Club, my arm is tugged hard, and I spin around. Daria is there with her hand clenched tightly around my arm. We’re lost in a crowd of people cheering as they announce Declan Sinclair just ran the final seven yards for a touchdown.

I rip my arm away from her and wobble on my black heels. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Daria has lost even more weight since she was at the house. Her hair is greasy and stringy, and her eyes are wild and unfocused. I have no doubt she’s high. And for some reason, I’m her target.

“You need to get him to give me what I want.” She grabs for me again, so I step back out of reach. “I just need a little more money, then I’ll leave you alone. Keep the brat. Do whatever you want. But he owes me this. I could have given her away, but I didn’t. He’d have never even known she existed.”

I look around for one of the security detail assigned to the owner’s suite but don’t see any. Max has been bugging me to get a personal bodyguard, now that I’m the face of the team, but I’ve ignored his nagging. Damnit. I have them set up at both boxes but hadn’t thought about having them escort us between the two. “Listen, Daria. You’re not getting anything from us. So stop trying. Stay away from my husband. Stay away from my daughter.”

“Your daughter?” She laughs hysterically. “I gave birth to that brat, and I swear to God, I’ll take her back. She’s mine, and if you don’t give me the money I want, I’ll take her as soon as you’re not looking.”

The fuck she will.

I plant my foot and let her grab my arm, then scream for security.

My detail might not be here, but I know there are plainclothes officers who patrol this area.

In less than a minute, an officer removes the chain his badge hangs on out from under his shirt, then pulls Daria off me. “Are you okay, Ms. Kingston? Was this woman assaulting you?”

When I nod, Daria screams and tries to break free from his hold, elbowing the officer in the nose in the process. “She’s lying. I didn’t lay a hand on her. She’s keeping my daughter from me.”

“She threatened to kidnap my daughter,” I tell him as a crowd begins to form.

Daria kicks her legs. “She’s a lying bitch.”

“You’re under arrest for assault of a police officer.” He slaps his cuffs on her wrists, then turns to me. “I’m going to need a statement from you, Ms. Kingston.”

I nod. “Thank you. Let me go let my family know, and I’ll meet you after the game.”

Hopefully, this is the last time we’ll have to deal with this bitch.

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