Page 72 of The Players

“I’m so happy to see you guys—oh!” Vince lifted her off her feet, mud and all, and scooped her up in his arms.

Before she knew what was happening, he raced down the stairs and went through a back door, distancing them from the arena. The sounds of cheers turned more faint by the second.

“What are you doing?” she protested. “I’m not done yet. You need to take me back.” Marni was there. It was the most solid lead she had on the girl.

“Not a word,” he hissed.

His body was tense and practically shaking when he stopped at their car.

Sy opened the back door and Vince all but dropped her in the back seat. When Sy started the car, she scrambled up.

“We have to go back. Please, I—”

“No.” Vince looked ready to explode. “Do you know what I went through on the way over here? Do you have any fucking idea?” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Whatever elated feeling she had disappeared as she saw how tense he was. She realized she had scared the crap out of him. The look she exchanged with Sy in the back mirror wasn’t much better.

Yep, they were both pissed.

The trip back home was made in silence. Vince did give her his sweater and she clung to it as she suddenly felt cold.

Back home, she all but ran into the bathroom, debating what story to tell them.

How about the truth?

It would crush Sy. The angry, vengeful part of her wanted to expose his mother for what she was—a terrible human being capable of… well, probably anything. But her heart couldn’t live with the thought of hurting him. No matter what Erica had done, she was still his mother. Every estranged child, no matter the age, would cling to the idea that one day he could mend things with his mom. Furthermore, her selfish part feared that the guilt he’d feel about his mom’s betrayal would drive him away once more. Then again, she couldn’t let Erica just get away with jamming a needle in her neck and pawning her to a loan shark. It was quite the conundrum. Perhaps it was best to discuss this later with Vince.

There was also the case of Marni, of course. She needed their help in finding her. But telling them about the girl meant she would have to come clean… about everything.

When she came out of the bathroom, she still didn’t know what to do. No sooner had she put on her pj’s when Vince and Sy walked into her room. Her hand holding a brush stilled.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Vince roared.

She didn’t appreciate him yelling at her. Judging by his thunderous face, he wouldn’t give a damn if she pointed that out.

Sy wasn’t much help either, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. He seemed just fine letting Vince handle the scolding.

“I don’t know what made you go over there, but I suspect it had something to do with the pictures.”

She flinched.

Vince sat on the end of the bed and patted the place next to him. “Get over here.”

“I don’t think I want to do that.” Her butt was sore. Every part of her body was sore. Now that she had left the ring, she felt the toll it had taken, rolling in the mud, fighting to win. She’d never really given it a thought before, but women in sports were badass.

His eyes flashed. “I didn’t ask what you wanted. Get over here, now.”

Resigning to her fate, she did as he asked. “Can’t this wait?”

“No. I call in my next IOU.”

Of course. How could she have forgotten about them?

“Tell me about the night the pictures were taken.”

For a second, her vision went dark and she had difficulty breathing. Then the bed dipped and Sy sat next to her.

“You’ve seen them,” she croaked. How was she ever going to get past that mortification? “You don’t know what it feels like to feel powerless,” she whispered. “Being married to a man like Franco was hell from the beginning. Nothing I ever did or said was good enough. He loved putting me down, and controlling every part of my life. But most of all, he liked to… hurt me.”

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