Troy is here. It all feels so surreal. He’s not supposed to be here. The Rays are not his set of people. He’s an ‘old money’ type. He gives off such an aura of arrogance and condescension. When we were younger, I mistook it for confidence. He has nothing in common with someone like Jake Price, who comes from nothing and worked his way into something through drive and talent.
It took me a long time to see that Troy’s upbringing was not so much a blessing as a curse. He doesn’t know how to work for things. He doesn’t know how to value the things he has. And he doesn’t know how to appreciate what it feels like when those things are taken away. In a word, he’s spoiled. And he’s the worst kind of spoiled: the kind that is fundamentally incapable of admitting it.
That’s why he’s here now. He doesn’t understand that there are things in his life that he can’t possess. I am one of those things. Try as he might, he can’t control me. He can’t make me do as he commands. I center myself in that truth.
I am wild. I am fierce. I am free.
I take him in, from his slicked-back hair to his designer suit and his whiskey-colored loafers.
Next to me, Jake must be doing the same because he scoffs. “Seriously, Tess? This guy? He’s got fucking tassels on his loafers.”
“He was hot in college,” I say with a shrug.
Troy levels his gaze at him. “You must be one of the doctor’s useless assholes. It takes a special kind of spineless man to lose his woman not once but twice. Well done, there, champ.”
“Wow,” Jake replies. “That was poetic as fuck. Were you looking in a mirror when you practiced that? ‘Cause from where I stand, you’re the one who keeps losing his woman.” He puts a protective arm around Rachel. “My girl is right here, asshole.”
“Troy, you need to leave,” Rachel says, her hand tight in mine.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he replies. “Not until I’ve spoken to Tess.”
“There is nothing you could say that she needs to hear,” Rachel replies. “It’s over, Troy. She’s moved on. She moved on years ago.”
Troy glowers at her, his gaze dropping to where our hands meet. Then it trails slowly back up to our faces. “I don’t remember asking for your opinion,” he says at her. “You’ve always been a terrible influence on my Tess. I expect nothing less from a rotten gash.”
I gasp as I feel both men move around me. Jake lunges, cursing at Troy, but Mars holds him back. “No,” Mars growls in his ear, holding him tight, both arms wrapped around his torso.
Jake thrashes. “Let me go. I’ll fucking kill him—”
“It’s what he wants,” Mars presses in his ear. “Calm down.”
“Angel, don’t,” Rachel pleads, her hands on Jake’s arm. “Ilmari’s right. He’s not worth it. Jake, please. People are watching.”
She’s right. The people closest to us have all turned, watching us with wide eyes, confused as to what they’re seeing. In front of me, Troy just smirks, his eyes twinkling with mirth. Fuck, he’s loving this. He knows we can’t touch him because he’ll just cry ‘assault.’ We have to stand here and let him spew his poison. My friends and loved ones have to take it on the chin. That’s how they prove themselves. They resist his needling.
Or I take it on the chin. I agree to speak with him alone and spare them this humiliation. I glance around the room again, looking for Ryan. Where is he? Why isn’t he coming to find me?
Jake nods, and Ilmari loosens his hold on him. Jake has eyes only for Troy. “You won’t get what you came for. You will never speak to Tess alone again. She’s done with your sorry ass. Be a man and move on. And if you speak to my wife like that again, I will kill you.”
Troy crosses his arms. “Unlike you, I’m actually married to my wife,” he counters. “All you’re doing is playing pretend. When she gets bored of your dick, she’ll move on. Women like her always do. He’s the one who will suffer,” he adds, pointing at Ilmari. “But then, from what I’ve read about you, people always seem to move on, don’t they? Anyone who’s ever cared for you has either died or left.”
“Suksi vittuun,” Ilmari curses.
“Kulta, don’t listen to him,” Rachel says, tears in her eyes as she puts a hand on Ilmari.
“Troy, stop,” I beg, stepping forward. “I’m the one you want. Take your spite out on me.”
He holds out his hand. “Let’s go somewhere quieter.”
I look down at his hand, trying to stop my trembling.
“Tess, don’t,” Rachel begs. “Stay.”
“I’m not leaving until you speak to me,” Troy counters, his threat clear: This doesn’t stop until you do.
“Tess—”
“The deck,” I say over Rachel’s protests. “That’s the only place I’ll go with you.”
He scoffs. “What, so they can all watch us through the glass like we’re animals in a zoo? I don’t think so.”
“They can see us, but not hear us,” I counter. “You can say whatever you need to say…you just can’t hurt me again. Not without them seeing.”
“Jesus.” He glances around at all our faces. “Is that what you’re telling them, Tess? Is that why everyone is acting so uptight? What, have you been down here saying I beat you all the time? Where’s the proof? Where are the medical records? Where are the police reports? I’ve never touched you. Not in thirteen years—”
“You’re lying,” I say, tears in my eyes. “We both know you’re lying—”
“You’re the fucking liar,” he snaps. “The cheater, the quitter. God, I can only imagine the lies you’ve spun to make me look like the villain. Meanwhile, you’re the one fucking anything that moves. We all know I’ve got enough evidence to end your little boy toy’s career. You’ve even had your turn with this one if the papers are to be believed,” he adds, gesturing at Jake.
“Those stories were all bullshit, and you know it,” I say.
“No, they aren’t.”
We both turn to look at Jake. “What?” I whisper.
His gaze softens as he looks at me. “Come on, Strawberry. There’s no reason to hide what we have. Even a broken clock is right once a day. That’s you,” he says at Troy. “You’re the stupid broken clock. But you’re right about Tess and me. We were together, and it was magnificent.”
Troy just scoffs. “You’re a lousy liar.”
“And you’re a lousy lay,” he counters. “But I’m not lying. Tess and I fucked like rabbits all over my beach house. Sorry, babe, you were at work, and I got horny,” he says at Rachel. “And we both know this one is no help in that department,” he adds, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at Ilmari.
“Jake,” Ilmari says in warning.
“What?” Jake says at his partner. “Are you seriously upset with this cretin knowing our business? He’s a total piece of shit. No one will believe him either way, Mars.”
Troy’s gaze darts between them.
Ilmari just shakes his head. “He doesn’t deserve to know our private business.”
“Sure, he does. Clearly, he loves salacious gossip.” Jake turns back to Troy, gesturing at Mars. “He only fucks women. Yeah, that’s right, I said women. Don’t even ask me the number of times I’ve come home from a long day at practice to find these two riding his cock and face. I swear, it’s a sight to behold.”
Next to me, Rachel clings to my arm. “Oh god,” she whispers, her gaze darting between her men and Troy.
My eyes go wide, too, as the pieces of this curious new puzzle click into place. Could this actually work? My relationship with Ryan is the ace up Troy’s sleeve. He wants to hurt me by ruining Ryan. How is he supposed to do that if half the Rays on the team boisterously claim we’ve also had affairs? Jake and Mars are taking Troy’s sharpest arrow and burning it to ash.
“This is bullshit,” Troy huffs. “You’re all a bunch of fucking liars.”
“Are we all lying? Or are you lying?” Jake presses. “Because these stories just don’t add up.”
“Mars!”
My hand tightens around Rachel’s as Caleb approaches, his dark gaze locked on us. He hurries over, a slight hitch in his step. He looks to Mars as both men put their phones back in their pockets. Apparently, Mars sent on an SOS.
“What’s happening?” asks Caleb.
Mars nods at Troy. “This is Troy Owens.”
Caleb’s face becomes a mask of rage as he slowly turns, taking in Troy for the first time.
“Perfect,” Troy huffs. “The gang’s all here. You’re the washed up one, right? The gimp? You’re even more useless than the pretty idiot,” he adds, pointing at Jake with a vicious smirk.
Caleb’s face becomes unreadable as Rachel and I cease to breathe. He’s her mystery boy after all, the unpredictable one. Jake inches closer, his hand going to Caleb’s shoulder. “Babe, we’ve got it handled.”
Caleb just shrugs him away, his eyes locked on Troy. “Are you here to be the tough guy? You wanna say some shitty, hateful things, looking to spin us up so we throw the first punch?”
Troy just smirks.
“Yeah, I’ve known guys like you all my life.”
“What, rich guys?” Troy replies, squaring his shoulders at him. “Guys with power and purpose?”
“Don’t speak in my wife’s presence again,” Caleb counters, his expression obsidian. “She doesn’t need to suffer the sound of your obnoxious bleating for another second.”
Troy glares. “I don’t take orders from sorry, washed-up has-beens.”
Caleb just nods. “Clearly, you did your homework. You googled some footage of me taking a hit to my knee, yeah? So, like any bully, you think you’ve found my weakness. I can’t take the hits anymore. I have to get others to fight my battles for me. Is that what you think?”
“Let’s just say you don’t intimidate me the same as your Swedish friend here,” Troy replies.
“He’s Finnish, asshole,” Jake snaps. “Get it right.”
Now it’s Caleb putting a hand on Jake’s shoulder, even as his eyes don’t leave Troy’s face. “You’re right. Ilmari has the look of a Viking god who will snap you in half. And he will if you take even one step closer to our wife. But I am the fucking darkness,” he says, stepping closer to Troy. “I am where your nightmares go to multiply. And I am telling you now that if you even look in my wife’s direction again, I will knock every single jib from your mouth and make you choke on them.”
Troy crosses his arms. “Threatening a lawyer, Mr. Sanford? Bad move.”
“It’s Price,” Caleb corrects. “And I’m threatening a coward and a menace. An abuser of women—”
“Tess is a dirty fucking liar—”
“Tess is mine. She left you and found herself a real man. Real men. Forget about Langley. He’s not your threat. It’s me. She’s mine now. And unlike you, I don’t lose the things that are mine. I protect them. You will not look at Tess, you will not speak to her, you will not so much as breathe her fucking air. I will give you this warning only once: Get lost and stay lost. Forever.”
Jake steps in to stand shoulder to shoulder with Caleb. “My husband told you to go. Don’t make him say it again.”
At the same time, Ilmari steps to the right, placing himself in front of Rachel and me, blocking us from Troy’s view. Heart racing, my hand takes hold of Ilmari’s arm. Next to me, Rachel does the same. I can’t help myself, and I peek around him to look at Troy.
“Tess is ours now,” Ilmari intones. “It’s time to let go.”
After a painfully long moment, Troy huffs a laugh and takes a step back. “You all present a united front. Very impressive.” He lifts his hands in surrender and takes another step back. “Tess, I’m going,” he says at me, peering around Ilmari to flash me a wink. “I never wanted to see you anyway. That’s not why I came tonight.”
My heart drops from my chest. “Then why are you here?”
He just smiles. Slipping his hand into his pocket, he pulls out a folded check. “Do I leave the donations with you?”
None of us move.
Stepping forward, he dares to reach out and slip the check into the pocket of Ilmari’s tux. Then he gives me one last knowing look. “I’ll see you around, Tess.”
“No, you won’t,” I say, finding my voice at last.
His smirk turns into a glower.
“This is the end, Troy. From this moment, I will never see or speak to you again. Even as you stand before me, I do not see you. There is nothing left. Absolutely nothing. Take this as the last word you ever hear from my lips: goodbye.”
I’ve said the words, but I know his narcissism won’t let him absorb them. So, I’m not surprised when he just smirks and says, “We’ll see.”
With that, he turns and walks away, taking all my air with him. He hardly clears the glass doors before Jake lets out an exasperated groan. “Ohmygod, what an awful fucking piece of human garbage! Tess, you’re seriously still married to that guy?”
“I have never wanted to kill someone so much in my life,” Caleb says, his arms going around Rachel as he pulls her closer. She clings to him, one hand still clasped in Ilmari’s large hand.
“Fuck, I know, right?” Jake cries. “We are fixing that pronto. Your divorce is my new life’s mission, I swear to fucking God.”
Rachel turns to me, slipping away from her men. Hands shaking, she cups my face, tears in her eyes. “Are you okay?”
I just shake my head, holding back my tears. No, I’m not okay. In this moment, okay feels like an impossibility.
“You will be,” she says, kissing my cheek. “Tess, he will never hurt you again.”
But I don’t care about me right now. There’s only one person on my mind. “Ryan.” I say the word with the only air left in my lungs.
“Yeah, we’ll find him. Okay, honey? Right now. We’ll all look.” She nods at her men, giving them a silent order, and they scatter, set on their mission. “We’ll find him,” she says again.
But I know the truth. Troy already did.
