Chapter 2
Kenny got into his car and slammed the door harder than he meant to. He drove away from Gabe and Carolyn’s house, fuming. Carolyn had called him to say the baby was born. A little girl. Figured. Kenny was surrounded by females, having nothing but sisters. But that was okay. He knew how they worked. It would be easy to be a dad to a little girl because he’d spent a lot of time around little girls when he was growing up.
But the whole visit hadn’t gone well. He’d hoped the kid would look just like him, but she didn’t. He’d hoped that he would have held her and something would have told him inherently that she was his, but no magic happened. He felt awkward holding her, like she was a foreign object that he could break easily and felt wrong in his arms. She’d started crying the second he had her, and then she smelled so bad.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Gabe had taken her from his arms like an expert and gone to change her diaper. The smell didn’t seem to bother him at all. One more thing Gabe out shined him at. He’d asked stupid questions, and they made him feel like a fool. He hadn’t read anything about babies. With the big game coming, he hadn’t had time. And he figured Carolyn would know everything. Why would he need to know about babies if she was going to take care of her anyway?
He had been so on top of the world before the visit. They’d won the Bear Bowl and the whole team was famous and rich now. He’d done countless interviews, and had offers for tons of endorsement deals. Women were starting to come to him more easily, but he turned them all away. His heart belonged to Carolyn. And once the baby had come, he was excited about that, too. Had been so looking forward to showing off his awesome fathering skills. Until Gabe out shined him. Again. Jocelyn even seemed to be choosing Gabe over him.
He wondered for a moment who picked the name Jocelyn, and what Carolyn had made her last name. Did she have Gabe’s? His? Carolyn’s? That wouldn’t mean much, though. They’d done the swab thing on their cheeks and in a few weeks, he would know if she was his. Then, he could read every book on babies there was to learn. If Gabe could do it, surely he could figure it out, too.
One thing he had on them. His place was much bigger and nicer than their tiny apartment. He planned to send Carolyn photos to show her. She didn’t have to have her baby all crammed into a tight place. His house had plenty of room.
She said it would take a few weeks to get the results of the DNA test. In that time, he would make sure that she knew all she could have if she lived with him to raise their baby.
Kenny had been preparing to send another text. One with a photo of a tiny Grizzlies dress that he’d bought for the baby, when his phone rang. Carolyn was calling.
With a smile, he answered, “Hi, baby. I was just about to send you a photo of the adorable dress I got for Jocelyn.”
“Well, you can take it back. We got the results. She’s Gabe’s.”
His grip tightened on his phone. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Please stop texting me.”
“I want to see proof,” he demanded. “How do I know you’re not just making this up?”
“I’ll text you a copy of the results.”
“Carolyn—”
She had hung up. He was about to dial her back when a text from her came through. He opened the text and inspected the photo.
It took several minutes to read through, but it was clear. Where it listed his name, it said that he had been excluded as the biological father of Jocelyn. But for Gabe, it said the probability of him being the father was 99%.
He stared at the photo for a long time, not wanting it to be real. Was there some way it could have been messed up or tampered with? What if Carolyn had known he was the father and had switched their tests?
He let that thought sit in his mind for several minutes, building the anger with it. But then he realized that if she had done all that, then she had gone to a great deal of trouble to make sure he wasn’t the father. And if that was the case, then she really, truly did not want him. It didn’t matter how much money he had. It didn’t matter if he was famous for being a professional football player. Or if he’d be better the better father and husband. She wanted Gabe.
He sat down on the floor of his kitchen, and his phone clattered to the ground. He put his head in his hands and rocked back and forth for a time, wishing he was the crying type. He felt so awful, he thought he should be crying, but tears never seemed to come for him. Instead, he stared at the floor, at one little spot of dirt stuck there, until the light in the kitchen faded into evening.
When he finally stood, his legs had gone numb from not moving for so long. The pain had turned cold in his chest and the numbness spread through his body. He stripped naked right in his kitchen and walked out back, then shifted and went for a long run. That usually made him feel better. Not today. He felt nothing. All he could think to do was make the thoughts stop swirling around his head by killing them with strong liquor.
He went to his room and picked up his keys, then walked out to his garage. Without really thinking about where he was going, he got in and drove. When the car stopped at a local bar, it seemed right. He got out and went inside, taking a seat at the counter.
“Scotch,” he told the bartender. No point in starting light.
The man set a glass on the counter, then squinted at Kenny. “Hey, are you…”
Kenny nodded.
“Wow, that was some game. You played great.” He poured the drink and slid it over to him. “On the house.”
“Thanks.” Kenny gave him a forced smile and downed the drink in two gulps.
The bartender raised his eyebrow. “Tough day?”
Kenny nodded. “Can I have another?”
He poured again, and this time, Kenny sipped it a little slower. He was already feeling the affects of the drink. The warmness creeping through him, strange compared to the cold numbness he felt at his core.
“Girl trouble?” the bartender asked.
“Something like that.”
“Man. I’m sure with your looks, fame, and money you’ll forget all about her and find someone new in no time.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
“Well, don’t say I told you, but that woman over there has been checking you out since you walked in.”
The man nodded and Kenny glanced at who he meant. The woman was gorgeous. She wore a tight black top and a glittery necklace. Her dark hair was pulled back so that the line from her jaw to neckline was an uninterrupted, tantalizing curve. The best part was, she looked nothing like Carolyn. Other than the fact that she was a woman, they had nothing in common physically.
He felt his dick stiffen in his pants. He wouldn’t mind letting her ease his worries, take his mind off things. She could be the perfect distraction.
His mind wandered back to Carolyn for a moment. This was how he’d met her. Drinking in the bar, trying to lose himself. And he’d found her. Maybe this woman could be a repeat. Maybe she would get pregnant, but she would want him. She was prettier than Carolyn. That would show Gabe, wouldn’t it? If he showed up with a woman hotter than his? Who wanted him instead of Gabe?
“She’s drinking a martini,” the bartender said.
Kenny nodded to himself. “Send her one from me.”
The bartender poured and walked away. When he returned a few minutes later, he said, “The lady sends her thanks.”
Kenny looked over at her. She smiled and raised her glass. He smiled back and turned to his drink. Hopefully she would come over to him. He needed that little ego boost. He needed to not have to make the first move for once.
He waited a long while. So long, he had to leave his drink to get up and go to the bathroom. He was starting to get aggravated. He walked, slightly swaying side to side, and rested his arm against the wall as he peed into the urinal. When he came out, at first he thought he went to the wrong stool. A woman was sitting at the bar in his seat. But as he got closer, he realized it was the woman he’d sent the martini to.
“I was waiting for you to come over,” she said, raising one eyebrow at him.
“I was waiting for you to come over,” he said, and slid on the stool beside her.
“You like the woman to make the first move, eh?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Wasn’t buying you a drink the first move?”
“Maybe.” She pulled her mouth into a half smile. “But the real question is, what’s the next move?”
“I guess that depends on you. I block and tackle for a living. What do you prefer?”
“Oh right. I thought you looked familiar. You’re a Grizzly, aren’t you?”
“I am.” This fame thing was starting to come in handy. A free drink and now this woman’s attention. He could get used to this.
“I’ve never been with a shifter before. Is it true what they say?” She leaned in close to him. “Do shifters like it rough?”
“It’s true for me. I can’t speak for all of us, though.”
“So, you’re an animal on the field and in the bedroom?”
He put his lips to her ear and growled softly.
“Ooo, I like that.” She winked. “Buy me another drink?”
Kenny nodded to the bartender, who came over and refilled their glasses. When they had finished, Kenny was warm with his buzz and with desire. He wanted this woman, and she got better by the minute. When she finished her drink, she put her hand high up on his thigh and leaned close to him.
“I’m ready to get out of here, how about you?”
“Definitely.” He paid the bill and left a nice tip for the bartender. Without his help, he may not have known Eva was checking him out in the first place.
Eva leaned on him as they stumbled out of the bar. He could barely see his car, let alone drive it. “I think,” he said with slurred words, “that we need a cab.”
She giggled and gripped his arm tighter. “Can we have sex in the back of the cab?”
“If we pay him enough.”
He took out his phone and after several failed attempts to look up a number, pressed the button to use the voice command to dial. When the person at the cab company answered, he gave the address and hung up.
“Ten minutes,” he said.
Eva hiccuped. “What are we going to do for ten minutes?”
He turned to her, put his hand in her hair and pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers. She leaned into him. Her leg wrapped around his waist and she tugged at his hair.
“I like it rough, too,” she whispered in his ear.
He took that as a sign and tugged on her earlobe with his teeth. She moaned in response. He continued to kiss her deeply, pushing his tongue into her mouth, and picturing all the things he was going to do to her once they were alone. His dick was throbbing by the time the cab pulled up.
They slid into the back and when the cabbie asked for the address, Eva gave him hers. Kenny leaned over into her, resuming their kissing as the car took off. He was practically lying on top of her, letting his hands run up and down her legs, and lingering under her skirt. Her panties were already damp.
When the cab stopped, Kenny paid him and they stumbled out of the car and to her front door. It took several minutes to get the door unlocked and opened. She had trouble finding them in her purse and Kenny wouldn’t stop kissing along her neck and jaw.
When she finally found them and got the door open, they spilled into the hallway. Kenny kicked the door shut and wrapped her in his arms, then pressed her against the wall. Her purse hit the floor with a thud.
“I could just take you right here,” Kenny said.
“Oh yes,” she said with a moan.
He reached up under her skirt and yanked her panties down in one swift movement. He kneeled in front of her, spreading her feet and lifting her skirt. He parted her with his tongue and sent it flicking over and around her clit. He slid a finger inside of her as he sucked her clit and she let out a groan that almost made him cum just from the sound.
He stood back up, kissing her for a minute before he unzipped his jeans and let them fall to the ground. He lifted her in the air and slammed her back against the wall. She cried out again and he rubbed the tip of his dick around her, covering himself in her wetness.
She squeezed her legs around him, clawing at his back and biting him up and down his neck.
“You are driving me wild,” he said to her.
“Then fuck me already,” she breathed.
He didn’t hesitate. He positioned himself to enter her as a loud bang sounded from his right. He turned his head, annoyed at the interruption, and saw a man standing there, watching them.
“What. The actual fuck. Eva,” he said.
She gasped and pushed Kenny back. “James! What are you doing home? You weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.”
“Is that your grand excuse?”
Kenny was very aware that he was standing in the hallway, his pants around his feet, his erection sticking straight out. The guy couldn’t have waited ten minutes to show up? He was throbbing and about to burst.
James reached to his back and pulled out a gun.
“Okay, okay,” Eva said, “Calm down.”
“Calm down! Are you nuts? I find my wife fucking another man in my hallway and you want me to calm down?!”
“We weren’t!” Eva screeched.
James laughed. “Oh, okay. That’s why he’s standing there with his dick out.”
Eva glanced over at Kenny and gave him a what-the-hell look. Kenny bent and yanked his pants back in place.
“Hey man,” he said. “We really didn’t screw. You came in just in time.”
James gave him an incredulous look. “Don’t fucking talk to me!”
Kenny put his hands up. “I’m sure this is all just a misunderstanding. I didn’t even know—”
“Misunderstand this.” James pulled the trigger of his gun.
Kenny saw the flash and heard the ear-splitting crack. For a moment, he thought James had missed. Then, he realized he was falling to the ground. There was no pain at first, but a feeling like someone had just come up and clocked him in the knee with a baseball bat.
He looked down at his leg and saw blood pouring from his shin. He blinked up at James. “You shot me.”
Eva was screaming, hopping up and down, shrieking, “What are you doing, what are you doing,” over and over again. Tears streamed down her face.
“If you don’t get out right now,” James said, pointing the gun at Eva, “I will shoot you, too.”
She stopped to grab her purse, then bolted out the front door.
Kenny glanced at her, not fathoming that she had actually just taken off and left him there with a mad man, bleeding all over the floor.
James walked over and pointed the gun right at his face.
“I didn’t know,” Kenny said. “I wouldn’t have if I knew.”
“You think I want your petty excuses?” James hissed. “You’re pathetic. You can’t get your own woman, so you have to go steal someone else’s? You worthless piece of junk.”
Kenny’s head was spinning and the pain was creeping up his leg. His ears rang and as he listened to the sound, it grew louder. Somewhere in between seeing the flashes of red and blue, and then watching James take off running, Kenny realized help had come. Maybe Eva had helped him after all.
The front door banged open and there were shouts all around him as people came to look him over.
Eva was there for a second. She bent down to him and kissed his cheek. “I’m so sorry.” Then she was gone.
He was loaded onto a stretcher and put in the back of an ambulance. They asked him all sorts of questions. Name, age, who was the president, that sort of thing. In the ambulance, they poked him and prodded, wrapping his leg and injecting things into him. One of the injections must have been for the pain because his vision started to swirl. With the combination of all the alcohol, he thought for sure he was going to pass out.
What had to be many minutes later, he opened his eyes and saw that he was now in a room. So, he had passed out then. People rushed around him and the pain in his leg was worse.
“Kenny?” A nurse leaned over him. “We have to get you into surgery to remove the bullet, okay?”
He nodded and closed his eyes. Someone put a mask over his face and the next thing he knew, he was waking up again.
This time, things around him were much quieter. There was a beeping noise from a machine at his side. The faint talking from a TV. He heard other people talking, too.
“Kenny?” There was a nurse there, in blue scrubs at the foot of his bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Confused.”
“That’s normal after anesthesia. You also had a lot of alcohol in your system.”
He nodded and she continued.
“We were able to get the bullet removed. The wound is pretty clean, so it should heal nicely. You’re a shifter, correct?”
He nodded again. “Then you should heal very quickly. We’ll get you up to your regular room soon, okay?”
He nodded one more time and closed his eyes.
How had this night gone so wrong? He had just wanted to drown his pain, to forget about Caroyln. Then, he thought, maybe he’d get laid and that was okay, too. Kissing a beautiful woman, about to get it on, then her husband shows up? And not only that, he shoots him in the leg. Who actually did that? Who actually shot someone for sleeping with their wife? Or almost sleeping with her?
The worst part was, he hadn’t gotten to screw her. It was one thing to take a bullet for something messed up he did. But to take one for something he hadn’t even done yet? That was seriously just wrong.
His mind swirled and wouldn’t land on a steady thought. He finally gave up trying to think and be mad and let himself drift off into sleep.