Chapter Twenty-One
Connor
It was a good thing that college volleyball didn’t draw the kind of crowds major league baseball did. Because it meant I wasn’t looking for a person in a crowd of a hundred thousand, just one guy among a few hundred. Still, it wouldn’t be easy to catch him.
But first things first. I found Cassie right away and was relieved to see she was okay. She was playing hard and had her game face on. It looked a lot like mine with a firm jaw and laser focus in her gaze.
Damn, I was so proud that she was channeling her fear and anger into her sport. I knew that feeling really well.
The crowd roared—me along with them—but it only lasted a split second. Still, it was long enough for Cassie to see me at the edge of the gym floor. Her eyes widened, and her gaze flickered to Gia, who came up beside me. There was a quick flash of female body language—a twitch of an eye, a shrug of the shoulders. I couldn’t follow it, but in the end, Cassie sent me a determined smile and a thumbs-up to tell me she was okay.
I believed her, because she was playing and because she was in public. No asshole could get her in the middle of the game. So it was up to me to find the dick before the end of the match.
I started looking around. I spotted a single Campus Security guy immediately, but damn, the kid looked younger than Cassie. Gia started searching with me, but I pushed her toward the stands.
“Keep an eye on Cassie,” I ordered.
She snorted. “It’s so cute that you think you can order me around. I’ve been dealing with this for a lot longer than you have.” Then she looked at the security guard. “Hey, Kevin. This is—”
“Yes, I recognize Mr. Hart. How’s the knee?”
“About to get a workout,” I said as I started to mount the stairs to the running track above the gym. That would be a good place for an asshole to hide, right?
“Take it easy,” Gia said as she ran beside me. “No point in screwing up your knee before the World Series.”
“Do you honestly think I give a damn about baseball right now?”
“No, but keep your head, okay?”
I knew she was right. Security was better able to help here, and the worst thing I could do was let my emotions control me. But damn it, this time Sophia had gone too far. I’d had enough, and I was damn well going end this. Completely.
Gia saw him first. The upper deck had given us a better view, and she saw the bastard skulking around the snack table.
“There!” she said, pointing.
Kevin was on his walkie-talkie immediately. A couple more campus cops had shown up, and the three were coordinating. It didn’t matter to me. I’d spotted him, and I wasn’t going to let him get away.
“Connor!”
It was too late. I was already halfway down the stairs. Bad knee or not, I could be fast when I wanted to be. I cut straight across the gym and through the back line of Cassie’s volleyball team, gaining ground on him. And to make sure everyone saw him, I bellowed his name.
“Theo Gorman!”
Theo’s head whipped up, and his eyes widened. The referee blew his whistle as I came barreling through and people near Theo scrambled to get out of my way. I sidestepped them while Theo turned tail. Behind me, I heard people shouting, but my attention was focused on the bastard who had terrified my sister.
He was quick as he ran through the stands. I felt a twinge in my knee but ignored it as I pushed to faster speeds. And then he cut around a pillar and headed for the back door.
“No way,” I growled.
Faster. Closer. Almost…
I leaped and tackled him.
We went down on the hard floor. I felt his head thunk and my knee wrench. His hands were slapping at my face, but I had him pinned. A moment later, I saw the heavy boots of three security guards surround us and heard the clack of Gia’s heels.
“Is that him, miss? Is this the guy?”
I hauled Theo’s face around to where Cassie was standing right beside Gia.
“Yes,” said Cassie. “That’s him.”
And then another voice cut through the crowd. The loud cry of the other culprit, her voice making my back molars grind.
“Oh my God! You caught him! Thank God.”
Sophia was coming through the back door. Her eyes were wide and her mascara smeared down her cheeks. She looked as if she was horrified and indignant all at once.
The perfect actress.
“We have him now, Mr. Hart,” said the oldest security guard. At least he looked like he shaved. “Let us take him into custody.”
I nodded and gingerly crawled off the bastard. I wanted to make sure he didn’t try to bolt again, but I also was starting to worry about what I’d just done to my knee. Fortunately, the idiot didn’t run. Within moments he was in handcuffs.
“Cassie, are you all right?” Sophia cried.
Cassie nodded, her gaze locked on her stalker, but my movements were all for Sophia. I crossed to her side and gripped her by the arm.
“Take her into custody, too,” I said. “She’s the one who ordered him to terrorize Cassie.”
“What?” she gasped as she tried to wrench out of my hold. “Have you gone crazy?”
“Nope,” I answered. “I’m just coming to my senses. You couldn’t leave her alone, could you? You had to keep her off-balance, had to keep her fragile.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I love Cassie!”
“No, you love making money off of me. And you knew I wouldn’t dump you as long as she was too weak to face you.” Then I forcefully turned us both so that we were looking at Cassie. “Look at her now, Sophia. Really look.” Then I called out to my other sister. “Cassie, how are you doing now? How do you feel?”
Gia and Cassie turned to us, but it was Cassie who straightened and got that fierce competitor look that we shared. She stalked right up to Sophia, holding her sister’s gaze for a moment before turning back to me.
“I feel fucking fantastic,” she said.
I knew it was true. I could see it in every line of her body. And yeah, she went back to grab Gia’s hand, but there was no fear in her eyes. Cassie was good. After everything she’d been through, she was finally good.
I handed Sophia over to the cop, watching with satisfaction while he handcuffed her. She wasn’t silent. Not Sophia. She started with, “How dare you?” then progressed with a stream of, “Do you know what I’ve done for you? You owe everything to me. Everything!”
I threw an arm around Cassie, and we hugged like we hadn’t seen each other in years. Behind my back, Sophia was screaming curse words. Something about how she had made me.
And then she pulled out a new one.
“I slept with your coach. It was the only way I could get you into the minors. I had to sleep with him to get you your start!”
I straightened and turned back to her, shaking my head. This last attempt at making me feel guilty was appalling. It didn’t help her, and it tarnished a good man’s name. I stared at her, wondering how I ever could have let her control so much of my life. It shocked me.
“Anything else you want to confess?” I asked.
“Connor!” Gia whispered from behind me. “There are camera phones everywhere.”
Good. Let Sophia’s real face get shown to the entire world. In fact, I pitched my voice loud enough to be picked up by every microphone. “Hey, Sophia. You’re fired.”
Then she was dragged away, screeching curses the whole time. The woman would never be quiet until there was no audience, but damn, that felt good. And there was something else I had to say.
I grabbed Cassie and pressed a kiss to her forehead. I searched her face and was relieved to see a fierce pride in her face. For herself. For me.
“I’m fine,” she said as she hugged me.
“I know,” I said as I returned the embrace. Then I caught Gia’s hand and drew her close. I touched her face and rolled my thumb over her full, beautiful mouth.
“I’m the liar, not you. I hated myself for what I had to do to keep Sophia contained. I lied to myself about the cost of that. I lied every time I thought I was helping her. It was all a big lie, and I hated myself for it. So I turned that anger onto you.”
“Connor, you don’t need to say anything right now.”
“But I do. I’m sorry, Gia. I’ve been wrong about so many things.”
“It’s okay—”
“It’s not. I love you. I’ve been in love with you from the very beginning, but I couldn’t let myself have anything as good as you. Not with Sophia in my life. Not when I was lying about everything she was doing to destroy Cassie and me.”
Gia opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her eyes were misting with tears, and I prayed I was seeing love shine through those beautiful brown pools, but I didn’t know. And I wasn’t sure I deserved her.
“Will you forgive me? Please?”
Suddenly, she was kissing me, and I was kissing her. We were wrapped around each other while cheers rang out. And when we finally separated, Gia touched my face and my lips.
“Of course. I love you, too,” she said.