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“He told me it was a deeply personal and private matter, but left out any details,” Mr. Neveah answers.
I nod at Zane, who then fills our team owner in what has happened in our family the last year.
“I’m very sorry all of this happened to that poor, beautiful girl. But I’m not certain what this has to do with your contracts or Alden.”
“Because Aaron Alden is the man who brutalized Zoey,” Rory says from his seat, his dark eyes penetrating into the older men.
“That’s a very powerful and dangerous accusation. Do you have proof?”
I have to remind myself that what he is saying is neither unwarranted or fallacious. I also have to remind myself he is a seventy-year-old man. Or else I would punch him in the face.
“Mr. Neveah,” I start, trying desperately to keep my tone calm and reasonable, “At the New Year’s Eve party, do you remember when Zoey suddenly had to go the restroom?” I pause waiting for him to acknowledge what I just asked. When he nods I continue with another question, hoping he can connect the dots. “Do you also remember how she never came back?”
“I do,” the old man says, his eyes going a bit hazy with the memory. “I remember she looked awfully pale when she excused herself.”
Coach Bailey is the one who connects the dots. I see it when his eyes narrow into furious slits. “It was right after Alden’s children were introduced.”
Mr. Neveah pales at least three shades as he realizes what we are telling him. “Jax, Zane, I’m not saying I don’t believe you or Zoey, but I can’t accuse my new GM or his son of anything without proof.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Rory says as he retrieves my laptop from the coffee table. He plugs in a flash drive then turns the screen to the men.
“Sound?” I ask him. “Use the earbuds,” I say when he nods. “Zoey’s asleep, but I don’t want her waking up to hear this.”
Each man takes a bud, placing it in their ears. Their faces fill with concern, disgust, and rage as the short video continues to play.
“Why haven’t you gone to the police with this,” Coach Bailey demands.
“1.) the sound wasn’t very clear until Rory had his guys clean it up. 2.) After he threatened our careers, Zoey shut down. She didn’t tell us anything. It wasn’t until day before yesterday that we found any of this out. And that required another last minute trip to New York.”
“And now?” Mr. Neveah asks.
“Now it’s still up to Zoey,” I answer.
“But make no mistake. That bastard will pay one way or another. Unfortunately, Zoey has asked me to destroy him but let him live,” Rory says surprising the other men.
Hell, he just surprised me. He’s not usually so forthcoming about who he really is amongst people he doesn’t consider family or don’t work for him.
“Either he will be arrested, and I’ll make sure he never sees the fucking light of day again, or I will deal with him myself,” Rory continues. “But not until he loses everything. I’m going to make damn sure that fucking spoiled rich boy gets what’s coming to him. She wants him to hurt.”
I hear Zane’s jaw pop beside me. Mr. Bailey and Mr. Neveah look to each other with concern. “That’s going to reflect very badly on the team and on me, as its owner.”
Rory nods his understanding, repeating what he just said. “I can simply hand this over to NYPD and make certain that all of this is handled with the utmost discretion. It will all depend on what Zoey wants. I am fairly certain that, as much as she may want him to suffer, she doesn’t want to be dragged through the tabloids. Then again, she can just decide to let me handle him entirely, in which case, he will vanish without a trace.”
“Can I ask why you’re telling us this?” Mr. Bailey finally asks the right question.
“We want to bring this to Mr. Alden. I want to know if he knows anything about it. I want to look into his eyes. See if he’s lying. I want to catch his reaction and hear him tell me how he wants it handled. I want to know if he realizes his son is a fucking monster that preys on innocent women,” I tell them both honestly.
I see the moment they realize that Rory’s life, his profession has seeped into my own. He may have tried to shut me off from it long ago to protect me and my career, but not before I learned from him. And just because I no long scare and beat people up for money, doesn’t mean I don’t know a lot of what’s going on. Or that I haven’t continued to learn from my brother.
And I'm not staying out of it anymore.
“I’ll set up the meeting,” Mr. Neveah offers. “I want to see how he reacts as well. I’m not in the business of employing people who would turn a blind eye because it’s their child. Maliciousness and violence of that caliber have no business doing business with me.”
We nod in agreement and finish with a handshake. Then I lead them to the door.
When I turn around, both Rory and Zane are looking at me expectantly. I avoid their looks because – well – I can and walk around them to the kitchen. I pop a pod into my coffee maker, then open the fridge to pull out things to make some breakfast.
“You’re not giving us anything?” Zane says in exasperation.
