AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Heat pressed behind my eyes. The shame was unbearable. Everybody would see me. My family. My friends. My teammates. Gabe would see me. Desperately, I stumbled toward Jed, gripping his hands in mine. I looked him squarely in the eyes. If I couldn’t call his bluff, I’d have to appeal to his humanity. Not that he had much.
“You have to help me, Jed. Please. I’m desperate. This is going to ruin my reputation. My career. I was wearing a mask. Gabe doesn’t even know it was me. For God’s sake, please. My whole family will see it.”
Jed’s eyes locked with mine. “I came here to warn you, Miri. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t even be doing this. I can’t help you. It’s too late.”
Chapter 37
Gabe
Everythingwasperfect.Miriwas the kind of girlfriend I could only ever have dreamed about. She was so unpretentious. She didn’t care about social media followers or movie premiers. We hung out in our pajamas, eating dinners in the penthouse, and it was enough. At every practice I watched her, knowing that later I’d be stripping her out of those muddy shorts and making her moan. The story would break soon enough, but until then we were having fun keeping things a secret. I was serious about this woman. Mother would have to deal with it.
I took the steps down from the Beaufort Hotel two at a time. Ruby hurried beside me, scrolling her phone and reeling out the day’s appointments. I wanted to get to the part of the day where I would surprise Miri in the changing rooms after training and fuck her hard and fast in the showers.
A short man with his cap pulled low stepped out of the crowd. His voice was low and rough. “I’ve got something you need to see.”
His mean-looking face was vaguely familiar. Ruby took me by the arm and shepherded me down the busy street, but the man followed, darting ahead of us.
“You’re going to want to hear this,” he said.
He checked his wrist. Gold glinted in the afternoon soon. A Rolex.My fucking Rolex.Recognition came screeching into my consciousness. This was the prick from the strip club that had divested me of my watch. The man produced a phone from his denim jacket and clicked on a video clip. I sat on a couch while a naked woman with a short purple bob ground over me. Her head fell back and the pleasure on her face was undeniable as she squeezed her eyes shut and her mouth formed an O shape.
Shit.
My jaw set, tight and grim. “What the fuck is this?”
“It’s you and your hooker girlfriend in a strip club.”
“Why do you have it? What do you want?”
“What do you think I want? I’ll leak your little home movie unless you make it worth my while not to.”
My teeth gritted. Ruby shot me a worried, sidelong glance. What about Miri? I drew a calming breath. This wasn’t my first rodeo. I’d had threats like this before when my phone had been hacked. The lawyers had shut it down before it made the front pages. Okay. It wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t great, but it could have been worse. At least I was fully clothed. It was hardly my fault if a stripper decided to get off on humping my leg. She’d been wearing a mask and a wig. Had she leaked this? Had this been her plan all along?
I’d have to squash it. I could do without Mother getting wind of it. This would be enough to make her withdraw my chances of getting the men’s club forever. Still, I couldn’t let someone blackmail me. I’d call his bluff.
“Do what you want. Nobody will care. You can’t make out the man’s face. It’s a non-story.”
“The director of Calverdale United is fucking a stripper who happens to be his new top goal-scoring striker. That’s definitely a story.”
He jabbed a finger toward the screen. I couldn’t take my eyes from the bruises and scabs that marred his knuckles. His words made no sense.
“What are you talking about?”
His voice was bright with mockery. “Miri Forster has signed with you. No wonder you let her join the team. If the two of you are getting up to that in public, then I bet you’re a happy man behind closed doors.”
My mind reeled. “What does it have to do with Miri?”
“That’s her humping your leg like a bitch on heat.”
I smiled at the absurdity, but an uneasy feeling made the skin at the back of my neck prickle. Of course it wasn’t Miri. She would have told me. There’s no way she would have lied to me like that. It couldn’t be possible. I ran through the interactions I’d had in that room. Except a little something niggled at the back of my mind. Her voice. It had sounded so familiar. But I’d brushed it off because everyone sounded like that round here. It was a coincidence. My stomach churned. My heart pounded. A sick feeling gripped me. Miri wouldn’t betray me like that.
Would she?
Miri had her back to me, brushing her straight golden hair in the mirror in her locker door. She was beautiful. Powerful. Charismatic. Determined. This woman was so under my skin. I couldn’t lose her. The words piled in my mouth, but I didn’t dare speak them. I wanted to watch her a little longer, savor her.
She cocked her head. She must have caught my reflection in the mirror because she swiveled on the spot, a beaming smile lighting her face.
“Gabe?”
