Rookie Mistake: A Sports Romance Novel (The Beasts of Baseball Book 1) (62 page)

“Zek.” Mark’s voice caught my attention, and I glanced up to see my brother standing beside Lizzy with a cane in his hand. I knew his leg was still giving him problems from the accident, but I didn’t realize he wasn’t able to walk unassisted.

“Hey, bro. Lizzy.” I smiled at them both and took the stack of clothes the guard in the window to my left offered.

“These were what you came in with, but with all that muscle you earned, I’m not sure your big ass will fit in them anymore.” The woman smiled and winked at me. “Good luck, Zek. Keep your nose clean and go live the life you should be living, hm?”

“Yes, ma’am.” I took the clothes and walked out of the gate to hug my brother and then Lizzy. A sigh of relief left me as the gate slammed closed. “Done.”

“Yeah, you are. Fuck, we’ve missed you so much.” My brother patted my back before pulling me into another hug. “You’re alright, right? They didn’t mentally fuck you up in there or anything?”

“Mark. Jeez. Your language.” Lizzy shook her head and moved to open the door for us.

I chuckled. “He always throws out f-bombs when he’s excited or at a loss for words.”

“Don’t I know it.” Lizzy turned back and rolled her eyes dramatically.

“I’m good though. Honestly. It was a shitty twelve months, but having time to really think through everything gave me a sense of peace I might not have gotten otherwise.” I shrugged and moved to get in the back of the car.

Mark reached for me again. “Hey. You can sit up front. I’m good riding in the back.”

“No way. Get in and stop being nice. I’m liable to kick you in your gimp knee if you keep it up.” I pushed his hand away playfully and got into the car. I wanted to ask where Alisa was, but it wasn’t the time. Besides, I knew good and damn well where she was. Anywhere but with me.

I’d worked so hard to push her from my life out of a jacked up sense of self-destruction. It seemed to be working. I hadn’t heard a word from her in the last six months. If it hadn’t been for the workout areas and time to force pain upon myself through exercise, I would have lost my mind.

“Good to know you’re still my jack-ass brother.” Mark glanced back and let out a long sigh. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

“Me? You’re the one sporting a cane. What’s the latest from the doctors?” I settled into the backseat and turned my head slightly, wanting to capture the city as we drove through it. There were nights in my cell that I felt like I might never get to see it again.

“I have another surgery in a couple of months. That should help out. It’s just a nerve that was destroyed in the accident. It causes me too much pain—”

“Not when you take your pain meds.” Lizzy reached over and popped my brother in the chest softly. The smile on her pretty face warmed me, and I wanted someone to smile at me the same way.

Not someone — Alisa.

“Those pain meds make it hard for me to get aroused, Liz. You know I hate that.” He turned and gave me a serious stare. “Pain or limp dick?”

Lizzy let out a yelp as I chuckled. At least the accident hadn’t dented my brother’s quirky personality.

“I’d rather be in pain.” I closed my eyes and took a quick breath. “Hey—”

“So Alisa was going to come today, but she changed her mind at the last minute.” Lizzy’s voice turned into something more professional, and I opened my eyes to watch her in the rear-view mirror as she adjusted it. “I think she felt like it was a time for you to be with your family. I tried to tell her that she was damn close to being family, but she wouldn’t have any of it.”

I was grateful that Lizzy saved me from having to ask about Alisa and sound as needy as I felt, but hearing why she didn’t come left me aching. Absently rubbing my chest, I turned to look back out the window and let the conversation die between us. One thing I’d learned in prison was that I didn’t have to be anything that I wasn’t. If I was pissed, people knew it there. If I was sad, hurt, happy, or lonely — I let myself be just that. It was a different life, but I knew I was changed for the better.

No more making people think I was something I wasn’t, or forcing myself into the mold that society or the women I dated believed I should fit in. I was my own man, and once I figured out exactly who I was in the scope of my freedom, I was going to live that life to the fullest.

“It’s all good. She’s right.” I reached up toward the front of the car and squeezed Mark’s shoulder. “You guys taking me to the police station?”

“No. Your parole officer was moving in this morning. I helped facilitate all of that earlier, but Alisa did all of work prior to today.”

Lizzy turned off the freeway and headed down a narrow street that led to my mansion. Half of my net worth had been split off to Jeffery before the government applied their fine, so I was hit with a fifty percent fine on a much smaller number. I still had the house, my building downtown, and more than enough money to support me and my family for the years to come. I was blessed and grateful.

“Who is this guy and is he with me all the time?” I sat up as my house came into my vision through the front window.

“His name is Ronald, and he seems like a great guy.” Mark turned to watch me. “I was with Lizzy this morning. I wanted to see who he was and try to get a read on him for you.”

“Great.” I unbuckled. “I’m nervous about being home. How weird is that?”

“Not at all.” Lizzy parked the car next to my Lexus and turned in her seat. “Ronald will be here all the time because of the way the judge wrote up the sentence. Not unusual for rich dudes like you.” She gave me a warm smile. “He seems like the kind of guy you’ll come to like, but he has rules on top of him that, of course, flow down to you. Don’t go against any of them, or the state has the ability to throw you right back into jail. Got it?”

“I’m good.” I reached for the door handle and got out, pausing beside the car to take in the beauty of my house. It reminded me of the hard work I’d put into my life for so long. It was a symbol of the goodness in my past that I knew I could cling to as I worked to rebuild the future.

“You want us to go in with you?” Mark rolled down the window as Lizzy turned the car off.

“No. I’d like to do it on my own, but thanks.” I turned and leaned down so that I could see Lizzy as well. “Thanks, guys. I love you both. See you soon? Can you visit or what’s the deal?”

“We can visit daily, and if you get in good with Ronald, we can stay longer than the orders allow.” Lizzy reached across Mark and squeezed my arm. “You might only have your phone during certain hours of the day, so use your time wisely.”

“I will. See you tomorrow.” I moved back from the car and watched them go as I tried to slow my racing heart. I was being childish about the whole matter, but I couldn’t help it. Memories were all around me, and having to stand alone left me weak. Too bad I’d made the call to be exactly where I was and not with Alisa standing beside me.

“You must be Zek.” A deep, rich voice sounded behind me, and I turned to find a bulky dark-skinned man with a welcoming smile and bright blue eyes.

“I am. And you’re Ronald?” I extended my hand and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“I don’t hear that too often.” He chuckled and shook my hand firmly. “Come on in and reacquaint yourself with your place. I’m going to run out and pick up a pizza. You picky on the kind?”

I shook my head. “No. Anything sounds good.”

“Great. I’ll put the ankle bracelet on you as soon as I get back. I’d advise that you enjoy a hot shower before I do. They’re not real friendly in warm water, and once it’s on, it stays on.” He smirked and pulled his keys from his pocket.

I turned and let my eyes run across the driveway, searching for a car. A beautiful black Harley sat on the far side of my Lexus, and my stomach tightened just seeing it. I’d always wanted one, and yet never found the time or energy to make it happen.

“Beautiful bike.” I crossed my arms over my chest as he walked toward it.

“Stop staring at my girl. She only belongs to one man, and that’s not ever changing.” He chuckled, and I couldn’t help but smile. He seemed like a good guy. Lizzy was right… I could become friends with him, though I doubted he’d allow that to happen.

“She’s a looker. Better hold on tight.” I waved and turned to walk into the house. Another shot of fear raced through me, and I stifled a groan as my heart constricted in my chest.

I wanted Alisa with me. I needed to catch a whiff of her perfume when I walked into the house, or see her purse on the counter. We hadn’t gotten that far in our relationship when everything went to hell in a handbasket, but I’d imagined a life together countless times over the last year. I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d imagined it too.

I walked into the kitchen and moved to the living room, stopping to catch my breath. It felt as if I’d run around the block ten times, and yet I was in perfect shape.

The image of us on the floor together, her on my lap, trying like crazy not to fall for me brushed by the back of my eyelids as I closed my eyes. A soft cry left me and tears burned, threatening to spill down my face. I’d had to be strong for the last twelve months, and I would for the rest of my days, but for that one moment, I needed to breathe.

“I miss you so fucking bad,” I whispered into the emptiness and pressed my hands to my face as a sob resonated from deep in my chest. I prayed like hell that she’d found someone else, someone better than me. She deserved everything life could offer, and I wanted to promise her the moon if she would just wait with me one more year, but I couldn’t. No matter the desire, the need, the intense pain that wrecked my insides, I wouldn’t reach out to her.

Besides, she had to have found a man. She was too much woman to be alone for too long unattended.

CHAPTER 2

e

Alisa

“M
s. Manning. Are you listening?” The older woman in my office tapped the table between us, yanking me from my thoughts as I sat before her and nodded absently.

“Of course. I’m sorry if I looked like I dozed off a little. It’s been a long week, and I’ve not been sleeping. Tell me one more time what Fred wanted to do with the estate in London.” I pressed my pencil to my lips and forced myself to remain cognizant.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” She reached out and squeezed my hand as she droned on about the various estates her late husband left, and the items that would be worth millions each. I could care less. My job was to prove that she was owed some part of that derived value. Her late husband’s children weren’t too happy about sharing, and I couldn’t blame them. My client had been married to the deceased man for less than six months before he passed.

“Tell me more, please.” I gave her a weak smile and slipped on my facade tightly as my thoughts moved back to Zek. They were always on Zek, but it had been so for the last twenty years. If I hadn’t thought about him more than a couple of times a day, something would have been wrong. He was bordering on obsession in my mind, but I was good with it. He and I had gone our separate ways, and I would heal eventually.

By the time you’re this chick’s age.

I hadn’t seen him in just over six months, but he was being released from prison that morning. Glancing up at the clock, I realized that he was probably already home. A warm jolt of desire ran through me at the thought of showing up at his door and throwing myself at him. He wouldn’t refuse me. He was far too good to me to do something like that.

I’d almost forgotten how good it felt to have him hold me, to hear the sound of his voice, to feel the warmth of his lips. I needed a refresher, and yet he’d been quite clear the last time I visited him that he felt nothing for me. It was only a friendship when we were kids, and that’s all it was now too.

Fucking liar.

I’d known him too long to believe his bullshit lies, but I’d simply nodded that day and said my goodbyes. He wanted to have time to think things through and play martyr in the process, and that’s what I gave him. I had no doubt that he was hoping I would come with Lizzy and Mark to get him, but until he opened himself up to trust me, there was little I could do to get him back. Going to his house that night was on my mind to the point of dragging me from all other thoughts.

“So that’s all of them. Tell me what you think.” The older woman sat back and let out a weary sigh. She had to be exhausted from talking about all the riches that belonged to her. It was a conversation that would tire out anyone. I stifled the need to make a handful of inappropriate comments and instead opened the file in front of me.

“I think we have a good chance of winning this.” I glanced up at her and forced a tight smile. “I’ll need a list of the assets, their relative values and a handful of other things.”

“Oh, excellent.” She stood and picked up her purse. “Just send my assistant an e-mail with everything you need, and we’ll get it right over to you.”

“Wonderful, Ms. Deeming, and thanks for coming to visit. I think we’ll be a great match for your needs.” I walked her to the door of my office and offered my hand as she turned.

“I think so too. With all the work you guys have done over the last few years to bring good karma to your name as a firm, I just couldn’t go anywhere else.” She shook my hand as she clutched her bag tightly with the other hand. “Thanks again.”

I nodded and sucked my bottom lip into my mouth to keep from saying anything under my breath. I’d always wanted to be a defense lawyer, and I was damn good at it, but it was wearing on me much faster than I expected it to.

It probably had much more to do with the fact that I didn’t have someone to go home to at night, or anyone to share my life with, and less about my interest dimming in the field of law. There was nothing like a good mystery that needed solving. I could only think of one thing that got my heart racing faster — Zek Kellington.

“How do you keep getting all of the good cases?” Our newest addition to the firm moved toward me, pausing just beside me and watched Ms. Deeming as she left. Dillon was a few years older than me, handsome as sin and so full of himself that it made most of us ill.