“I don’t know what I’m going to say yet.”
He could see her legs shaking as she walked across the tiled floor toward him. Eyes wild with panic, she touched his arm and tilted her head to look up at him. “You can’t do it, Brody. Please. Don’t turn against my father.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Hayden didn’t know where the words were coming from, but she seemed to have no control over her vocal cords. In the back of her head she knew what she was asking of him was wrong, that if Presley was truly guilty he deserved to pay for his crimes. But this was her father, the only parent she had, the only constant in her life.
“You want me to lie?” Brody said flatly.
She swallowed. “No, I... Maybe if you just didn’t say anything...”
“Lying by omission is still lying, Hayden. And what if they flat-out ask me if Pres bribed anyone? What do I do then?”
Desperation clawed up her throat. She knew she had no right asking him to do this for her, but she couldn’t watch her father’s entire life shatter before her eyes.
“He’s my only family,” she said softly. “I just want to protect him.”
Compassion flickered in Brody’s eyes, but it quickly faded into annoyance. “What about me? Don’t I deserve to be protected, too?”
“Your career isn’t at stake,” she protested.
“Like hell it isn’t!” His eyes flashed, and he took several steps away from her. “My integrity and reputation are on the line here. I won’t throw away my career by lying to protect the team owner, not even for you.”
Tears stung her eyes. Not because of what he’d just said, but because her mind was functioning properly again, and she suddenly felt so very stupid. What the hell had she been thinking, asking him to lie for her dad? Her only defense was that she hadn’t been thinking. For a split second there, the fear seizing her insides was so strong it had overpowered her ability to think logically. Suddenly, she’d been the lonely little girl who’d grown up without a mother, who didn’t want to see her father carted off to jail even if it meant breaking the rules to keep him out of a cell.
Fuck. What was the matter with her? She wasn’t the type of woman who broke rules. And she didn’t condone lies, either.
She couldn’t believe she’d just asked Brody to throw away his honesty and honor.
With shaky steps, she closed the distance between them and pressed her face against his bare chest. She could feel his heart thudding against her ear like a drum.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to lie. It was unfair of me to do that. I’m...” She choked on a sob. “I can’t believe I just did that.”
His hand caressed the small of her back. “It’s okay. I know you’re concerned about him, babe.”
“I just wish... Damn it, Brody, I want to help him.”
“I know,” he said gently. “But your dad is the one who got himself into this mess, and I hate to say it, but he’s the one who’ll have to get himself out of it.”
Hayden’s phone woke her early the next morning, rousing her from a restless sleep and making her groan with displeasure. She was on her side, her back pressed against Brody’s big, warm body, one of his long arms draped over her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the ringing to stop. There was a second or two of blessed silence, and then it rang again. And again. And again.
With a sigh, she disentangled herself from Brody’s arms and slid out from under the covers. The sight of the alarm clock on the nightstand made her grimace. Six o’clock. Who on earth was calling her this early?
“Come back to bed,” came Brody’s sleepy murmur.
“I will after I murder whoever keeps calling,” she grumbled, padding barefoot to the armchair under the window. Her clothes and purse were draped over the chair, and she rummaged around in the pile until she found her cell.
Glancing at the display, she immediately recognized Darcy’s number. Shit. This probably wasn’t good. Not if Darcy was giving up her own beauty sleep to make a call.
Hayden quickly answered. “Darce, hey. What’s wrong?”
“Have you been online at all this morning?”
“That’s what you woke me up to ask?” Hayden edged to the door, not wanting to disturb Brody. She leaned against the wall in the hallway and added, “Of course I haven’t been online! It’s six in the fucking morning. And what are you doing up early enough to be online?”
“I never went to bed last night.” Hayden could practically see the grin on her best friend’s face. “I just sneaked out of Marco’s apartment to call an Uber and—”
“Who’s Marco?”
“Oh, he’s my new personal trainer.” There was a pause. “We hooked up last night.”
“At the rate you’re going, you’ll never be able to find a permanent gym.” She let out a breath. “Can you tell me why you’re calling or can I go back to sleep?”
“You’re all over the internet, babe.”
“What?”
“No joke. It was the first headline I saw when I opened my phone. There’re pictures of you on the front page of every sports and entertainment blog, with your hockey player’s tongue in your mouth and his hands on your ass.”
Horror lodged in her throat. “Bullshit.”
“I’m afraid not.”
Oh, fuck. Darcy sounded dead serious. And if Darcy couldn’t make a smart-ass remark about it, then it must be bad.
“I’ll call you back in a minute,” Hayden blurted out, disconnecting the call.
The T-shirt Brody had given her to sleep in hung all the way down to her knees, but her arms were bare and goose bumps had risen on her skin. The wooden floor was cool under her feet as she quickly descended the stairs down to the living room. She didn’t want to wake Brody, and her entire body felt weak and shivery as she sank onto the couch and pulled up one of the bigger sports sites.
