Fastball (27 page)

Jake knew he should have asked to be yanked
out of the line-up for tonight’s game, but his stubborn pride had
stopped him. Now he was paying the price—stuck out there in the
outfield, trying to focus on every pitch and every swing, yet able
to think of nothing but Maddie and the trouble she was getting
herself into. When he booted an easy play off the wall in the third
inning, he had known it was going to be a long, crappy night, and
it was. The Patriots barely managed to eke out a win, no thanks to
him.

Grateful for once to be off the field, Jake
hurled his glove into the dugout and headed straight into the
clubhouse, ignoring the usual post-game bullshit with the other
players. Heading into the locker room, he found Robbie already
half-undressed and looking one hundred percent pissed off.

“You’re not leaving here until you’ve talked
to me,” Jake said in a low voice. “Hang back until the other guys
have cleared out.”

“Why don’t you just say what you want to say
now, and get it over with?” Robbie said with a sneer. “That way I
don’t have to hold up my meeting with your girlfriend.”

Jake repressed the impulse to lift Robbie up
by his collar and shake him, glancing around instead. Everyone else
was ignoring them so far. “Okay, if that’s the way you want it.
Actually, before the game I asked Maddie not to meet you, but she
blew me off.”

Robbie stared at him suspiciously, but
finally gave a half-satisfied grunt. “She claimed you didn’t tell
her about our conversation. But how the hell then does she know so
much?”

“It doesn’t matter a damn how,” Jake snapped,
pissed off that Robbie was treating him like the enemy when he was
risking his own career. “But I did tell her I was going to help you
pay off your debt to Nazarian on the condition that you stopped
betting and got into a program. Unfortunately, she thinks you’re
not entirely trustworthy in that regard, and I have to say your
attitude isn’t doing a hell of a lot to reassure me.”

Robbie’s face flushed an ugly red, and he
opened his mouth to argue.

Jake held up a hand. “Look, I know what
you’re going to say—that I should have been able to talk her out of
it. But I couldn’t. Maddie believes she’s doing the right thing,
and that’s all there is to it. So, we have to deal with it because
she’s not going to back off.”

“I told her she was getting in way over her
head,” Robbie spat as he continued to get dressed. “She has to get
her head on straight before it’s too late. I’m going to tell her
again right now, but I’m not holding my breath that she’ll listen.
She’s one headstrong bitch. I know she’s hot, but she’s gonna bring
you grief, man. I guarantee it.” Robbie grabbed his wallet out of
his locker and reached for his jacket.

Jake gripped Robbie’s arm, squeezing until
the other man winced. “You watch what you say about her,
friend
. Maddie isn’t to blame for this situation. You are.”
He kept his voice very low, letting his lethal tone underscore his
words. He’d beat Robbie to a fucking pulp if he did anything to
hurt Maddie. “Now, listen up. I’m telling you that you’ve got to
promise me you’ll do what I say on this. That means getting into
rehab right away.”

Robbie tried to pull away, but his strength
was no match for Jake’s and he grimaced.

“What’s going on?” a deep voice said.

Startled, Jake looked behind him. Jack Ault
stood a few feet away, hands on his hips and glaring at them.

Jake released Robbie and faked a casual
shrug. “Nothing much. We’re just having a little disagreement.
Nothing we can’t handle. Right, Rob?”

Robbie managed a sickly smile.

Ault’s gaze narrowed. “Better not be, because
I’m keeping an eye on you, Benton. I don’t much like your attitude
these days, and you better fucking well straighten up quick or
else.” On that happy note, he headed to his office.

Jake sighed. “What did I tell you? Management
is already getting suspicious.”

“Fuck that. I’m out of here,” Robbie
retorted, taking a step away.

“You take one more step and I swear I’ll deck
you right here,” Jake growled. “I’m the one pulling your ass out of
the fire, so you’ll go when I tell you I’m finished.”

Robbie gave a sullen shrug, but eased himself
down on the bench in front of the lockers.

Jake leaned a shoulder against the locker
frame, searching for the words that might do the trick. “Look, I’ve
been thinking about this nonstop since we talked. Maybe it’s best
that you come clean now with the team—at least about your gambling
addiction—before it has a chance to get out.”

Robbie’s jaw dropped.

“Yeah,” Jake said quickly, “it could mean
you’re done with baseball. But at least you’ll have your life
and
your pension. And the pension’s something you won’t get
if you keep on gambling and get caught betting on baseball. You’d
be risking everything if you don’t do it, Rob.”

“Not if everybody would just shut the hell
up!”

“You can’t put the genie back in the bottle,
man. I think you should just tell Maddie that we’ve talked and
you’re seriously thinking about coming clean to the team. If you
do, I think she might back off. And I’m willing to go with you when
you talk to Ault and Dembinski.”

Robbie snorted. “Don’t do me any favors.
Dembinski hates your guts.”

When Jake started to bristle, Robbie shot to
his feet. “Look, Jake, I’m sorry but I can’t do it. Who knows what
management might do? They don’t give a shit about a guy like me. In
fact, they’ll probably even want to make an example out of me.”

“Jesus, Robbie! If you
don’t
go to
them first, that might be exactly what will happen.”

“Maybe, but I can’t take the risk. And if you
can’t get Maddie to drop this shit, I’ll have to do it myself.” He
started to walk away.

Jake shot out a hand and grabbed the guy’s
shoulder. He didn’t turn him around, just leaned in close to
Robbie’s ear to deliver his message in a deadly whisper. “Listen,
Rob. We’ve been friends for a long time, but if anything happens to
her—and I mean
anything
—you’re gonna wish you’d never heard
my name.”

“Back off,” Robbie said. “I’m just going to
talk to her. Maybe I can be more convincing than you are.”

“Yeah, right.” Jake snorted as he pushed
Robbie away. He headed across to his own locker, not bothering to
look back. He stripped, grabbed a towel, and stalked to the
showers.

Ten minutes later, he was dressed and on his
way to the parking lot. As he strode out of the concourse, he
scanned the fenced private lot. Maddie’s Fusion was parked in the
row behind his Tahoe, but there was no sign of her. He thought
briefly about trying to find somewhere to listen in on her
conversation with Robbie, but there was no place where he could be
sure she wouldn’t spot him. If she saw him watching her, she’d be
even more pissed off at him than she already was. As much as his
heart ordered him to stay and make sure she’d be safe, his brain
told him to get out of there and go home. He’d made it clear to
Robbie that if anything happened to Maddie, he was dead meat.
Robbie was really too much of a chicken shit to do anything,
anyway, Jake figured.

So, he had no choice but to wait until Maddie
called him or came over later. Too restless and wired to head
straight home, Jake decided to get a quick drink at a bar down the
street from his condo. Maybe a beer would help settle his
nerves.

Then again, probably not.

***

Maddie had spent the entire game hunched down
in her seat in the press box, avoiding conversation with the other
reporters as she struggled to focus on her work. But doubts and
questions had blown her concentration all to hell, especially when
she mentally replayed Jake’s parting words to her. Her throat
tightened at the idea that they might be finished, and she found
herself questioning why she insisted on pursuing Robbie’s story.
Would it really be worth all the pain she was causing, both to Jake
and to herself?

But no matter how many angles she approached
it from, she couldn’t back away now. She’d sworn to herself that
she’d never let her feelings for Jake get in the way of doing her
job, and doing it ethically and responsibly. She was already
crossing a line just by secretly dating him, and she wouldn’t allow
herself to slide any further down that slippery slope. No matter
what happened with Jake, Maddie had to live with herself and know
she’d done the right thing.

Not that she was naïve enough to think the
situation with Robbie would end well, but she had to give it a
shot. Maybe he’d surprise her—get scared enough by her threat that
he’d go straight to Patriots’ management for help. Not likely, but
it was enough of a possibility to give it a try.

If that didn’t work, she hoped she could
could rattle him enough to get him to say something stupid,
something that might give her a decent lead to follow in case the
paper decided to run with the story. There were lots of low-life
gamblers out there who might be willing to cooperate if only she
could get to them. But finding guys like that wouldn’t be that
easy, and if she did manage to find them, they might well be too
afraid of Joey Nazarian to talk.

Now that the game was finally over and
everyone had cleared the field, she put the finishing touches on
her story, then packed up her computer and got organized to go. She
didn’t rush because Robbie needed time to shower and dress, plus
she didn’t want to run into any of the other players if she could
help it. Not tonight.

Minutes later, when she finally reached the
parking lot, all but a few cars had vanished, even Jake’s Tahoe.
She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful he’d had the sense not to
hang around. That had been her biggest fear—that he’d try to stop
her. Too bad a tiny, stupid part of her wished he had.

She leaned against her car, giving a quick
glance at her watch. After eleven. The game had been over for over
forty-five minutes, plenty of time for Robbie to shower and change,
and even grab a post-game snack if he wanted to. So, where was he?
Had he bailed on her, after all?

“Maddie.”

She jerked around. Robbie’s voice had come
from behind a storage shed outside the gate to the lot.

“Dammit, Robbie! You almost made me jump out
of my skin,” she gasped, pressing her hand against her pounding
heart. She could barely make him out in the shadows.

He waved a hand. “Over here. I don’t want
anybody to see us.”

Muttering under her breath, Maddie hurried
over. Robbie leaned against the shed’s metal wall, drawing hard on
a cigarette, his gaze cast to the ground. If ever a guy looked
guilty, this man surely did.

As he sucked on the cigarette the red tip
glowed, casting weird shadows that distorted his features in a way
that sent an instinctive shiver down her spine.

“So, talk,” he snapped. “And make it fast.
You wanted this, not me.”

She closed her eyes for a second, composing
herself. “Thanks for coming, Robbie,” she said in a calm, almost
friendly voice. An aggressive approach wouldn’t work with him, and
if she appeared somewhat sympathetic he might let his guard down,
if only for a moment. “I know this can’t be easy for you. Really I
do. But you’ve got a problem—a big problem—and we need to talk
about it. Sooner or later, word of your gambling is going to get
out, and by that time it will be too late.”

“Shit, why are you wasting my time?” He
pitched his cigarette to the ground. The burning end hit the
asphalt first, sending little sparks flaring into the air. “I know
Jake talked to you, so just tell me what you want from me.”

Maddie had to bite back a cutting reply.
“Like I told you already, Jake didn’t come to me with this. Not
only did he
not
tell me, when I confronted him about it he
wanted me to forget it and leave you alone.”

He stared at her for several long seconds,
assessing her. “Whatever. But you’ve still got a bug up your ass,
so let’s just get this over with, okay?”

“Sure,” she said with a nod. “Let me tell you
what I know. First, you’ve been betting big dollars with a bookie
named Joey Nazarian. Second, you’re into Nazarian for something
like two hundred thousand bucks. Third, you’ve been laying bets on
baseball, probably even betting on your own games.” She paused a
moment, trying to gauge his expression. “How am I doing, Robbie?”
she prodded, trying to sound way more confident than she felt.

Unfortunately, he betrayed no surprise at
all, not even with the final accusation. He must still think she’d
gotten all her info from Jake, so nothing she said would have
surprised him. That sucked, since she clearly wouldn’t be shocking
him into any blurted admissions.

He took his time pulling out another
cigarette and lighting it before responding.

Jerk.

“Do you actually expect me to dignify shit
like that with an answer?” he said, sneering.

Her only strategy at this point was to play
the hardass. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared back at
him, not saying a word.

Robbie shrugged. “So what if I like to bet a
little? It’s none of your damn business. As far as betting on
baseball, you must be fucking out of your mind. I know you’re new
to the big leagues, but even you can’t be that stupid.” He let out
an ugly laugh. “Then again, I guess Jake isn’t banging you for your
brains.”

A shimmering wave of fury pulsed through her
body, but she forced herself not to respond to the taunt. Robbie
clearly wanted her to lose her temper.

“Do you intend to keep on doing what you’ve
been doing, like nothing’s happened?” she asked in an icy voice.
“You’ve got an addiction, for God’s sake. And now you’re dragging
Jake into your stupid mess, which means you’ll wind up bringing him
down with you. What kind of friend does that?”