She didn’t hesitate.
Instead, she climbed over the railing, then jumped down to me almost before I was ready for her.
She hit me with an “oomph” of exhaled breath and tightened her arms around my neck.
Her arms were resting on my shoulder pads, and she was staring at me like I’d just broken her heart.
I might have.
Multiple times at that point.
“I’m going to kill you, stupid,” she whispered.
Her words weren’t nice, but the way she sounded saying them said more than the words themselves.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated.
I’d said that so many times at this point, it was probably not holding any meaning whatsoever.
But I’d say the words until I was blue in the face, because I was goddamn sorry.
The last two months had been sheer hell being away from her.
At first, it was because the paparazzi had a field day with the pictures.
Then, about two weeks ago when the media frenzy with the pictures died down, it was about the fact that Tantor had gone to ground and hadn’t been found since.
After setting me up, he seemed content with the havoc that he’d wrought.
So content, in fact, that he had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth, and he’d stayed out of sight since.
Hell, even Tyson hadn’t seen him. According to him, that was a big deal seeing as he loved to torture Tyson every chance he got.
My guess was that he was making other things happen, things we weren’t going to like all that much.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
I was worried that the things Tantor was working on were going to break me, and I was terrified that in doing so, he’d take Conleigh out, too.
But I didn’t say that to her.
Instead, I looked her in the eyes and said, “I’ve loved you for what feels like my whole life, and I’ve never felt emptier than I have these last two months without you here in my arms.”
She hiccupped as a tear started to descend down her cheek.
“Not to break up this makeup lovefest or anything, but if you don’t want your life plastered in the gossip rags—along with a picture of your girl’s ass—I’d suggest you get into the locker room already.”
I turned to find Joe standing there grinning like a loon.
I felt my hands clench, and only then realized that both of them already had a tight hold on each perfect globe of Conleigh’s ass.
“Shit,” I said and turned.
She patted me on the shoulder pad.
“I can walk,” she informed me haughtily.
I snorted. “And I can carry you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
***
Despite the wind blowing past my face and into my still slightly damp hair, I felt discontent.
Normally this was something that made me feel free.
Over the last two months, I’d done a hell of a lot of riding when things were bad—and there were a lot of those times.
But Conleigh was currently behind me in her car, not behind me on my bike, and I felt discord running through my veins.
I’d felt it for over twenty minutes now, and I wanted nothing more than to pull the bike over just so she’d do the same, and then yank her out of the car and remind myself that she was talking to me.
Remind myself that she was there.
We hadn’t talked at all once we’d gotten into the locker room.
There’d been too many people and not enough quiet space.
And when we got outside, more reporters were waiting at the gates, looking for players—mainly Conleigh and I—to come out and talk to them. But it was really our story that they wanted.
Badly.
Which led to now, me pulling into the driveway of my house.
My hands were shaking, and it probably wasn’t the safest thing in the world to be driving like that.
But Conleigh was there, pulling in right behind me, and I couldn’t fucking breathe.
She got out of the car, and I remained sitting, trying to make my legs work.
It was the sight of her walking up behind me, throwing her arms around my shoulders from behind, that finally made me take a calming breath.
She wasn’t going to leave.
“I got the pictures off everywhere,” I blurted. “They’re not anywhere. And I swear to God, Con. I didn’t do that. I was drugged.”
Her shoulders slumped.
“My parents came into town and told me. Apparently Steel thought I was being an asshole for not forgiving you for something that out of your control.” Her voice quivered. “How could you do that to me?” She shook her head. “I haven’t seen the internet, or the pictures, or anything since I left you standing in the hospital parking lot,” she admitted. “I’ve taken a break from everything, my phone and computer included. But if I’d known…Linc. I wouldn’t have left like that. I wouldn’t have done anything but hold you tight.”
I knew she wouldn’t, which was the whole fucking point of leaving her in the dark.