The Ninth Inning (The Boys of Baseball #1) - J. Sterling Page 0,44
tone equally as pissed as my own as he fidgeted against them.
“You knew that she didn’t drink hard alcohol. You knew, and you gave her shots anyway.”
The possessive way I felt for Christina was almost animalistic. He had intentionally tried to hurt her even more than I’d originally suspected, and I wanted to fucking destroy him for it.
“Yeah, I knew,” he admitted. “Is that what you want to hear? I knew she hated shots, but I got her to drink them anyway. I wanted her to loosen up. She’s always so tense. Was she like that with you? Wound up tight like a teenage virgin? Is that why you didn’t keep her around?”
I shoved Chance aside with one last hard push and charged for Logan, my vision blurred red with my anger. “You’d better not have touched her,” I roared. “I’ll fucking kill you if you put your hands on her after getting her drunk.”
Mac blocked Logan’s body with his own, knowing that I would never hit him. Reaching around Mac, I tried to get at Logan, but Mac wouldn’t allow it. He used his shoulders to completely block me, making me flail around like a fucking idiot.
“Get out of my way,” I said through a clenched jaw.
“No,” Mac ground out, using his force to keep me at bay.
“Tell me you didn’t touch her.” I continued making a scene as a crowd gathered around us, but I didn’t care anymore. At this point, Christina’s safety was the only thing on my mind, not a bunch of baseball groupies.
“I’m not telling you shit,” he spat over Mac’s shoulder, toward me.
“Get the fuck out of here, Logan.” Chance’s voice was loud, boisterous, and demanding.
“Why am I the bad guy here?” Logan actually had the nerve to ask. “Cole’s the one all wound up over some chick who isn’t even his. You can’t be mad at me for wanting her.”
“You don’t want her. You just want to fuck with him,” Chance said, sounded exasperated. “And we all know it. Stop playing games.”
“Tell me you didn’t touch her,” I yelled again, demanding he answer me, but he refused and stayed silent, giving me nothing but a wink he knew I’d interpret badly.
Mac turned Logan around and shoved him toward the front door where someone opened it. “It’s time you leave,” Mac growled, but Logan shrugged him off.
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll let Cole go,” Chance said above the noise, and I made a show of struggling.
“You won’t. And we both know it,” he said matter-of-factly, but I knew his confidence was because of Coach’s rule.
Logan moved toward the door. “Way to pick sides, assholes. We’re supposed to be a team,” he shouted before looking right at me. “This isn’t over.” He slammed the door so hard that it rattled on its frame, and I watched as Mac rushed out after him, most likely to make sure he actually left.
Chance still gripped my shoulders, making sure I stayed put.
“You heard him, right? You heard him say that he knew she didn’t drink liquor,” I asked, my words coming out in a mixture of anger and disbelief as the truth settled in.
“I heard him. We all did.”
I stood there, shaking my head back and forth. “It’s not right. You don’t do things like that,” I said to no one in particular as Mac walked back into the house and announced that Logan was gone.
Cheers filled the air, and everyone dispersed back to wherever they had been before all the chaos broke out. Chance finally released me, and I thanked him for having my back as Mac walked over.
“You okay?” Mac asked.
I wasn’t sure how to answer. I wasn’t okay in the slightest, and I was worried about Christina. Did Logan touch her? Or do something to her without her consent? I needed to make sure she was all right.
“Go get her already,” Chance smacked me on the back and gave me a little shove.
“Seriously, what are you waiting for? A hand-engraved invitation?” Mac added with a grin.
“Thanks,” I said before shooting off like a bat out of hell, keys in hand, heading toward my truck in the driveway.
Just One More Chance
Christina
My cell phone vibrated against the coffee table. I leaned forward from the couch and looked at the number and face flashing on my screen.
Cole.
I debated not answering, but the warm buzz of emotions from the night left my self-control weaker and more vulnerable than usual.
“Hello?” I answered, and his breaths came out fast, like he’d been running.