The man rattled off stats the entire drive, telling me how big a fan he was of mine. Usually, I was friendlier to my fans, but today I just didn’t give a shit. I scratched my autograph on a brochure I found in his backseat and handed it to him. “Thanks,” I said, handing him a twenty and climbing from his musty backseat.
I wasn’t exactly dressed for a bike ride, jeans, t-shirt, and yeah, fuckin’ sandals. I had my credit card, so that was an easy fix. “You the one I spoke to earlier about the Super Glide?” I asked the large man behind the counter.
“Sure am.” He perked up when he looked up and saw me. It was obvious he recognized me.
“Shit, you’re not gonna get me in trouble are ya?” he asked with a chuckle.
I reached for my wallet, pulled out my card, and handed it to him. “I’m gonna need some socks, boots, a jacket, and charge me for whatever it will take to change my name to Dave Peters or Marty Perkins.” I laughed.
I knew this game, I’d played it plenty. They all loved to point out that what I was doing could earn them some cash. It wasn’t about trouble, it was about money. It was always about money. Just like Kat.
“You need any pointers?” the man asked as I slid onto the bike.
“No.”
I started the bike, feeling the rumble beneath me, the vibrations between my fingers made the hair on my neck stand tall. A rush of adrenaline shot through me as I pulled out of the parking lot, leaving a bit of tar behind and plenty of smoke. On the road, I started to calm, and I wondered if my brother felt like this when doing his drug of choice. Maybe we weren’t so different after all.
I crossed the Intracoastal Waterway, the High Bridge, and ran along the Halifax River. I made my way to Ormond Beach, which seemed pretty dead, even for this time of year. The sand dune environment was calming, but I still had that edge grinding against my skin. I revved my engine, took off toward A1A North to Flagler Beach. The cool ocean breeze nipped at my face, and the vibrations from the grips tickled my fingers. My body was relaxing, finally releasing the tension of the last twenty-four hours as I entered the old beach town.
Finn’s Oceanside Pub looked interesting with bright red and blue umbrellas opened on the rooftop bar. Only a couple cars were in the parking lot, and as I walked in, I realized they both must’ve belonged to staff.
“Howdy.” A cute brunette greeted me with a thick southern accent. “Just one?”
I nodded. “I’ll just sit at the bar if ya don’t mind.”
A greasy burger, a couple beers, and the little brunette’s number, and I was ready to roll. I had no intention of using the number, but it felt good to flirt. To live. Who needed Kat? This chick had no idea who I was. To her, I was just some guy on a Harley who'd come in for a burger and a beer. Maybe that’s what I needed, a woman with no idea who I was, or how much money I had.
“Thanks, darlin’.”
I slapped a hundred dollar bill on the bar to cover my twenty dollar tab and left. I owed her something. Hell, her not knowing who the fuck I was made me realize I didn’t need Kat or any woman like her. They couldn’t be trusted. Gold diggers.
My body was at ease as I passed through the large oak canopies, the sweeping grass savannahs, and rode along the blue ocean until I reached the Harley shop. A cab picked me up, this time not the chatterbox from before, and the entire ride back I continued to tell myself that Kat was yesterday’s news.
I was over it.
I was done.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Katrina
I dangled my feet into the condo’s pool while sipping on a fruity cocktail. The players were all heading out for the night, enjoying another victory celebration from their earlier scrimmage. Todd wasn’t even looking at me, and when I tried to approach him, he just walked away. He wasn’t mean, but his cold actions told me he’d made up his mind. It was over.
At least he hadn’t spread my secret, none of the guys had. For that, I was grateful.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” Kane asked.
“No. Did you talk to Todd?”
“I did. He’s not exactly my biggest fan right now.”
I sighed and leaned back with my hands flattened on the rough concrete. I could use some company, but I knew it was best to steer clear of Kane, even if it was only a friendship blooming between us. Todd and Calvin were finally working well together, the last thing they needed was another conflict on the team.
“Go have fun. I’m fine.”
Kane’s eyes squinted as his head tilted like a puppy. “You sure?”
“I promise. Go!”
My phone rang, my mother’s face displayed across the screen. I wasn’t in the mood to listen to how my dad was so sorry and how everything was going to be okay. It wasn’t okay.
The ringing finally stopped but immediately started again without time for a voicemail. It was unlike her. I picked up the phone, slid to answer as I hoped and prayed nothing had happened.
“Hello?”
“Katrina, oh my God!” Her voice was frantic as she shouted into my ear.
“Mom, what is it?”
“Your dad, Katrina. They broke all his fingers.” She was sobbing so hard I barely understood the words.
“W-who?”
I listened as my mother explained between sobs that the loan sharks had come to collect on Dad’s debt. One million dollars. Who incurs that kind of debt, and how?
“Mom, what are you going to do?” I asked, feeling sick at the thought of what they would do next if they didn’t get paid.
“They gave him a week,” she said, sniffing hard now, but sounding much stronger.
I didn’t even ask what would happen after the week was up. I had a good idea. Thugs who were willing to break a baseball legend's fingers weren’t playing around.
“Katrina, they took what little we had left.”
I couldn’t imagine that they got off with much from their small condo. Almost everything they had was sold before the move. All that was left was whatever jewelry my mother'd managed to stash away, my dad’s trophies, and my…
“I have my ring.” I stood, heading toward the elevator.
There was a long pause before she whispered, “Can you send it?”
My heart squeezed at the loss of my last treasure, but as I punched the “up” button, I said, “It may buy him some time.”
It was a beautiful ring. Ten carats, but not worth a million dollars. I wasn’t sure how much time it would buy him, but any was worth it.
I was frantic as I disconnected the call. Too worried to even cry as I thought about the possibility of losing my dad. My last words to him were angry. What would I have done if I'd lost him without telling him I forgave him, that I loved him?
The small safe in my room was stashed high in the closet’s top shelf. I had to use my step stool to reach it as I carefully entered the combination for it to pop open. My ring, my beautiful ring. It seemed so meaningless now, so small and insignificant as I held it in my hand. Nothing was more important than my father’s life, especially not this material item I’d probably never feel comfortable enough to wear again anyway.
I quickly dressed, shoved the ring deep into my purse, and headed to the front desk. “I need to send something to Georgia right away,” I told the man behind the counter.
“We can do money transfers here at the desk,” he said politely.