Blitzed (The Alpha Ballers #3) (7 page)

This time I shoved him away, taking a couple steps backward, still a little unsure of walking in heels this high, and I very nearly tripped, but instead collided with a table behind me. “Steve, no! I don’t want to go any further. Can we please go back to the party?” I didn’t really want to go back to the party, though, at least not with Steve. And definitely not before I could get to a bathroom and clean myself up.

Steve took a step toward me. “We’ll go back to the party, alright, Mackenzie, when we’re done here.” He took another step toward me, closing the gap between us, and I had no where to go with the table behind me. “But we’re not done here yet.”

“Don’t come any closer, Steve.” Whatever affection I had had for this guy I’d been on a few dates with was all gone, turned to ash in just a few moments. What had looked like an attractive and well-to-do guy had revealed himself as a monster.

“Or what, Mackenzie? What’ll you do?” He leaned forward and I could feel his hot breath on me. I closed my eyes, unable to move, not sure what I should do. Would anyone hear me if I screamed? Would anyone believe me?

“Please, Steve,” I pleaded, hoping to appeal to whatever goodness there might be inside him. “Please let’s just forget this ever happened and leave.”

“I’d like to do that, Mackenzie,” Steve’s voice got higher, like he was arguing with himself in a different voice. His eyes had lost their directness, like he wasn’t even present in the moment while attacking me. “But we’re not done here yet, so I ca-“

“You’re fucking done here, pal,” a gruff and hard voice called out from behind Steve. He turned around, surprised at the intrusion. At first Steve looked straight across at the man who had interrupted him, but when he came face to face with muscle instead of a head, Steve slowly turned his neck upward. “You just don’t know it yet.”

Hudson Asher stood in the doorway, barely able to fit through it without turning to the side first. My breath quickened even further. As horrible a situation as was I in, seeing Hudson in front of me like that made me weak in the knees.

Steve swallowed. “This doesn’t concern you, Asher.” He pointed at me over his shoulder with his thumb. “This is between me and Mackenzie.”

“I’m making it concern me, Steve,” Hudson spit out his name. “You’ve got about 5 seconds to leave the room and never speak to Mackenzie again, or I can’t promise anything after that.”

Steve barked out a laugh. “Or you’ll what?” He raised his arms, waving his hands in front of Hudson like he was pantomiming being scared. “The big old linebacker’s gonna stare at me funny? Is that what you’ll do? Try and tackle me and miss?” He laughed again. “Please. You won’t do shit. Run along, Asher.”

I couldn’t tell whether Steve’s demeanor was an act or unreasonable confidence or a sly game meant to try and throw Hudson off. Whatever it was, I was thrilled to see it not work.

Hudson took a step closer and if it were possible he stood up even straighter, towering over Steve. I couldn’t see Steve’s face from this angle, but I could feel his entire body hunch over a little bit, like his confidence was beginning to fail him.

“W-wait, Asher, let’s-let’s talk about this,” he stammered out. Steve put his hands up again, as if to ward Hudson off, and I saw Hudson relax a little bit, sure that the tension in this scene had started to defuse, even if just a tiny amount.

That’s when Steve struck, coiling his hands into fists while they were still out and stepping into Hudson’s midsection, hitting him straight on with a right and left, hard. I heard the sounds of Steve’s fists impacting on Hudson’s core, and I choked out “Hudson!” just as the first punch hit, covering my mouth at the last second to avoid screaming.

Hudson barely flinched. He leaned over a bit, like he was preparing for the punch, but the actual hits had little to no effect on him. Steve looked at him up shock, his confidence failing him in full, and then he gritted his teeth and tried to hit Hudson a few more times.

Hudson just let him. I watched in horror, and Hud just watched Steve do his thing. I wanted to reach out, I wanted to say something, but when Hudson and I locked eyes, he just cocked his head to the side and winked at me. I gasped, shocked at this brazen display of strength.
 

If there was anything on earth that could make my crush on Hudson Asher grow even a little bit, this was it. I hated to admit it even to myself, but I was more than a little turned on.

Hudson let Steve tire himself out for a few more seconds before he almost casually raised his arm, sweeping Steve’s last punches out of the way. “My turn,” Hudson almost whispered, and reached back while stepping in, gut punching Steve right in the midsection.

From behind I saw Steve double over, and I heard the wind get knocked out of him. Hudson followed up with another punch, same spot, and Steve crumpled to the floor, moaning softly in a fetal position.

Hudson kicked him out of the way, then stepped over where Steve had been lying. Reaching out to me, Hudson put his arms around my shoulders. I felt the warmth of his touch and for the first time since Steve and I had come into this room I felt safe. “Are you alright, Mack?”

I threw my arms around him. “Yes, yes, Hudson, I’m alright, thank you so much.” I stuck my head into the space between his neck and right shoulder, breathing in his manly scent.

I heard Steve stirring below us, and Hudson looked down. “You should leave here while you still can, Steve.” Steve moaned something unintelligible, and Hud leaned down, his hand running down my arm to grab mine. “And don’t even think about even talking to Mackenzie again. Ever.” He said, finally.

In response, Steve started crawling toward the doorway. Hud laughed and locked eyes with me, asking whether I was OK without actually saying anything. I wiped the tears that had started forming from my eyes and nodded, taking a deep breath, and Hudson stepped over Steve again and led me out of the room.

We walked back toward the main hall for about thirty feet before I stopped in my tracks, Hudson still holding my hand. When our arms stretched out and he realized I wasn’t moving forward anymore. “Mack? Everything OK?”

I sighed, closing my eyes and holding them closed before opening them again. “I don’t want to go back in there, Hudson.”

He looked away, back toward the door to the main hall about a hundred feet away, before looking back at me. “Where do you want to go?”

I hesitated, and my eyes traveled to the nearest door. It was someone’s office. I stepped toward the door and tried it; it was unlocked. “Can we just sit in here for a few minutes, first?” I asked, hopefully.

In the low haze of the dimly lit corridor, I saw Hudson’s eyes flicker with understanding, and he squeezed my hand, walking toward the door. “Of course, Mack, we can sit here as long as you like.”

I nodded, again reaching up to wipe my face, and I went into the office after Hudson. As soon as we got inside, Hudson moved two chairs together and motioned me toward one. “Here, Mack, sit down.” Gratefully, I sat down, sighing and feeling the weight of the last few minutes start to break apart, so I could relax, or, at least, begin to relax.

Hudson took the other chair and sat down, our knees touching, looking at me intently, like he was trying to see through my eyes to the inside of my head. It was more than a little intimidating, but at the same time, more than a lot endearing too.

I took a moment to look around the office we’d planted ourselves in. It was a little drab and unexciting, posters and photos on the wall in between bookshelves and papers stacked up all over the place, but after what I had just gone through, drab and unexciting was just what I needed.

Except now I was alone in a small room with a gorgeous man that I had a huge crush on, who had just saved me from a date rapist.

Shit.

CHAPTER 04 - HUDSON

“Here, Mack, sit down.”
 

I couldn’t tell you why I had left the party to check on Mack. When I had seen her leave the main hall with Steve, I had thought that she looked a little out of sorts, that she wasn’t 100% comfortable with what was going on.

And Steve had just rubbed me the wrong way - there was something slimy about that guy just underneath the surface; I didn’t trust him, and I didn’t think he’d be good for Mack, despite barely knowing her. She wasn’t a player, but she was the daughter of John Mayfield, and that was enough for me to keep an eye out.

Plus, the way Steve had come off, I was gonna keep an eye out for any woman he talked to, just in case. I’d waited a few minutes then excused myself from Lance, Charlotte, Drake, and Lily, and gone out the same door Mack and Steve had taken.

I didn’t feel great going after her like that, but when I picked up their conversation and heard the struggle begin, I knew I had no choice but to intervene. It didn’t even occur to me to do anything different.

Which led us to now, with Mack and I sitting in this quiet and dimly lit office, our knees touching amidst all the clutter. I looked at Mack, trying to see if she was OK. Of course, if I asked she’d tell me she was just fine, but I kinda had a hunch she was about this close to breaking down.

I wasn’t gonna judge - I had long ago learned that my height and imposing size made the world and everyone in it appear differently to me, and people had been giving me wide latitude since I was 10 on account of what I could do on the football field.

So I was sure that Mack’s take on things would be different. I leaned back and watched her as she composed herself.

She was gorgeous. Curves galore, a body that just wouldn’t quit. Her dress and jewelry were exquisite. Everything about her screamed money.

And I knew how rich she was. I knew her father was a billionaire. She could be the epitome of a spoiled rich girl. When I had met her for the first time, years ago when I joined the Patriots as a rookie, spoiled rich girl was the first thing that came to mind.

It had taken a little while to shake that opinion, luckily I had other things on my mind at the time, like, you know, playing professional football and everything that came with it.

Mackenzie had attended various Patriots functions with her parents and each time I had thought she looked more and more beautiful. John Mayfield hadn’t talked much about her, so I was surprised as hell to find out a few years ago that she had graduated from some really great schools and now was coming to work in the front office of the Patriots.

That was years ago, and since then I had realized that Mack was smart and capable in addition to being drop dead gorgeous.
 

“You OK?” She hadn’t said anything in a while; I could tell she was still a little woozy from the alcohol.

“The way he was punching you…” Mack started before dropping off. “Are you OK?” She asked, turning it around to me.

I leaned back, looking down at my stomach. “Oh yeah, I’m fine, barely felt it. Everyone likes to think they’ve got a good set of punches in them, but most of them aren’t punching a professional linebacker when they pretend.”

Mack smiled, and I liked seeing it. It was good that she was able to find humor again so quickly. “But you, Mack, how are you?”

“I’m alright,” she said, looking down and smoothing out her dress. “I just got a little carried away there for a second…”

I could feel my face harden. “No, Mack, don’t do that to yourself. You did nothing wrong, this wasn’t your fault. Steve was an asshole, but nothing that happened was because of you.”

The way she looked at me with relief made the gears in my stomach turn. I wanted to reach out and take her into my arms, but I knew that even though we were alone, I couldn’t do that.

“Thank you for saying that, Hudson.” She looked around the room as if noticing it for the first time. “We sure picked an interesting room to hang out in.”

“Oh yeah, Brad, uh, Lowry,” I said, reading off the name tag on the desk, “probably won’t mind that we’re hiding in his office.”
 

Mack chuckled. “No, I don’t think he’ll find out after all.”

I put my hand on her knee, softly. “You’re sure you’re OK? I don’t know what to do in a situation like this.”

“Yes, Hudson, I’m fine, thank you for asking.” She closed her eyes. “Can we change the subject?”

“We sure can.” All I knew about was football, and for some reason I didn’t want to talk about that just now. “How’s your father been, these last few weeks?”

The look of gratitude on Mack’s face at the change was visible. “He’s alright, you know how it is, you lose someone and you take it hard.”

“Yeah. We haven’t seen him around the facility in weeks.”

Mack smiled sadly. “Yeah, he’s been mostly holed up in his house, mostly in the library. He really misses her.”

“I can imagine. They were together…30 years?”

“35 years, yeah.”

“That’s a long time.”

“My father would say it wasn’t long enough by half. And as he’s said before, he’d give a billion dollars to have one more hour with her.”

And John Mayfield could easily afford that billion dollars. “It must be hard for you, too, Mack, losing your mother like that.”

Despite the subject matter, Mack’s face was all strength. “Yeah, it’s been tough,” she whispered, “but I get through the days. Work helps.”

“Yeah, when my father passed away a few years back I threw myself into the season and didn’t think about anything but football till it was over.”

“I remember that year,” Mack said. “You made the All Star game.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I did.” It had been one of the highlights of my career, and though it had been borne of such sadness, I was incredibly proud of it.

“My father was so happy when that happened. He always loved having you on the team.”

That warmed my heart. John Mayfield had always been a quiet man and often it had been tough to know how he felt about a certain player. Only in the last couple years had I realized that the only reason I had managed to stay a Patriot my entire career was because John had appreciated my performance and everything else along with it.

“He took a chance on me, a long time ago, and I’ve never been able to thank him enough for that.” I said, my voice losing stability as I tried to get the words out.