Down by Contact - A Seattle Lumberjacks Romance Read Online Free PDF Page B

high school,
never cried. This vulnerable version of Kelsie threw him off
balance, despite her bluster and anger, he sensed a current of fear
ran deep in her. Sucker that he was, he felt sorry for her. And
something else. Something dormant but never dead. The poor boy
still wanted the beautiful, unattainable girl, his private fantasy
and his public hell.
    Movement in the nearby trees caught his
attention. A man in a trench coat pushed branches aside and emerged
from his hiding spot. He hurried across the street toward a
nondescript sedan.
    Oh, crap, Zach did so not want to get
involved in whatever the hell was going on, but he didn’t have a
good feeling about it. Not one bit. Most likely she’d run off from
her husband in some kind of snit and the poor guy was looking for
her. Regardless, his crappy compulsion to protect her wouldn’t let
him dismiss she might be in trouble. Even though he hated her
guts.
    Zach sprinted after the guy and tackled the
stranger just as he reached for the car door. All
two-hundred-fifty-plus pounds of Zach landed on the stranger’s back
and shoved the air out of the asshole’s lungs. The guy gasped for
breath, but Zach didn’t wait for him to recover. Holding the man’s
hands behind his back, he hauled the dickwad to his feet and shoved
him against the front of his car. With one hand anchored on the
man’s neck, he pushed his face into the cold metal of the car’s
hood.
    “What the fuck were you doing?”
    The guy gasped, taking in big gulps of
oxygen. “Nothing. Just trying to get an interview with a player or
two.”
    For a minute, Zach’s heart dropped to his
knees. He hadn’t been stupid enough to tackle a member of the
press, had he? But common sense caught up reminding him of what
he’d seen. “You weren’t waiting for a player. You were following
that woman. Why?”
    “Look, just let me go. I can explain.”
    “Don’t try leaving until I hear your
explanation, and it better be a good one.” Reluctantly, Zach
released the guy, who skittered away from him. “Why were you
following her?”
    “I thought she was your girlfriend. I’m
doing a piece on NFL girlfriends for a major women’s magazine. You
keep your love life secret. I saw an opportunity.” The guy wrung
his hands and stared longingly at the driver side door blocked by
Zach’s body.
    Zach relaxed slightly. What the guy said
made sense, even though something still seemed off. “She’s not my
girlfriend.”
    “Oh, my mistake. It looked like the two of
you were familiar, looked like you were having an argument. The
best time to get the dirt on a player is from a pissed-off
girlfriend.”
    Zach couldn’t argue that logic. “If I see
you around here again, you’ll be eating your balls for dinner.
Understand?”
    The guy nodded and slipped into his car.
Zach waited until he drove off, relieved to see he turned in the
opposite direction that Kelsie had turned. Rubbing his hand across
his face, he got into his own car and slumped in the front seat.
Adrenaline spent, he stared straight ahead, not seeing a thing.
    Even though the reporter’s story made
perfect sense, doubt picked at him like a kid nagging his mother
for a new toy. Something wasn’t right. Someone wasn’t giving him
the straight story. Every instinct screaming through him pointed at
Kelsie being in some sort of trouble, but Kelsie’s trouble wasn’t
his, and he’d be smart to stay away. Far away.
    Zach rammed his fists into the steering
wheel, fearing he might just make it his business to find out.
    And knowing he’d be the biggest loser of all
if he did.

 
    CHAPTER 3
Taking a Time Out
    Veronica Simms, the team owner’s daughter and
assistant director of player personnel, stared at the nitwit
standing in her office doorway. “A trench coat and a fedora? Are
you serious?”
    “Uh, what’s wrong with how I’m dressed?”
    “You look like a freaking idiot. Just dress
like a normal person. Anyone who saw you lurking around
would be