The Game (That Girl, #2)(22)

“Good hell! Give me the phone. You’d think we’re in first grade asking for a sleepover.” I tear the phone from her hands. “Lincoln?”

“’Sup, Jazz?”

“Well, this may be awkward for you, but I need to know about this Rebecca and Levi.”

Lynlee pipes up as well. “For the love of god, don’t feel the need to sugarcoat anything, Jazzy. Just lay it all out for the guy.”

I hear Lincoln’s laugh and know for sure he just heard word for word everything Lynlee had to say. I pull the phone away from my ear and set it on the speaker setting.

“Does this have anything to do with your wet panties and my brother’s raging hard on that my hot wife walked in on this morning?”

My mouth drops wide open, and my eyes nearly bulge out of my head. Throwing my hands up and silently screaming at Lynlee, I almost die from embarrassment. My lips are moving fast and enunciating “you f*cker,” yet no words are coming out. Next thing I know I’m waving the phone above my head and still silently ripping her ass to shreds.

Lynlee finally grabs the phone from me and starts the conversation right back up. “Well, you weren’t giving me any details, and your story was complete bullshit. I asked Levi…”

“You what?” I screech.

“I asked Levi what happened.”

“Really, my ears have to be playing tricks on me right now. You did not ask Levi.”

“I did ask Levi, and he fed me a completely different story that smelled just as much like bullshit as yours. So, I called Lincoln. He asked for details. And you know what?”

“What?” I ask burying my face in my knees.

“His story was a hell of a lot more plausible than either yours or Levi’s.”

“Don’t. Stop right there,” I say throwing my hands up. “I cannot take any more embarrassment right now.”

Lincoln’s laughter rings through the phone; I damn near forgot he was still there.

“I told Jazzy you probably wouldn’t give away much about Rebecca. I know how tight lipped and weird you Wilks guys are.”

“What do you want to know?” Lincoln asks.

That is not the response I was expecting. It’s so easy to see how Lynlee fell head over heels for the man. From the tone of his voice, his looks, and big heart, Lincoln Wilks may be the kindest, gentlest, most loving man I’ve ever met. Just the tone in his voice makes me want to believe there is good in this world. I used to get jealous Lynlee found him and this type of love.

“Who is she?” I finally manage.

“Well, that’s a loaded question,” he replies. “She was Levi’s first girlfriend and his last. They dated all through college, and then things went bad the summer before his first professional year.”

“The baby?”

“Jazzy, it’s just not right. Shit was bad.”

“I want to know, Levi. You and Lynlee know about me. I want to know so I can maybe be a person he can lean on while healing.”

Lincoln clears his throat and says, “Rebecca was the love of Levi’s life. Nothing like you’d expect. She was never a flashy or slutty girl, you know, the kind he runs with now. They were best friends in grade school, and it blossomed into a love story. Now, I’m not saying my brother is perfect, because we all know he’s not. He put football first in high school and college. Rebecca stood by him the whole time. She got pregnant, and he wanted to marry her, but she said no. Rebecca had the baby, and six months later she told Levi it wasn’t his little girl, and Dad ordered tests to prove it. Levi lost all humanity that day.”

Silence fills the room, and my heart shatters for Levi. He had everything ripped out from underneath him. What a bitch!

“Happy now?”

I turn to look straight into the face of Levi, who is standing in the doorway.

“Get all the information you need on me? Ready to fix my broken heart? Maybe we can f*ck it back together?”

“I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad. I…I just wanted to know because I care about you.”

“Lynlee? Lynlee, what’s going on?” I hear Lincoln’s voice from the phone, but I’m focused on Levi. He’s fuming with a bright red face and neck veins popping.

I watch as he picks up two trophies from a shelf and sends them sailing across the room. He puts all of his force behind it as he hurls two more through a case full of trophies. Glass shatters, splintering as it hits the tile floor, and a light pinging fills the room.

“Levi, I just wanted to understand,” I say, hopping to my feet. “Don’t be mad.”

I take another step closer to him, and glass slices the bottoms of my feet. The pain is intense, but my need to calm down Levi is stronger. With each step I take, I feel more cuts go deeper and deeper into the pads of my feet.

“You wanted to understand? Really?” Levi growls and throws another trophy, sending glass into the front of my legs. The pieces are not sharp enough to cut into my skin, or at least that is what I think.

“Here’s a f*cking idea. Clean up this mess for me, and maybe, just maybe it will heal my soul, and voila, you fixed me, babe.” Levi turns and leaves. Not one limp in his step or tenderness showing in his posture, just straight hatred and adrenaline running in his veins.

Before he opens the door, he turns back to face us. “This is my f*cking house, and I’ll be staying out here from now on. I’ll hire a maid to move my shit. Jazzy, go ahead and move your trash back into the main house or to an alley somewhere—that’s where it belongs.”