hurting her.
'I say we deal with the press immediately,' Micki said, interrupting his thoughts. 'The more time you let go by, the more speculation they'll shovel and the more dirt they'll dig up on both you and Carole. You ready?' she asked Damian in her most professional, distant voice.
'Ready as I'll ever be.'
She nodded. 'Then let's do it. I'll brief you on what to say on the way downstairs.' Micki strode out of the room, pad in hand, all but ignoring him.
At this point the only thing he had going for him was the fact that she and her family agreed she'd stick by his side. He intended to hold her to her promise.
RICKY CARTER SAT in his small apartment and watched Eyewitness News at Noon. Thanks to his discreet contacts, Damian Fuller’s paternity scandal had headlined the back of every newspaper in the city. Now Carter watched his captain and the man whose position he coveted step in front of microphones and speak from the heart.
No prepared statement for Fuller, Carter thought, taking a swig from a bottle of beer. Instead the man had the fans eating from the palm of his hand as he extolled the virtues of always using protection, explaining how mistakes happen anyway and promising to do the right thing. Then he asked for time to figure things out and requested the media focus on what was important at this time of year-the Renegades making it to the off season.
He shook his head in disgust. Everything the man touched turned to gold. Nothing Carter did made a difference or brought Fuller down, and he ought to know since he'd tried his best.
Carter had made sure to let the reporters who covered the team know at which strip club they could find Fuller. Carter had hoped they'd bash Fuller for partying at Lacie's the night before a charity event. Instead he'd been branded a hero for rescuing his agent's niece. Nice piece of spinning by the Hot Zone, Carter thought, frustrated.
Even now Fuller had the sexy little publicist standing by his side despite his fall from grace. The same woman who'd eyed Carter with disdain looked at Fuller with adoring eyes.
'The story of my life,' he muttered.
But it wasn't just Damian's dumb luck eating away at Rick now, it was his own actions that bothered him. When he'd hooked up with Carole, he'd eyed Fuller with envy. Silently sabotaging the Renegades captain had been too easy to resist, and for a while nobody had been hurt in the process.
Until Carole had gotten pregnant.
He and Carole had come together in fun but somewhere along the way, he'd begun to develop feelings for her. Hell, he'd even thought she felt the same way. But then she'd ended up pregnant, insisting the baby was Damian's. To add insult to injury, she'd been refusing to return Carter's phone calls.
Carter had been so pissed about the pregnancy, so angry at Fuller, he'd wanted to get back at his captain. Carter had revealed Carole's pregnancy to the press. But soon after making the call, the anger had subsided and he realized he'd set Carole up for pain and humiliation-something he'd never intended to do. He'd called the press first and realized he'd be hurting Carole later, after it was too late to take back the story.
He picked up the, phone and dialed her hotel room.
He knew she wasn't leaving the city until tomorrow and wanted to make sure she was okay while she was here.
The phone rang and rang on the other end until he was about ready to hang up.
'Hello?' Carole said, out of breath.
'Hey, babe, I’ve been trying to reach you.'
'Carter?'
'Who were you expecting? Never mind,' he said, before she could answer. He was certain he didn't want to know. 'How are you feeling?'
'A little queasy. I've been spending more time than I'd like in the bathroom.'
Maybe that's why he hadn't been able to reach her. He glanced toward his fridge. 'You should try drinking Coke. It'll help. At least that's what my sister said when she was expecting.'
'Thanks for the advice, Rick.'
He swallowed hard. 'No problem. So how are you handling…the rest of it?' he asked, referring to the media attention and hoping she wouldn't make him spell it out. He felt bad enough already.
She inhaled and he heard the long pause at the other end. 'It's horrible. The reporters are all over the lobby. I had to ask security to sneak me down the service elevator tomorrow morning just so I can make my flight I can't believe someone at the doctor's office would leak the news about my pregnancy. I feel so violated.'
Carter's gut cramped. 'What makes you think it was them?'
She sniffed and he imagined her wiping her eyes as she spoke. 'Nobody else knows Damian's the father except you and me and I know you wouldn't hurt me.'
She trusted him, Ricky thought, fighting the wave of nausea that overtook him as he faced the reality of what he'd done. In his zeal to take everything Damian Fuller had, he'd hurt this woman in the process. He hadn't meant to. He cared about her too much.
Way too much.
If she knew he'd been sabotaging Fuller, she'd dump his ass even as a friend. And he didn't want that. As much as he and Carole had often joked about Damian's arrogance and downfall, she was now carrying Fuller's kid.
Or was she? he wondered, as Damian's words from the press conference played back in his head.
Rick always wore a condom-it was ingrained in his head by his father-and he'd used one with Carole. She'd said she always made a guy use protection, too, but when she'd told him about the pregnancy, she'd said there was one time she and Fuller hadn't used birth control. He'd believed her.
'Hey, babe?'
'Yes?'
'Did you and Fuller use protection?'
He listened closely, waiting for an answer.
'I already told you about me and Damian. Why are you asking me again?'
He shrugged. 'Something Fuller said to the press about using protection and accidents happening anyway.'
She let out a too shrill laugh. 'What else is he going to say? That he's not the hero the world thinks he is?'
'I understand, babe. And I'm here for you no matter what.'
'That's so sweet.' She paused. 'But we can't see each other anymore. And Damian can't know we've ever been together, you know that right? Because if Damian will, ummm, marry me and give the baby a name, you know I have to do it. Promise me, okay?'
Rick shut his eyes tight. His position on the field, his number at bat and now his woman. What the hell else did Fuller need to hang on to that ought to be his? Carter wondered.
He couldn't live with making Carole such a promise.
'Oh I'm going to be sick again. I've got to go,' she said and slammed the phone in his ear.
Apparently he wasn't going to have to promise her he'd keep his silence, after all. Which was a good thing since long after she'd hung up the phone, and long after the Renegades had won their 4:00 p.m. game, Rick tossed and turned in his bed, something eating away at him.
Something Carole hadn't said.
She hadn't answered his question about whether she and Fuller had used protection. After telling him about her pregnancy that first time, after explaining she and Damian had made that mistake just once, she'd evaded reassuring him directly ever since. Which left Rick with lingering doubts about Carole's initial claim.
Never mind the fact that she might have been with more guys than him and Fuller. Rick didn't want to deal with that thought at the moment. But if she and Fuller
CHAPTER TEN
