Tears flowed down her cheeks as he looked back at her, his heart breaking in two at the disappointment and anguish smearing her face.
“Madi, I’m so sorry.”
“How, how could you not tell me?” Her rage battled with her pain, but he held his ground. If she needed to hit him to get it out, then that was better than her ignoring him.
“I wanted to. I was going to but…”
“Was it really two girls? Two!”
Yes, it’d really been two. Yes, it had really happened. Yes, Brett had threatened to kill Hunter when he’d seen him with them.
“What happened?”
“Hunt,” Brett called as he watched his best friend walking out of the casino with a girl on each arm. “Hunter!”
Hunter’s face was red, as if he were embarrassed—and his snockered ass should be.
“What the hell are you doing?” Brett frowned.
“Havin’ some fun. We’re in Vegas after all, right, brother?” Hunt smirked. But Brett’s eyes narrowed as he took in the two sluts all over Hunt, clad in mini-skirts and tube-tops.
“With these two?
“They’ve promised me all the amazing things they can do. How can I pass up the opportunity to have a threesome?” Hunter laughed then held his hand out in a gesture of truce. A threesome? Why hadn’t he done that shit before he’d gotten married. “I’m being selfish, sorry. I guess you can have one of ‘em. I don’t mind sharing.” Hunter thrust a brunette his way, but Brett pushed the girl away with his forearm and gripped Hunt’s collar.
“Have you forgotten who you’re married to?” Brett growled.
“Oh, don’t give me that religious crap about holy matrimony. I’m a football star. You should be surprised I haven’t cheated before now. I’ve had ample opportunities.”
Brett literally snarled thinking of how much he’d pined for Madison Thomas, and here her sorry-ass husband was throwing her love aside like it meant nothing—all for one night with two skanky whores.
“You’re forgetting who her father is, too. And who I am. I’m her best friend. Do you honestly think I’m just gonna let you walk out of here without telling her what the fuck you’re up to?”
“Yes. Yes, I am.” Hunt pulled Brett’s hands from his collar and threw his chin up. “You wanna know why, big shot? Because I know your dirty little secret. You think I’m oblivious to how you feel about my wife? No. I’ve hidden in the shadows the last six years watching you ogle her like a love-sick puppy and guess what? I don’t fuckin’ like it. Not much I can do though, huh? Or is there? Hmm.” Hunter smirked, the grin of a hunter catching his prey in a snare. “If you so much as think about outing me, I’ll make you out to be no better than some sick stalker. You won’t be able to walk down the street. I’ll ruin your reputation so bad you’ll be jerking off for the rest of your life because no woman—or man, for that matter—will want to be anywhere near you. So, you go right a-fucking-head and you call Madi. But if I go down, your sorry ass is going with me, friend.”
Brett continued to eye the man he suddenly hated with everything inside him. “What makes you think she’d believe you, even if you did?”
“Because I’m her husband! Who do you think she’ll believe?”
Brett shook his head, feeling his blood pressure shoot up so high his ears could’ve blown smoke. “You son of a bitch. You’ll regret this. Go ahead and have your fun, but this is so far from over. I swear if it weren’t for hurting Madison, I’d fuckin’ kill you right now.”
“Idle threats, Brett. You’re all talk and no action…which is why you’re not with Madi right now. Let me know when you grow a set, and I’ll meet you outside. Until then, get the fuck out of my face.”
Hunter shoved him away and gave him a final devious smile before grabbing the arms of the women. Brett watched him head down the hall, unlock the door to his room and enter it, all the while debating on whether he was gonna let the bastard live.
He slammed his hand against the wall. “Fucking Hunter.”
He knew this was going to come back and bite him in the ass, but God help him he could never jeopardize how Madi saw him. The fear that Hunt would make Brett’s love for Madi out to be something crude outweighed everything else. He prayed no one ever found out about this…especially Madi.
Brett’s hands shook as he moved to the bar and poured a glass of whiskey into a highball glass.
“Don’t you think you’ve had enough of that?” Madi’s tone was cautious, and he looked back at her, frowning, confused. Why did she seem fearful?
“As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t had near enough. But, if it bothers you, I’ll be done.” He set the glass down and saw relief hit her eyes. Then anger ripped through him as a sudden thought occurred to him. “Wait… Hunter never got violent with you when he was drinking, did he?”
Madi looked down. Brett moved fast and gripped her arm, turning her to face him. She was crying, and Brett felt a punch to his gut. “Madi, you’d better tell me.” Brett felt like he was about to explode.
“He…he got loud and occasionally aggressive. He never hit me but…in bed, he…”
Jesus, Brett thought and wanted to punch a wall with the fury that seized him. That motherfucker! He needed to go puke; he wasn’t ready for any more damn surprises today.
Brett turned, covering his face with his hands, attempting to hold his rage inside. He moved away before he roared so loud he scared her.
“Brett?” Madi asked. He could hear her closing in.
“Give me a sec, Madi. I just need to…” His entire body shook,
