Intercepted Read online

  A JOVE BOOK

  Published by Berkley

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

  Copyright © 2018 by Alexa Martin

  Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.

  A JOVE BOOK and BERKLEY are registered trademarks and the B colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Martin, Alexa.

  Title: Intercepted / Alexa Martin.

  Description: First edition. | New York : Jove Book, 2018.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017060279| ISBN 9780451491954 (pbk.) | ISBN 9780451491961 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Single women—fiction. | Football players—Fiction. | Man-woman relationships—fiction. | GSAFD: Love stories

  Classification: LCC PS3613.A77776 I58 2018 | DDC 813/.6—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017060279

  First Edition: September 2018

  Cover design and illustration by Colleen Reinhart

  Book design by Kelly Lipovich

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Version_1

  To Derrick.

  For everything.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book would not have happened without Kristine Swartz and the amazing team at Berkley. Thank you for turning my dream into a reality.

  My rockstar agent, Jessica Watterson, you are everything dream agents are made of. Thank you for always having my back, listening to me ramble, and never judging my love of KA and jeggings.

  Brenda Drake, thank you for creating Pitch Wars and presenting me with the opportunity of a lifetime. Kara Lee Miller and Meredith Ireland, thank you for choosing me. Thank you for believing in me more than I believed in myself and thank you for teaching me your ways. I am eternally grateful to you.

  Nattie and Lin. Thank you for reading the hot messes I sent you over the years and thank you for never calling them hot messes. I hope every writer has friends like you in their corner.

  My WAGS—Meghan, Kelsey, Emilia, Cicely, Tracy, Mia, Jill, Melissa, Lacey, Kirbie, Sarah, Christina, Jessica, Keisha, Caroline, and so many more. Thank you for taking me into your tribe when I was a nineteen-year-old girl and showing me the woman and friend I wanted to be. Of all the things being an NFL wife has brought me, you ladies are by far my most treasured.

  The bra, you know who you are. Thank you for supporting me always.

  All the kissing—you’re the best writing tribe a girl could ever ask for.

  Abby, thank you for being the best sixth-grade locker partner, freshman roommate, and friend I could ever ask for. Taylor, you are the strongest woman I know. Thank you for always being my voice of reason and of course, for experiencing the summer of ’03 with me. Brittany, I’ve never come across someone as brave as you and I’m patiently waiting to see you conquer the world. You three are my ride-or-dies. None of this would have happened without your support and friendship. I love you all.

  My grandma would have loved this and I have faith she’s watching and smiling, knowing she sparked my love of reading. My grandpa would have pretended to not love this, but secretly he’d be thrilled. I miss you both more and more every day.

  Rhonda, thank you for being the best mother-in-law a woman could ever ask for.

  Mom, thank you for always believing in me.

  DJ, Harlow, Dash, and Ellis, I love you to the moon and back. Thank you for being so patient with me throughout this process. Of all the things I am, being your mom is by far the best. Derrick, I still remember when you walked into that leadership class fifteen years ago. I hoped for one date. Who would’ve thought that all these years later, I’d be just as smitten as ever? Thank you for supporting me through this crazy ride. I am so in love with the amazing life we’ve created. Our love story will always be my favorite.

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  One

  For the first three years, it’s fun being a pro football player’s girlfriend.

  “Marlee, let me see your hand! Did Chris propose yet?” Amber asks.

  I’m in year ten.

  “Still naked.” I wiggle my fingers in front of her the same way I did last week and the week before that . . . and the week before that. #HeDidntPutARingOnIt

  Sometimes, I like to hashtag my life. #CheaperThanTherapy

  I sip my margarita. “When it happens, I promise to let you know.” Or, you know, keep asking every time you see me.

  “Marlee.” Courtney sighs. She stands at the head of the table clutching a glitter-coated gavel. “We made exceptions for you to join the Lady Mustangs. Try to acknowledge that and save your little side conversation until we’ve finished.”

  “Sorry, Court.” Every time I call her Court, she strains her Botoxed forehead and glares in my direction, so obviously, it’s the only thing I call her. Well, sometimes I call her bitch, but she doesn’t know about that.

  “As I was saying, the annual Lady Mustangs Fashion Show is in three weeks. Everyone must attend the next meeting so we can discuss the outfits for you and your husbands.”

  I catc
h her eye again. She raises her chin, and her fat-injected lips form an actual smile.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. In your case, Marlee, you and your boyfriend.”

  See? What a bitch.

  “Thanks for the clarification, Court, but I understood.” My fingernails dig into my palm as I fight the urge to ask if one of her husband’s girlfriends will be joining the festivities.

  “I didn’t want you to feel like you were being excluded.”

  Hmm . . . including me by pointing out my differences. Makes so much sense. I don’t know if she’s trying to convince herself, me, or the rest of the Mustang wives, but she isn’t succeeding with anybody.

  “You’re so thoughtful,” I return with an equal amount of authenticity.

  Courtney is the president (how obnoxious) of the Lady Mustangs, the charitable organization consisting of the wives and girlfriend (singular) of the Denver Mustangs. We get together every Wednesday during the season to plan different events to benefit the community. There is an unspoken rule—each woman only gets one season to lead—but surprising nobody at all, Courtney didn’t think the rules applied to her. This is her fourth year as president. Her husband, Kevin Matthews, is our quarterback, but her head is bigger than his. And that’s saying a lot. There are football players and then there are quarterbacks—which are an entirely different breed. Courtney has also made it her mission during her reign of terror to put me in my place, a spot well below her. She doesn’t seem to realize I’m fresh out of fucks to give.

  “As I was saying, now that the season has arrived, everyone needs to be here every week. No excuses.” She looks toward me again.

  So I’ve missed some meetings, sue me. But, unlike Courtney, I have an actual job that includes more than lunching. We also live in the day and age of email, something that seems to evade her.

  “Remember what we always say? We work hard to inspire our husbands’ on-field success with our off-field dedication, support, and achievements.”

  Vomit.

  Honestly, besides the constant pressure to prove I’ll be the best football wife ever, the only reason I keep coming to these awful things is because it gives me an excuse to drink in the early afternoon. I focus on the Colorado sun shining down on our rooftop patio table as I sip my oversized margarita, listening to the music as it switches between seventies pop and nineties hip-hop—until Courtney’s shrill voice pulls my attention back to her.

  “Is there anything else that needs to be discussed today?” Courtney asks. After a quick glance around the table confirms there’s nothing else to be said, the gavel slams into the table and glitter explodes off of it, covering the table, plates, and floor.

  Fantastic.

  Like the waitstaff needed more of a reason to hate us beyond the ten separate checks, no dressing/no flavor orders, and the three women who sent their meals back because they spotted a carb.

  Whenever these meetings end, the switch flips from good deeds to gossip central.

  “Can I have a chip?” Naomi says. “Salad is so stupid. Why don’t you ever tell me not to order one?” She draws my attention away from the brewing gossip storm as she reaches to my plate without waiting for an answer. Not that she needs one, she does this every week. And every week she still orders a salad—like the calories don’t count if I’m the one who orders them. #WhoNeedsScience

  “What if I was going to say no?”

  “Were you?” She crunches into the chip in a manner so un-Lady-Mustang-like, I’m surprised Courtney doesn’t slam down the gavel again to reprimand her.

  “No, you can have the rest, I’m done. Playing nice while Power Trip Barbie threw her jabs stole my appetite.”

  I love Naomi. She has never questioned the authenticity of my relationship because of my lack of a gaudy diamond decorating my left hand. She’s the first to call me to get together when the guys are out of town. She also doesn’t partake in the hype some of the other women do when it comes to the faux fame of being an athlete’s wife.

  “Don’t mind Courtney. She’s just pissed they’re bringing in another quarterback, and Kevin’s reign as leader supreme is coming to an end . . . not surprising considering how he played during preseason.” She doesn’t even finish the sentence before she’s grabbing the untouched taco still on my plate.

  “Wait. What? When did that happen?” I ask.

  “They announced it this morning. How do you not know these things? As a wide receiver, this affects Chris more than anyone else, except for Kevin.” Her eyes never meet mine, and if I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought she was whispering sweet nothings to a taco.

  “The season started. Chris isn’t around to tell me these things, and I don’t have ESPN alerts sent to my phone like the rest of you freaks. Who’d they get?”

  Instead of an answer, all I get is one flawless, manicured finger in my face while another points toward her mouth as she chews what was left of my lunch. Rolling my eyes to the heavens, I try to gather patience while she takes an eternity to swallow and chase it down with her watery Diet Coke.

  “Gavin Pope—he was the Bears quarterback,” she says with shrug.

  She’s all nonchalant while I, on the other hand, contemplate grabbing my chest and calling 911. My heart is racing so fast, I’m afraid I’m seconds away from keeling over. The sunshine now feels like a heat lamp, and my straightened hair against the back of my neck starts to curl.

  “Holy shit. Are you okay? You just turned white.”

  “Actually, I’m feeling a little queasy. I think I drank my margarita too fast.” I’m well accustomed to explaining away my distress around the wicked wives, and sitting by Naomi, hearing the one name I work overtime to avoid, is no different. “I think I’m going to head out, rest a little before Chris gets home.”

  “Good, go and feel better. Call me later if you need anything.” Naomi’s watchful gaze follows my shaky movements as I put enough money on the table to cover my bill and offer a small apology for the glitter they’ll no doubt be cleaning for the next six months.

  “I will, thank you.” I give Naomi a hug, shout a quick good-bye to our table, and get the hell out of dodge.

  The problem with a rooftop patio is there’s no quick escape.

  How is this my life? I know Lady Luck has never been too fond of me, but it’s just cruel that out of all the quarterbacks and all the teams, Gavin Pope ends up on the Mustangs.

  Halfway down the stairs, my knees are knocking so hard I have to stop and let the wall support me. My breathing won’t slow, and I’m dizzy from all of the scenarios spinning in my head.

  “Are you okay, ma’am?” an unexpected voice calls from behind me. I jump back and hit my head against the sports memorabilia–covered walls. One of the pictures crashes down, landing at my feet. I bend to pick it up and my shaking hands almost drop it twice before my nerves calm enough to look at it.

  I forget where I am. Instead of a restaurant in a Denver suburb, I’m back in that Chicago high-rise. The guy I’d just had the hottest night of my life with—the one who told me he was an investment banker—has framed pictures of himself in his apartment. But instead of a suit, Gavin Pope wears a Bears hat with the NFL commissioner’s arm draped over his shoulders.

  “Ma’am?” The waiter’s voice startles me back to the present.

  I shake the memories of the Chicago police officers staring at my tight dress, smudged mascara, and just-been-fucked hair as I ran out of the high-rise and focus on the picture frame in my hands. It’s not Gavin. Instead, it’s my boyfriend, both feet in the air, football locked tight in his outstretched arms.

  “I’m fine. Thank you.” I hand him the frame, and then I’m running again. I don’t stop until I’m sitting in my car. But once I’m inside my Prius, the news hits me all over again.

  Gavin Pope.

  Here.

  Like a tsunami, each memory of that
night hits me like another wave. His eyes as he watched me undress. Crash. My tongue dancing against his. Crash. The way he took me to the edge of euphoria over and over and over again. Crash. Crash. Crash. I’m drowning with the sinking realization that all of my hard work to bury every panty-dropping, toe-curling memory of that night was for nothing.

  Not only did fate decide it’d be fun to remind me of him, it threw him right smack-dab in the center of my life. I mean, it’s not like the quarterback holds the wide receivers’ careers in their hands or anything. How could this possibly go wrong?

  I guess it depends on whether Gavin Pope even remembers who I am.

  Two

  Chris and I live in what I fondly refer to as the seventh circle of hell—oddly enough, that’s located in Denver.

  We are both native Denverites; we met in high school, and somehow, Chris lucked out by being drafted by the Mustangs and never being traded. In the NFL, getting to play at all is odds defying. And staying on the same team for more than five seasons is a damn miracle.

  With Chris’s awesome income, the money I get from my freelance design jobs, and no kids, we should be living the high life. Denver is the coolest city with the most eclectic, vibrant mix of people. But we don’t live in an industrial condo downtown or a historical bungalow in Washington Park.

  No, no, no. Chris and I—just the two of us—live in eight thousand square feet of obnoxious marble and crystal covered extravagance in the gated community of all gated communities with all the other Mustang starters in #TheLandWhereHighSchoolNeverEnds.

  I grew up middle class. Chris grew up loaded. His dad is still the most sought after plastic surgeon in Colorado—a common topic between the other wives and I. And to this day, I still have no idea who the hell Chris is trying to impress. I guess showing your daddy you’re a big boy includes ugly chandeliers and gold leafed wallpaper.

  After hearing about Gavin’s arrival, I knew Chris was going to be upset. And because I’m such a wonderful girlfriend, I made him my world famous red velvet cake to help ease the pain. I absolutely did not make it in an effort to eat my own feelings. And the extra bowl of cream cheese frosting hidden in the back of the fridge isn’t for that either. Sweet decadent denial.