Chapter three

Travis

"How was practice master Travis?" Mrs Johnson asked as I stepped into the house.

She had been the housekeeper even before I was born and was the closest thing to a mother I had ever had since mine had disappeared when I was two.

"The usual." I said, wiping an arm over my sweaty forehead.

The rest of practice had been more brutal than usual following the new guy's display. I needed an ice cold shower, and a few hours to myself with just my game console and dog.

"Lunch will be ready in a minute. Why don't you go_"

The rest of her words were cut off by the sound of my dog barking. I raised a brow at her. "Did someone come around? I saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway."

Her smile became brittle. "Uh, let's worry about that later. You must be famished and_"

The dog barked again, and I grinned. "Whoever it is, mimi doesn't sound too pleased to see them."

I turned to head upstairs and that's when I heard the sound of laughter followed by splashing. Someone was in the pool with my damn dog. What the_

"Who_"

"Master Travis, you've had a long morning_"

I ignored Mrs. Johnson, shrugging past her to get to the back of the house where the massive pool was. My gaze immediately fell on my dog Mimi leaping into the water with an excited bark.

"Canon ball!" A voice laughed, causing my gaze to immediately shift.

The man was laid out over the lounge chair, his face partially turned away. Somehow, my eyes decided to do a leisurely trip over his body. I took in his long, muscular legs exposed by the tiny white shorts. I swallowed as he shifted his leg, thigh muscles clenching and unclenching.

My gaze continued up over his shirtless torso, taking in the way his abs rippled with movement and the tuft of hair that went down to_

"Take a picture. It will last longer." I was snapped out of my dangerous thoughts by the amused voice. It took me a second for my brain to register that it sounded familiar.

Too familiar.

My head jerked up to meet the man's eyes. I staggered back in horror.

"What the hell are you doing here? Are you following me? You freaking creep!" I roared.

"Woah woah, hulk. Why don't we take a deep, soothing breath?" He smirked.

"How about I punch your teeth out? I think I'd prefer that." I growled. "You have two seconds to get lost before I lose it."

He cocked his head. "Has anyone told you that you need an anger management class? Lucky for you, I know the location of a few. It would really help with your game too."

I froze, fury washing over me. "There's nothing wrong with my game."

He blinked, "If you really believe that, then you shouldn't be the captain."

At that, all restraint went flying. I rushed forward, fist swinging and caught him in the jaw. His head snapped back as I made contact, but to my anger, he didn't lose his footing. Annoyed, I swung again.

I expected him to move away, but his gaze never left mine, allowing the second hit to land.

"I'm going to give you the grace of a third, and then I'm going to hit back." His voice had lost the teasing edge, and I hesitated, but not for long.

With fire driving through my veins, I raised my fist again, intent on taking him down.

"What do you think you're doing?" A sharp voice sliced through, halting me in my tracks.

I froze, eyes wide and spun around to face my father. Michael Moore was six feet tall and people had often said I was a carbon copy of him. My worst nightmare was turning into him someday.

My father was a cold, hard man. There might have been a heart beneath his rib cage at some point, but it had long since shriveled up and died. My mother had been smart enough to escape before he could break her. His wealth attracted people until they realized he was rotten and only excelled at destroying people.

"Father." I swallowed. "I didn't know you were back from your honeymoon."

His cold gaze shifted to where my new teammate stood and I swallowed. "He was just leaving." I blurted out. "He_"

"You look like a thug. Shower and get dressed. Helena is here and would like to speak with you."

I scoffed. "I have nothing to say to your newest arm candy father. If you'll excuse me."

I made to walk past him, but he grabbed me by the collar like a dog and pushed me back. "What did you just say to me?"

"I said she's your arm candy and I don't want to meet her." I spat. "You think you can brush the dust off trailer trash, put some diamonds on it and expect the rest of the world to pretend they don't know what she is? She's a gold digging bitch and_"

A crack sounded and the side of my face was suddenly burning. From the corner of my eye, I saw the blond guy step forward. I shot him a warning glare to stay away.

"Apologize right this instant." He growled.

"That's enough, Michael." The woman in question appeared behind my father, a small smile curving her painted red mouth.

There was something familiar about her, but I couldn't put my finger on it. But then again, with the number of surgeries she had had since the engagement, she was hardly recognizable.

"Travis will come around eventually." She purred, fingers curling over my father's arm. "But what matters most is that the boys get along."

The boys? What was she_

"Isn't that right, Hunter?"

And then all at once, everything clicked into place. Bile rose up my throat as my gaze flung from Helena to the blond guy.

"Oh we are getting along." My new step brother drawled, eyes on mine. "We're getting along perfectly."