Free Unrestricted by Kimberly Bracco Page A

purse from the floor of the car and take his hand apprehensively, following him through the garage to a door. My mind is going a mile a minute trying to figure out what in the world Alex is up to with this ‘meet the player’ game.
    He punches in a security code on a keypad before opening the door. “Hello,” he yells as we enter.
    There’s no answer, so we walk farther into the house, stopping in a massive black-and-white marble-filled kitchen. Everything is quiet, and it seems as though no one is home. I follow Alex to the other side of the house, and he stops in front a doorway hung with heavy blue floor-length curtains.
    “Before we head in here, I need you to keep an open mind. Can you do that?” he asks, a very serious undercurrent in his tone.
    Things seem to have just taken a hard turn into weird. “What the hell is this, Alex? The velvet curtains to your sex dungeon?” I ask, taking a step back.
    “No, you dirty-minded little diva. It’s a screening room. I have a feeling that this is where he is.” He laughs as he wraps his arm around my shoulders, but he quickly turns serious again. “I’m serious, Quinn, can you keep an open mind until I explain things a little better?”
    “Sure, I guess,” I say, clutching the straps of the purse slung over my shoulder. “But I have to say that you’re freaking me out.”
    “That’s what I’m afraid of—you freaking out.” He pulls back a curtain and ushers me inside.
    The room is dark and very theater-like, except there are couches instead of chairs and a huge flat screen hangs on the wall. I look around, trying to figure out why Alex brought me here and why I need to keep an open mind. Then I spot the answer.
    “Why would you bring me here? To his house? ” I demand, doing my best to keep my voice low so as not to draw Tanner’s attention to me. I don’t know why Alex has brought me along, but I want no part of this meeting. I don’t want to talk to him, so I turn to head back into the hallway.
    He stands in the entrance, blocking my escape. “Because he needs your help, and I’m asking you to do this for me… for Ashley… for the baby,” he says in a tired voice, his hands folded as though he’s begging. All that’s missing is the pout and a pretty, pretty please .
    “What the hell are you talking about?” Now I understand all the weird shit back at the car. He was nervous about me kicking his ass for bringing me to Tanner’s house.
    “Things are pretty pathetic over here. He’s a mess, and before you get all defensive, I thought he deserved what he’s been getting in the beginning too. What he did to Ashley was fucked up, but look at him.” He sighs, throwing his thumb over his shoulder drawing my attention toward Tanner. “He hasn’t even noticed that we’re standing here arguing, and I know as much as he’s trying to focus on that game film he’s watching, his mind is busy trying to figure how to win back Ashley. He’s a freaking train wreck, and I need him to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. I thought maybe if you talk to him and see that he’s really trying to make things better, then you might help me help them.”
    He can’t be serious.
    “You think I’m going to help you by going behind my best friend’s back and selling her out to him?”
    “Please?” he asks, but he isn’t Alex. Tanner has finally acknowledged us. He must have overheard our argument. “Please, Quinn. I need to fix this.”
    I take in his face, and even in the dimly lit room, I can tell that things have been wearing on him. He doesn’t look very much like the superstar I met back in September. His face is thinner. His eyes are bloodshot, and he’s sporting some serious bags under them. There’s no happiness radiating from him anymore. He looks like a man who’s had his world ripped away from him. It’s sad, but he’s done it to himself. I’ve seen Ashley look worse over the last month and half, but the difference is that she