Bruiser (Seattle Sharks 7)

“It wasn’t a suggestion.” I lifted an eyebrow and peered down at him. Sometimes being six-five was absolutely to my advantage.

“Look, that’s my daughter in there, and if I want to see her, I’m going to see her.” He tried to step forward again, but I didn’t move.

They didn’t jokingly call me a wall in the NHL for nothing.

“You’re not getting near Elliott until her mother says so. And given the fact that you’re a weasel who gets off on hurting people smaller than you, I’d guess she’s never going to say so.” I dropped my voice in volume, but not intensity.

“That’s what she told you, huh? That hurting her got me off?” he scoffed. “I didn’t do anything that she didn’t instigate.” His shoulders shrugged up, revealing a bulge at his belt I recognized all too well.

The fucking asshole brought a gun to the ice rink.

The rink where kids—my kid—was skating.

Physically, I could take the guy, but when guns got involved, it was the collateral damage that was unpredictable, and there were way too many little beating hearts around here for any of that shit.

“I’ve seen her scars,” I said, keeping my cool.

“Crazy bitch charged at me, what was I supposed to do? You know how it goes, bro.” He gave me a smug, one-cornered smile.

“Yeah, I’m not your bro. And I don’t know how it goes, because I’ve never hit a woman. Ever. What I do know is you’re going to turn around and walk the fuck away before I do something that pisses off my agent.” For all I knew, there were already cameras on us.

“That’s my kid!” He stabbed his finger at the door I blocked, where I could still hear the kids laughing.

Yeah, this shit wasn’t going to touch Elliott.

“Not anymore. Hell, not since the moment you put a hand on Shea. That’s not even your last name on the back of her jersey.” My jaw flexed, my muscles tight as the anger coiled.

“I’ll get a lawyer.” He bluffed. This guy wanted jack and shit to do with law enforcement. I would have bet a million bucks that he didn’t have a permit for that gun.

“I’ll hire better ones. Trust me.”

“I have every right to take her with me right now.”

Oh. Fuck. No.

“That’s. Not. Happening.” The sounds of laughter grew fainter, and I knew Elliott would be coming back out of the locker room soon.

He got up on his toes and leaned into me, nudging the bulge of his gun into my hip. “You have no idea who the fuck you’re dealing with. Who I run with.”

I stayed exactly where I was, blocking him from getting to Elliott. No amount of goading my temper was going to move me.

“I’m paid millions a year to go against guys way bigger than you, and trust me, I win every time. You don’t scare me, you’re done scaring Shea, and you’ll never scare Elliott. Now get the fuck out of here before I forget social niceties. You wouldn’t be the first abuser I’ve spent the night in jail for beating the shit out of.”

Something in my eyes must have clued him in that I meant it, because he backed up.

“This isn’t over.” He pointed his finger at me and left, walking down the hallway as the locker room door hit me in the back.

He was one of those douchebags who demanded the last word.

“Oof,” Elliott muttered.

I moved away from the door, watching the asshole retreat, making sure he actually left the rink.

“Sorry, Tammy was in there, and she was showing me this really funny YouTube video. I got distracted.” Elliott looked up at me, her red hair delightfully puffy from her helmet, and let my hand rest at the back of her head for a second.

“No problem,” I told her, my chest easing up when I saw him depart thought the rink doors. “Wait right here, okay?”

I waited until she nodded, then walked ten feet down the hall and grabbed her gear bag.

“Let’s take a shortcut. I parked out the side entrance.”

“Okay!”

She started to give me the replay-commentary of the game, and I nodded when appropriate as I took her out the side door, keeping all of my senses on alert.

I’d been honest with the asshole. I wasn’t scared of him. But I wasn’t taking any chances with Elliott, either.

I got her and her gear into the G-Wagon, and shut the doors, making sure they were locked.

“Hey,” I asked, keeping my voice level as we pulled out of the parking lot of the small rink.

“Yeah?” she asked between gulps of a bright blue Gatorade that was no doubt going to leave her looking like she’d kissed a Smurf.

“That guy who talked to you outside the locker room. What did he want?”

“Oh, him? He wanted to know if my mom was here. He said something about being the team dad? I guess we’re supposed to sign up for snack.” She went back to guzzling her drink.

“That’s all? I’ll make sure we’re on the list, no worries.”

Because she trusted me, she nodded and launched right back into her post-game dissection.

And because she trusted me, that guy was never getting close to her again.

* * *

“You okay?” Shea asked as she came out onto the deck, barefoot and wearing pajama pants and a tank top. “You seemed really distracted during dinner.”

I adjusted my seat in the hot tub, using the jet to work a knot out of my lower back.

“Elliott asleep?” I asked.

She nodded, rolling her pants up to her knees. “If not she’s the best faker in the world. That game must have zonked her. She climbed up the wooden steps to the massive tub and then sat on the edge, swinging one foot over and then the next.

“I bought you a few swimsuits if you want one,” I told her. “They’re in the closet in the guest room.”

“I’m okay,” she said, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “What’s going on?”

“Elliott’s eyes. She got them from her father, right?”

Shea’s eyebrows rose. “Um. Yeah. They’re pretty much identical, honestly.”

“And that’s the guy who freaked you out after the game.”

She swallowed and looked away, taking a sudden interest in the night skyline of downtown Seattle.

“Shea,” I pled.

“Yeah. That was Todd.” She finally brought her eyes back to mine and sat patiently, knowing she had to tell me in her own good time. “He wanted to scare me, I think. Said he wanted to see Elliott. But if it was really about just seeing Elliott, then he would have called my work or found my email. He went to that game because he knows we’re together. He knew we’d be there, and then he knew when I left the others to go to the restroom. He waited.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I tried to keep my voice down, but emotion took the volume up.

“Because it’s not something you have to worry about,” she said. “It’s my past. My issue. I’m strong enough to deal with him now, and I will.” She raked her hands over her face. “I mean, he doesn’t actually want her. He’s just trying to stir me up. He’s probably already back in California, having gotten his kicks for that weekend.” She bit her lower lip for a second. “I mean, I hope he is.”

“He showed up at Elliott’s game today.”

Her head jerked up, every muscle in her body going rigid. “What? Are you sure? Why are you just now telling me?” Her voice pitched to a nearly hysterical level.

“Because I didn’t want Elliott to see you do that,” I said calmly.

She stood, one of her pant legs falling far enough to dip into the water. “You should have told me immediately!”

I saw the panic in her eyes, the feral curve of her fingers like she was ready to rip him into shreds.

“Shea, I didn’t want Elliott to hear. She didn’t know who he was, and if I told you during dinner, then I would have been making

a choice for you. We haven’t exactly had a second alone since you got home.”

Home. I’d gotten so used to saying it over the last few weeks, even though I knew she didn’t feel the same.

“He spoke to her?” she seethed.

I kept my arms balanced on the edge of the tub, refusing to show any sign of stress or anger.

“Outside the locker room, right after she came out. Told her that he was the team dad and asked if you were there, if you’d signed up for snacks.”

Her eyes blazed pure fire.

“He. Got. Near. Her?” Each word was low and filled with malice.

“Yeah, okay, now it’s my turn. See, here’s the thing,” I let my words bite a little. “Had you told me that’s who that guy was? Had you shared with me that he was in town, or that his name was even Todd, I would have been prepared. I would have been right there, hovering outside the door. Hell, I would have hired security!”

“I don’t want—”

“My turn,” I repeated, raising my brows, but leaving my hands right where she could see them. Above everything else, I needed her to understand that we could have a tense discussion, a disagreement, hell, a full-out fight, and I’d never move to put her in danger.

She sat still on the other side of the hot tub.

“Had you trusted me, I could have prevented it. I could have helped you. Protected Elliott. You can be angry with me if you need to be. I’ll take it. But you cannot leave me blind and then get angry when I can’t tell there’s even a trap.”

The anger faded from her face, leaving shame and a little fear.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just…” She wrapped her arms around her middle.

“Worried? Scared?”

Her head snapped up again. “He doesn’t scare me!”

“Okay,” I said gently. “Baby, you’re freezing, why don’t we go inside and figure this out.”

She shook her head. “Elliott might hear. You’re right. I don’t want her to know a single thing about this.”

“I’m pretty sure if we haven’t woken her up when you’re screaming my name as you orgasm, we’re not going to wake her up by talking.”