Dump and Chase (Nashville Assassins Next Generation 1)

I let my shoulders fall. “I don’t make the best decisions.”

She grins. “You don’t. Has Nico been calling?”

Nico Merryweather, the goalie for the IceCats and one hell of a gorgeous man. We had a little thing going. It was mainly sex, and we had fun. With me living in New York and him in Carolina, I knew it wouldn’t work. I didn’t want it to work because he wasn’t Aiden. I’ve kept all guys at arm’s length because I wanted Aiden. Now that I’ve had him and know that he has never and will never notice me, I should probably move on. Even so, Nico isn’t for me. He’s too obsessed with himself to care about anyone else. He just likes having sex with me. He should. I’m good at it.

“We text, but nothing worth talking about.”

“He told Chandler he’s gonna get you back.”

I laugh. “We were never together. Just banging.”

She rolls her eyes. “He’s a sweet dude.”

“He is—for someone else. Not me,” I say, but then there is a knock at my door. “Hey, my dad is here. I’ll call you later.”

“Okay! Love you.”

“Love you! And my baby!”

She grins as she waves, and I wave back while I get up off the bed. I hang up as I jog toward the door, excitement rushing through me. Time to ignore what I’ve done and get the hell out of New York. When I throw the door open, my dad is standing as tall as ever in front of me.

Shea Adler is my hero.

At 6’3”, my dad is a brick wall. The years have been good to him, with only a few wrinkles here and there. A nice dusting of gray is in his hair and sprinkled throughout his beard. But his blue eyes are as bright as ever, and his grin takes up his whole face. He reaches for me, and I go to him without any thought. As we hug, tears fill my eyes. I just saw him at Christmas, but I miss him the most. When I’m with him, I feel like I can do anything.

“Hey, baby girl,” he says, putting me back on my feet. I’m so excited to see my dad, I don’t even notice my brothers standing behind him.

“Oh! Hey!” I exclaim as I hug each of them. My twin brothers, Owen and Evan, are spitting images of my dad. Built big, with dark black hair, bright blue eyes, and ready to smash anyone into the boards. They are identical twins, so sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart. But Evan does have a scar beneath his eye from where Owen hit him with the blade of his stick. I’ve never been so thankful for my brother getting hurt since it makes it easier for me to figure out who’s who. They’re defensemen for their high school and play on the same line. It’s kinda scary to see them on the ice together. I wouldn’t want to play them. Quinn, the baby of the family, looks just like my mom. He’s small, a little thick, with green eyes and dark hair. He doesn’t give two shits about hockey, but he loves soccer. Dad says it’s okay as long as he plays something; he has entirely too much energy not to.

“Hey,” Quinn says, hugging me tightly. “Ready to go home?”

“I am.”

Owen hooks his thumb behind them, where another ginormous guy stands. I’ve never seen him before. I raise a brow as he says, “This is Maxim. He’s our billet boy. He’s sleeping in your room.”

I look up at my dad, but he holds up his hands. “We’ll take care of it at home.”

Maxim gives me a shy grin, and I wave. “Hey, I’m Shelli.”

“Maxim,” he says with a very thick accent. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” I say, even though I forgot he existed. He went home for the holidays, so I didn’t meet him, and he plays for the Bellevue Bullies. He will move out of my room once I get there, though.

My dad slaps his hands together. “Ready to blow this shithole?”

I laugh as I tuck my phone into my back pocket. “You love New York.”

He shrugs. “It’s all right, but I don’t want my baby here. I want her home.” He gives me a sweet grin as he looks around. “All right, boys. Let’s get to work.”

At once, they all start to pack everything up. It doesn’t take long before I’m standing in a bare studio condo. We’re leaving my furniture in case one of us needs to use the place in the future. Dad bought me this place when I got the lead in my first play. Now, I’m leaving. I thought I’d be sadder, but I’m not. I’m ready to go.

“So we’ll hit up the shipping spot and then go to lunch to kill time.”