Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Colter

Idon’t let Leia out of my sight until Gavin is in the back of Dillon’s SUV. I try to convince her to go to the hospital to get checked out, but she refuses. She says she’s fine, but she’s shaken up.

The motherfucker was on top of her, trying to get his hands around her throat when I walked in. My whole life flashed before my eyes. I don’t know why I left the arena to go check on her. Something just told me that she needed me. Dillon was already in the driveway when I pulled up. He said he’d tried calling her, but she didn’t answer. When he drove by and saw Gavin’s car out front, he knew something was wrong.

He’d already phoned for backup. I wasn’t waiting that long, though.

I’ll never forget the sight of that motherfucker trying to hurt her. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes. And if I live to one thousand, I’ll never, ever forget that my woman is a badass. She clawed his face and arms all to hell. Took a chunk out of his arm and one of his hands too.

She also managed to record everything. Since Texas is a one-party consent state, his ass is toast. He may have gotten a slap on the wrist for illegal gambling, but he won’t be so lucky regarding the home invasion and attempted murder charges.

"Wait!" Elysa cries, jumping out of her car before Dillon can pull away with him in the back. She waves her arms in the air, stepping in front of Dillon’s SUV. "Wait!"

"What the fuck is she doing?" I mutter to Leia.

"I don’t know." Leia steps in that direction, but I reel her back in. She’s not getting anywhere near that SUV so long as he’s in it.

Dillon taps the brakes, letting his window down.

"I’d like to speak to him, please," Elysa says, her voice firm. "It’ll only take a minute."

"Jesus Christ," Dillon mutters, throwing the SUV in park in the middle of the road. He hops out, pulling open the back door for Elysa to speak to Gavin.

Gavin’s hunched over, hiding his face. The EMTs patched him up, but his face is fucked. He probably needs to be in the hospital, but Dillon’s taking his sweet time getting him there. Not that I’m complaining or anything. Let the dick suffer. It’s the least he deserves.

"You’re an asshole," Elysa announces. "I hope you lose everything in prison and spend the rest of your miserable life haunted by today."

He says something to her, too quietly to hear. Whatever it is doesn’t seem to sway her one bit.

"Well, too bad. We’re finished, Gavin. Lose my number." She turns on her heel and sashays away without looking back.

Gavin leans his head against the back of Dillon’s seat. Did the jackass really think she’d stick with him after today?

Dillon shakes his head like he’s asking himself the same exact question and slams the door.

"Leia!" Elysa rushes toward my woman, who steps out of my arms to meet her in one of those giant, comforting hugs girls do. The shit is cute. "I’m so glad you’re okay!"

"Me too," Leia says, laying her head on Elysa’s shoulder. "I’m so glad you dumped him."

"Ugh, me too. I’ve been waiting for days to do that!"

"What did he say to you?"

Elysa scowls. "He told me he was in love with me. As if I even care. You do not get to mess with my best friend and then say some crazy crap like that," she huffs. "He’s lost his freaking mind."

Leia cracks a smile, her first in hours. The sight of it settles me. The last of the rage still coursing through my veins washes away, unable to withstand the power of that smile. She’s right here, safe and happy. The rest will work itself out.

"Remind me not to take story ideas from Elysa ever again," she says hours later, groaning as she falls backward onto our bed. "I’m so tired and haven’t even started writing yet."

"It’s been a helluva day, Trouble." I dim the lights before scooping her up to strip her down. Once she’s naked, I slide the covers back and deposit her in bed. We’ve been at the Sheriff’s Department for hours. I end up missing the game, but I don’t fucking care. I don’t think anyone else did either once they discovered what happened.

Coach has already been on the phone with the bigwigs of the League, letting them know the situation. I’m guessing Jimmy Brinks and Bruce Gordon will have bad days soon. I’d feel sorry for them, except they made their own choices, knowing full well the risks they took. If they were dumb enough to do the crime, they can suck it up and do the time.

I don’t know if they’ll be banned from the league, but I doubt they’ll be on the ice for the rest of the season. It’s almost a shame, really. I was looking forward to kicking the shit out of Gordon at the next game. After all this, I doubt anyone would even blame me.

"Mmhmm," she mumbles, stealing my pillow to snuggle up with it while I undress. "Can we stick to boring for a while, Bossy? I’m all adventured out."

"Whatever you want, pretty baby," I agree, knowing damn well she’ll change her mind in the morning. Leia wouldn’t know what to do with boredom. She was born for adventure and excitement. It’s part of who she is, just like that smart mouth and her fiery spirit. She told me the other day that her adopted mom picked her name. She chose well.

"Your brother hates me." I crawl into bed with her, stealing my pillow back as I pull her onto my chest. All of her family in town met us at the Sheriff’s Department. I guess Dillon called to let them know what happened. Her sisters are sweet. But her brother, Garrett? He did not seem thrilled that she was dating me.

She laughs quietly. "Garrett hates everyone with a penis who even looks at us."

"Fuck my life."

"He likes hockey, so you’ll probably get off easy." She laughs again. "Razor was in a rock band. Garrett still thinks he’s up to no good, and he and Adalynn are married and have a baby on the way."

"Jesus, Trouble. You aren’t making me feel any better here," I mutter.

She pats my chest. "You’ll be fine. Just talk about sports. And avoid mentioning the fact that you’ve seen me naked. He might shoot you if you tell him that."

"You little minx." I dig my fingers into her sides, making her squeal with laughter. "You’re fucking with me again."

"Only a little bit," she promises, swatting my hands away. "Garrett’s just grumpy. He’s hiding something, but we don’t know what. He’s like Fort Knox."

"He’s in love."

"Really?" She blinks up at me. "You think so?"

"I know so, pretty baby. I can read the signs." I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I see the same ones in the mirror every day."

Her expression softens. "You’re awfully good at that."

"Yeah?" I tilt her chin up to brush my lips across hers. "Good enough for you to spend the rest of your life with me?"

"Colter," she gasps. "Are you—?"

"Asking you to marry me? Damn right." I grab my wallet from the nightstand and pull her ring out. I hid it in there since she likes to snoop. I didn’t want her to find it before I could give it to her.

She stops breathing when I slip it onto her finger.

"Marry me, goddess," I whisper, bringing her hand up to press my lips to the solitaire diamond. "Let me spend the rest of my life loving you."

"Will there be excitement?" she asks.

"You are the excitement."

"What about adventure?"

"Every fucking day."

"In that case, I need to think about it."

I growl, tipping her over beneath me.

"I’m kidding! I’m kidding!" she squeals, flinging her arms around my neck. "Yes, Colter. Of course, my answer is yes."

"It damn well better be," I mutter, my lips hovering over hers. "You’re stuck with me, Trouble. Permanently."

"Oh, yeah?" She slides her hands down my shoulders, smirking. "Does that mean I get to do what I want to do to you then?"

"Nope. It means I get to have my way with you." I cut her off her protest with my lips on hers. When I let her up for air, she isn’t protesting anymore. In fact, she doesn’t protest for a long, long time.