Chapter Forty-Nine

Theo

U gh. It has been a really long fucking day. Night has settled over the city, and I sit in my truck now, staring blankly ahead through the fogged-up windshield. I should go. Or I should go in. Hell, I blow out a breath, running a hand down my face as if I could just wipe away the bone-deep weariness I feel as I try to gather my frazzled thoughts. I don’t know what the fuck I should do.

After my conversation with Danica was interrupted this morning, the day progressed from bad to worse. Finding my cousin’s restaurant had been destroyed by arson, and trying to reassure Tony was a lesson in futility, and then I had to rush straight to practice before things had truly been resolved between us. While on the ice, my mind was a million miles away the whole time we were running drills, and Coach was so disgusted with my poor performance that he sent me home early to ‘get my shit together’ before our next match. It was a first for me.

I have a home game tomorrow, and then I fly out for a week of back-to-back away games. Perfect fucking timing, in the middle of this shit-fest I have managed to get myself into. Tony was right. Somehow, no matter how hard I try to fix things, all I have managed to do is make everything worse. With a groan of frustration, I drop my head to the steering wheel, accidentally setting off a beep of the horn.

A soft tap on my window has me jerking upright, reaching for my holstered gun at my ankle, when I see its just Darrion. I let out a breath of relief as I open my door, hopping out quickly to meet him. “Jesus, man. Warn a guy next time, will you? You know better than to sneak up on someone who’s packing.”

Darrion just rolls his eyes before shooting me a look. “First of all, I wasn’t sneaking up, you just weren’t paying attention. Second, you wouldn’t shoot me.”

Hmm. He’s awfully confident in himself. “I’m not so sure about that.”

Darrion just grins in response. “C’mon, you know you wouldn’t. You’re too good for that rookie mistake.”

I just shake my head incredulously. “Um, anyone can make a mistake; that is the whole point of a mistake; especially when someone is having as shitty of day as I am. That being said, I might just shoot your smart ass for the hell of it.”

His laughter rings in my ears. “And I’m sure I’d probably deserve it. Now, to fill you in, everything’s good here. Perimeter is clear; we’ve had no signs of trouble today. Took Danica to get coffee at that Bean Shop place, hit up the hospital for a quick visit with Quinteros, and she has been here the rest of the day, working with clients.”

I nod. It’s not surprising that she went to see that fuckface at the hospital. She obviously cares about his wellbeing. Still, I’m glad my guys were with her while she was running about town this morning.

“Jayce is inside with her now. The place is closed for the night, and Roberts will be here with his team to take over for rounds after hours.”

Right. More of Jonathan’s men. I grimace. “Alright. Thanks. I want you to take Jayce and go clear the apartment, then head over to Tony’s and see what he needs help with. We’ve got a real mess on our hands over there, and it is gonna take a lot of work to get things up and running again.” And by ‘things,’ of course, I was not referring to the restaurant business. “I’ll take over from here and follow-up with you in the morning. Let me know if anything else happens in the meantime.”

Darrion nods. “You’ve got it boss.”

With that, he shoots off a quick text to Jayce, and I make my way over to the employee entrance, letting myself in with the ID that Finn had given me at the hospital yesterday. Looks like my girl already closed everything up for the evening, I observe, as I make my way through the darkened halls. Having memorized the layout from the materials Finn briefed me with, it takes me very little time to find my way to the auditorium from here.

The first thing I note is Jayce standing off to one side, silently monitoring his surroundings. The second thing I notice, is my breathtaking girl as she makes her way through a complicated bar routine. I nod once at Jayce to dismiss him, and my breath catches in my throat as I turn back to watch my girl in all her glory.

I have always loved watching her practice. Her toned muscles shift as she transitions seamlessly through the various flips and turns of the complex elements that she has mastered on the uneven bars. With one last flip, she flies off the bar, landing gracefully on the mat below. I can’t help but clap as a grin spreads across my face.

“That was. . . incredible.”

She turns to face me, her breath a bit more labored than normal from the exertion of her practice routine. “Oh. Thank you.”

“Mind if I keep watching?” As if she could make me leave. It has been years since I have been able to watch her up close like this, and it will take more than a few contrary words to get me to turn away now.

“Uh. . .” She bends over to swipe at her water bottle, taking a quick gulp before replying. “Sure. I mean, I guess so.” She shrugs, looking a little more unsure now. “I just have the balance beam left, and then I can call it a night.”

I nod in response, quirking my eyebrow questioningly. “No floor routine?”

“No. Not today. I’m too tired after how the last few days have gone. Think I am gonna cut it a little short tonight so we can go home.”

So we can go home . Damn it feels good to hear her say that, even if she doesn’t mean it in the way I want her to.

“Right. I guess I’ll just. . . wait here then.” I shrug out of my leather jacket, removing my hoodie underneath as well. It is a lot warmer in here than it is outside. I can’t help but grin smugly as I catch her ogling me out of the corner of my eye. I know I look good in these jeans and t-shirt. I work hard to stay in top shape for the game, but at times like this? Yeah, it feels good to know my girl is still warm for my form.

Danica blushes, turning away abruptly to walk over to the balance beam. After chalking her hands, she walks to the middle of the beam before mounting. She moves towards the far end, doing a back handspring and a series of other complicated twists and flips. She is absolutely stunning, and I find myself enraptured as I watch her going through the various exercises. She does another series of back flips across the beam before launching herself off the end, twisting repeatedly through the air before landing in a solid dismount.

“Holy shit!” I can’t help the exclamation as it escapes my lips. “That was so fucking incredible, la mia diavoletta. What the hell was that move?”

Danica takes a minute to catch her breath before responding. “A roundoff into a free cartwheel, transitioned into two back handsprings before dismounting with a full twisting double-back.” She gestures towards her water bottle, and I move quickly to grab it, and pass it her way. She gulps greedily at the water before continuing. “I have been working on that dismount for months. It’s the one I messed up at Worlds last year.” Shaking her head in a self-deprecating manner, she glances down at the floor with a sigh.

“Hey.” I move closer, stepping into her space, grabbing her chin, and forcing her to look up at me. “You were incredible at Worlds, and you are phenomenal now.”

Her brows narrow in confusion, “You saw my Worlds routine?” She chuckles, but there is no humor in her voice, “Of course you did. My screwup was all over the news, so why wouldn’t you have seen it?”

I frown, grabbing her arms to pull her into me. “I saw it, Danica, because I was there. Not because it was all over the news. And I stand by what I said. Your performance was incredible. Just because you made a mistake with the dismount on the beams, don’t let it take away all your other successes. You did incredibly well on the uneven bars and in the all-around.”