Goalie Interference (NHL Scorpions) (8 page)

Date number two wasn’t much better. He was a nice guy, a blind date who someone at work had set her up with. But completely boring. She almost fell asleep twice before they even got their salad.

“So you see, when there are still worms in the dog’s feces, even after de-worming, you know there are other problems. What we do is get more samples of their poop, and…”

“Oh, God. Please. Enough, Zach. I can’t take anymore. I can’t eat with you talking about dog poop, okay?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vlad staring at her from the corner booth. How the hell did he know where she was all the time? When he saw that she had caught a glimpse of him, he raised his glass to her in a toast, and went back to looking at his menu with a satisfied smile on his face.

Finally, Zach got off the subject of dog crap and talked about his family. He really was a nice guy and adored his sisters and mother. His father was gone, and he had assumed the role for his sisters years ago.

“When my dad died, it was just something I knew I had to do. I really didn’t think about it, you know?”

“I actually do know. Both my parents died when I was young, and I became more of a mother to my little brother.” Zoe never regretted a moment of it. Of course, she wished it had been different, but she and her brother, Aidan, were very close. She was thankful for him every day.

Just as he grabbed her hand and started rubbing her palm with his thumb, Vlad came over.

“Oh my God! Zoe Millis!” He leaned down and gave her a sweltering kiss. “I had no idea you lived around here now. How’s our little girl?”

“Huh? What little girl?” Zoe had no idea where he was going with this one.

“What do you mean, ‘what little girl?’ Our baby! You know the one, don’t you? Oh, wait, do you have more? I mean the one you wouldn’t let me see until I got out of the joint. Well, I’m out, sweetheart. Take me to see her.” He reached out and ran his finger down her cheek and right over her breast.

“Vlad, go away.”
Kill him
. That was what her brain kept telling her.
Kill him
.

He leaned down and whispered so that only she could hear. “I told you I would interfere. Every damn date—each and every one. Deal with it.” He pulled away and licked her lips. “God, you still taste better than anything. Yum.” He looked at her date and winked at him. “Enjoy her, she’s a wildcat in the sack.” He turned to Zoe and told her he’d look her up and call her.

Her third and final attempt at dating ended similarly. Vlad showed up at the movie theater where she and her date went.

Each time Jason attempted to put his arm around her, Vlad would kick his chair. He’d apologize profusely, of course, but he’d do it again and again, until Jason finally gave up.

About halfway through the movie, Zoe excused herself to run to the ladies room. She grabbed Vlad on the way out.

“You are driving me insane. I mean it. Stop following me. How the hell do you know what I’m doing all the time anyway? It’s creepy.”

Vlad stood there, again thinking how cute she was when she was mad. He put his hands in the air in surrender. “Hey, I’m just trying to protect you. These guys you’re seeing aren’t good enough for you.”

That was the last straw. She’d said it before, but that was it. “And you are? You say you love me, but do you? What is love to you, Vlad? Tormenting a person? Not allowing her the chance for happiness? Is that love? If it is, then you can keep it.”

The look on her face rocked him—like someone had taken the wind out of her sails. Had he done that? She covered her face with her hands and let out a breath. “Please stop, Vlad. Please. If you really care for me, just stop.” She walked past him and went back into the theater. Vlad couldn’t help but notice how Zoe’s arms hung at her sides in weariness. He knew he’d caused that.

Zoe stopped dating. Not solely because Vlad was being an ass, but also because she really didn’t want to anymore. It seemed like a good idea to simply throw herself into the dating pool, but it wasn’t working. Life was not that easy.

Vlad felt like a complete ass. He was so glad that Zoe was done trying to date. He’d lucked out that none of her dates recognized him. He wore hats and glasses and other things to try and disguise himself, but he never knew who might be a Scorpions fan.

He didn’t see Zoe for days. It was glaringly obvious she was avoiding him, and he really couldn’t blame her. At that point, he had sunk so low, he wished he could avoid himself.

Vlad had another appointment at the medical center in town—the one he shouldn’t be going to as it wasn’t a part of the organization. His hip was simply not right; it went out at odd times and was fine when he thought it would falter.

The doctor had run some tests, and Vlad was there to get the results. The news was not good. Dr. Culp wasn’t one to sugar coat things.

“I wish I had better news for you. I consulted with a few colleagues, and we all agree. You have avascular necrosis. Basically what that means is that your blood is not getting to where it needs to be in order to keep your bones healthy in that hip.”

Vlad hated to hear it, but it made sense. He’d had many injuries to his hip during his career. Years ago, there would have been no chance of fixing him, but now there were possibilities.

The doctor continued, trying to ignore the look of distress on Vlad’s face. “You’re going to need surgery. The sooner the better. The longer you put it off, the worse your condition will get.”

Vlad was shocked. He had assumed there would be a medicine he could take or physical therapy he could do to fix it. Surgery was out of the question. Nostrils flaring, he lashed out at the doctor. “Are you fucking serious? I can’t have surgery now. It’s the beginning of the season!” He wanted to hit something, throw something. He needed some kind of physical outlet.

“Vlad, I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear, but the end of the season is months away. I wouldn’t suggest waiting. It looks as though you’ve also had arthritis in that hip for quite a while now.”

“Well, yeah. I can’t really remember a time when my hip didn’t bother me some. Goal tending’s not the easiest position in the world. So, what are my choices here? If I get the surgery, will it cure me? How long will it take until I get back to being a top goalie?” Vlad didn’t want to shorten his season, but if that was what he had to do in order to save his career, he’d do it. The biggest issue at the moment was that his contract was up at the end of the season. Who would want to hire a goalie that had missed most of the previous season with hip injuries? It was a tough market, especially for a thirty-eight year old. At that age, his prospects wouldn’t be as lucrative as they once were.

“Your last MRI showed the change in your bone marrow. I’m sorry to say, it’s pretty extensive. You’ve got a lot of damaged bone on that hip that won’t be able to heal on its own. It needs surgery, Vlad. You’ll have a slow recovery, but you’re a very healthy young adult. There’s no reason you can’t get nearly full range of motion back in that hip.”

“Nearly full range? Doc, you’re not answering the most important question. How long will it be before I can play again after surgery?” Vlad was so fearful of the answer that his breathing was getting rapid, and he was gripping his hands hard enough to turn his knuckles white.

“Vlad, I’m sorry. I don’t think you ever will. Not professionally, anyway. You have extensive damage in that hip. Now, you can ignore my advice and play through it, but if you damage more of the bone, we’ll need to reconstruct a larger area and possibly ruin the quality of the rest of your life. The sooner we take care of this, the more range of motion you’re likely to get back.” The doctor walked over to Vlad and put his hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, son. I know this isn’t the answer you were hoping for.”

With a dazed look in his eyes, Vlad shook the doctor’s hand. “I’m going to need a while to think about this. I guess I’m going to have to talk to the coaches and staff. I’ll need copies of my records for them to look at.” Vlad had no idea how he was going to broach the subject with them.

“Of course. Good luck.”

Vlad’s vision blurred as he made his way to Zoe’s house. He wasn’t even sure why he was going there, but he was just so angry, he didn’t want to be alone. He should still have had a good couple years of playing left in him.

When he got to her house, he didn’t bother knocking. Opening the door, he quickly made his way to her office at the back of the house. The door was closed, but he yanked it open anyway.

Zoe sprang up from her chair, hand flying to her chest. “Vlad! What are you doing? I’m with a …” She stopped dead when she saw his face. He was white as a ghost, and his eyes were suspiciously red.

The Scorpions defenseman, Matt Johnson, stood up. “It’s okay, Doc. I’ll catch up with you later.” He clapped Vlad on the shoulder on his way out. “I won’t tell anyone I saw you here, man. Let me know if I can do anything for you.”

Once they were alone, Vlad went to Zoe and pulled her into his arms. His voice cracking with emotion, he mumbled words that she couldn’t understand. His face was buried in her neck, and he had a death grip on her. She couldn’t bear to push him away.

“Shhh. It’s going to be okay, Vlad. Please, tell me what’s wrong. Let me help you.” Zoe gently stroked Vlad’s back as he regained his composure.

God, it felt so good to have her touching him. He could almost forget what the doctor had told him. When he started running his fingers through her short hair, he started losing control. “Oh God, Zoe. I need you so bad.” He pulled back and captured her lips. “Please don’t push me away, not today.”

Zoe felt the lump in her throat before she could analyze her own feelings. He needed her, and she needed to be needed. “I won’t. I won’t push you away today.”

Vlad kissed her until she had to pull away just to breathe. “Please let me make love to you. Help me forget, just for a little while. Please, Zoe, make reality go away. Let me get lost in you.”

She couldn’t think of anything but the feel of his lips against hers. She must have muttered something affirmative, because he picked her up and carried her to her room.