Power Play (51 page)

616

“How we help?” Boris asked.

“We continue lending our support. Give Troy his space when he needs it yet be available when he wants to talk. Seeing Alexandra and Jax on the ice will be rough for a while, but we’ll pull the captain through much as possible.”

“That sound like good idea. You pray for Troy, yes?”

“I definitely will, Boris.”

“Now I feel better and try sleep now. Thank you, Preacher.”

“Always a pleasure. You know my room number if you need to talk more.”

***

617

“How did you manage not to raise any suspicions by leaving your room?” Alex asked in a whisper when they returned to the hotel. “We know Hank can get nosy at times.”

“Stover was dead asleep long before you and I went to the chapel. I could probably slip back in before morning without him aware I was gone,” Jax replied. “He’s such a deep sleeper that someone could throw a grenade in the room and he’d never known what hit him.”

“Least I didn’t have to worry about a roommate...” She gave Jax a sexy stare. “…until now.”

Jax picked up Alex and fumbled with the key card to her room. “While on the subject, it’s time for the remainder of our wedding night to get underway.”

Alex stifled giggles as the door swung open. “What are you doing?”

“Carrying my bride across the threshold. Isn’t that how you Americans do things?”

“You’ve lived in our country long enough to know, Mr. Ivanka. Now quit acting like a fool.”

618

He gently placed Alex on the bed and sat beside her. “I’ll always be a fool for you,
Mrs. Ivanka.”

“You know all hell will break loose once news of our marriage and my pregnancy are in the open.”

“Yeah, neither will be a secret much longer. May as well enjoy the peace and quiet while we can.”

Alex crawled onto Jax’s lap and purred in his ear. “So tell me, dear husband, how does this impromptu post-ceremony wedding night thing work?”

***

619

Chapter 98

Troy remained awake long after Boris returned to their room and eventually fell asleep. Perhaps he was imagining things, but swore he heard Jax and Alex making love in her room across the hall.

He glimpsed at the bedside clock, which read 3:30 a.m.
We have a flight back to Pittsburgh in five hours; no point trying to sleep with a bunch of shit on my mind and Boris sawing logs.

Troy rose from his bed and crept into the hallway. He noticed Davy parked on a sofa near the elevators fooling with his phone, the same location Boris and Byron had expressed concern about Troy’s changed demeanor.

Davy looked up from his phone’s screen. “Couldn’t sleep either, mate?”

“Not a wink. Unusual to see you awake at this hour.”

620

“I’m still chuffed about our win over the Fortune. What about you?”

“Great game, but sleep evaded me between Jax and Al fucking across the hall and Boris’ snoring.”

“Try having your room next door to the newlyweds. I’m surprised Johann’s sleeping through their bloody noise. Everyone missed you at the pub earlier.”

“I wasn’t in the mood for partying.”

“Too bad; lots of pretty lasses asked where you were.”

“I’m done with women, Davy. Maybe hanging out as friends, but forget about anything else.”

“You’re starting to sound like me before I met Jennifer. Does this have something to do with Alex?”

Troy emitted a deep sigh and nodded. “Seems either any chances for a potential relationship or ones I’ve been involved in ended up going to shit. Just when I thought Al and I were becoming closer, Jax wooed her away. What do other guys have what I’m missing? Is it the way I look, too nice, or a hockey robot too absorbed in my work? What the hell have I done wrong?”

621

“Troy, Troy, take a breath,” Davy said. “Perhaps you have yet to meet someone who appreciates all your qualities. Lasses may love the excitement useless wankers seem to possess, but they always choose a more stable chap in the end.”

“Maybe I should try being a dick.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why? It worked for Jax. Women threw themselves at him for years and he somehow charmed his way into Al’s bed.”

“Here’s the thing about Ivanka. We know him as the player, but most people tend to forget he arrived in the United States at eighteen and knew almost no English. One thinks a chap opens up more when he gets older, but Ivanka did the opposite for a long time. He trusted no one and ended up alone despite being young, rich, and famous with model girlfriends.”

“If I remember correctly, most of those girls didn’t stick around long.”

“You’re right. Nobody seemed to understand why someone with so much going for him could be so gutted.”

622

“Okay, but what does all that have to do with
me?”

“I’m seeing similar patterns emerging in you, Troy. Ivanka became jaded from homesickness until adjusting to American life; you’re all but closing off yourself from other potential relationships because of Alex.”

“A guy truly falls in love only once in his lifetime, Davy. Al was the one for me.”

“I know, and hoped you two would make things permanent.”

“No chance of that now. She’s lost to me forever.”

“Don’t get your boxers in a wad yet, mate; I’ll go on record and say their marriage won’t last much longer after the little tyke arrives.”

“You’re nuts. Jax loves kids; you heard him say how he wants to provide the baby with a stable life both here and in the Czech Republic.”

“Sure, but he doesn’t have the same knack you do for interacting with ankle biters. Seriously, how many of them wear Ivanka jerseys in contrast to Talmadge ones?”

623

“Unless they’re Czech descendants or their parents are longtime fans, I’ve spotted scant amounts of Ivanka jerseys during Rebels games.”

“Exactly my point, mate; you’re doing something right.”

“Yeah, maybe…”

“The best time to find love is when you stopped looking. I speak from experience.”

“Kind of a cliché, Davy.”

“Sure, but worked for me.” Davy glanced at his phone. “Bloody hell!”

“What’s the matter?”

“Someone took a shot of Ivanka and Alex leaving a wedding chapel and posted the picture online. There’s an enlarged one showing their rings.”

“Oh God,” Troy groaned. “Al made efforts to keep everything quiet until the right time. I don’t even want to think how she and Jax will react when they hear about this. How long have the pictures been posted?”

624

“Only a short time, but I have a feeling this thing will spread like wildfire by sunrise.”

“Sometimes I hate the fucking Internet. Now you know why I don’t have social media accounts. I have enough people talking shit without dealing with a bunch of nuts in cyberspace.”

“Don’t let anything bother you, mate. Stay on the right road and keep doing one hell of a good job. Who knows, Alex may one day realize she made a mistake and come back to you.”

Troy managed a small smile.
I hope so, Davy, but won’t hold my breath.

***

625

Chapter 99

Alex logged onto her laptop to check her private email account while she and Jax waited for others to arrive for their charter flight to Pittsburgh. She found her inbox unusually filled to capacity but couldn’t figure the reason.

“Oh my God,” she moaned after opening an email attachment from Phyllis.

“What’s wrong?” Jax asked.

“Remember you didn’t want pictures at our wedding last night?”

“I specified such, yeah.”

“People inside the chapel may have honored your request, but someone outside
didn’t.”

“What are you talking about?”

Alex turned the laptop screen in his direction. “Look.”

626

“What the hell? Someone took pictures of us leaving the chapel?”

“They enlarged another one showing our rings.”

“Fuck, nothing’s supposed to get out before we return to Pittsburgh. The Rebels’ PR people are probably losing their minds.”

“Word of our marriage also likely reached the other guys by now,” Alex said.

“We need to think of another way to spin this.”

“What else can we say, Jax? Pictures usually don’t lie; our marriage license will become public record, and it won’t be much longer before my pregnancy becomes obvious.”

“Leave everything to me. You have enough on your plate without being haggled by fans and the media.”

“Stop worrying so much. I’ll be fine.”

Marty’s voice boomed across the terminal. “Hey, look who’s already here! Let me be among first to congratulate you newlyweds.”

627

“Jesus, O’Freel,” Jax groused. “We don’t need the whole world knowing.”

“Too late; your impromptu Vegas wedding is today’s Internet hot topic and trending on social media.”

Jax covered his face and cursed in Czech.

“Come on, Old Man, what’s with all the bitching? You haven’t been this relevant since your current agent and Halloran hammered out a killer deal when you returned to the Rebels.”

“We wanted to break the news ourselves, Howdy Doody,” Alex replied.

“Looks like someone had other plans. There are pictures of you leaving the chapel and–”

“We’re aware. Have you seen Troy this morning?”

“Why, you planning to use him as a side piece in case Old Man slacks on performing the husbandly deed, if you get my drift?”

Alex glared at Marty. “No, I want to talk to him when we get back to Pittsburgh.”

“Talmadge already knows about your elopement and probably bawling his eyes out in the ladies’ room.”