The Enforcer (35 page)

The suite was halfway filled by the time Lacey and Zoe got in there. Lacey was glad for the chance to get to know the other girls. Some of them she had already met at the skating party, but there were quite a few new faces. Mostly, though, she hung out with Zoe.

“Do you believe Vlad told me that he wouldn’t leave me alone? Oh my God, Lace,
what
am I going to do about him?” Zoe was equally pissed and happy. What an impossible situation. She had seriously tried to feel something for Sebastian, but it just wasn’t there. She had even come close to sleeping with him, but after some heavy petting, she confessed to him that she wasn’t feeling it. Seb was a total gentleman and took her home. He admitted that, even though he liked her, he wasn’t feeling a real connection either.

“Zoe, I don’t have an answer for you. I wish I did, sweetie, I truly do. It’s a shitty situation. I
know
you have strong feelings for him. Is there any possibility you could talk to management?”

“I’m afraid to. Lace, I
love
my job. I can’t lose it, even if it means giving up a chance with Vlad.”

“Okay. Well it seems like you’ve made your decision, so, as my therapist would tell me, ‘suck it up, Buttercup.’” Lacey gave her a sympathetic smile. “I honestly don’t know; I guess you just have to live with it, or be willing to find another job.” Lacey felt bad telling Zoe to forget about him when she was so happy with Jody.

Zoe sighed like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. “I know you’re right, it just sucks. I’m so drawn to him, but I get totally pissed off that he won’t back off.” Zoe laughed, “It’s kind of crazy, right? He’s very sweet most of the time. I wish he was an asshole.”

“Well, I don’t think you should stop dating, that’s for sure. Seb was nice, but didn’t do it for you. Find someone else to date, and try it again.”

Jody was looking forward to this game. Philadelphia was a tough team and one he had always respected. He
knew
he’d be in the lineup, since they were known for their physical play. Slightly concerned about their enforcer, he’d gone to a boxing gym a couple of times the week before the game to brush up on his pugilist skills. He wanted to take Brash down if he had the opportunity, but Brash was, hands down, the biggest, toughest enforcer in the league. If Jody was being honest, he hoped he wouldn’t have to drop gloves with him, but if he did, he wanted a decent showing at the very least.

By the end of the first, the Scorpions were up three to one. Vlad was a stud in the net, and the boys were shooting like crazy. The players were all on the same page, and Jody hoped it stayed that way for the next two periods.

Back in the locker room for intermission, Keith was making the rounds, talking to teammates. “Hey Chief. You might get lucky if Philly keeps quiet for the rest of the game. You won’t have to take on that behemoth.” Keith knew, without a doubt, that Jody would do whatever was asked of him, but damn – no one wanted to go up against Brash.

“True enough, but if we keep scoring, they’re going to go after someone just to shake things up. Most likely you.” Keith had scored two of the three goals. Having that C on his jersey could make him a target. Some players would leave the captain alone for the most part, but the C wouldn’t protect Keith from any Philly players.

Marcoux had scored the other goal. It was a typical Brandon goal that Philly’s goalie should have seen coming a mile away. He skated behind the net, came out the other side, and did his trademark wrap around to stuff the puck over the goal line right between the net post and Brody’s pad.

“Hey guys! Who’s ready to go score some more goals? Did you hear the chicks out there calling my name? Damn, they love me. I’m getting some tonight, boys!” Not expecting any answers to his questions, Brandon squirted himself down with a water bottle. “Working up a sweat though!”

Vlad sauntered up to Jody. “Well, you can’t say the kid’s not enthusiastic. Annoying, but enthusiastic.”

Keith clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Okay guys, it’s almost time to go out and start the second. We did great in the first, but don’t think for one minute that the second period is going to be a walk in the park. Philly’s gonna come out balls to the wall. They’re not going to let us get away with having a two-goal lead, so be prepared to fight to keep that lead. Keep your checks clean, and for Christ’s sake, watch your turnovers in the neutral zone. Got it?” There was a chorus of ‘yes captain,’ and they filed out of the locker room.

Keith was right about the second period. Philly did indeed come out balls to the wall. In the first thirty seconds, their captain scored on a turnover. Coach DeLeon went ballistic, and called a timeout. “What the fuck was that Marcoux? I specifically heard Lambert tell you guys to watch your fucking turnovers. You can’t sit back on your heels with a team like Philly. Now get out there and show me a better effort. Go!”

Marcoux didn’t like getting called out and was pissed that O’Dell, Philly’s captain, scored on a turnover made by him. On his next shift, when O’Dell got the puck, he took a run at him and got called for boarding. “That’s horseshit! He turned his back at the last minute just to get the call. That fucker knew I was coming!” The ref ignored Marcoux’s outburst and patiently pushed him toward the penalty box. He was lucky he was only getting a two-minute minor.

When the coach saw that Brash was out on the same shift as the Scorpions captain, he quickly pulled off the left-winger and put Jody in. “Go protect your captain. Brash is out there for a reason.”

Here we go
, Jody thought as he swung his legs over the boards and took his spot at the red line next to Brash. Brash sneered at him and said, “Get ready to go down, LaGrange.”

When Lacey saw that Jody was on the top line (he was usually on the fourth line, or third if someone got hurt, and he needed to fill in), she looked at Zoe with concern. “Well, shit, I guess that sends a message. I’m not sure that I want to watch this one.”

Against her better judgment, Lacey couldn’t take her eyes off of Jody, even when the Scorpions stole the puck in the defensive zone, making a run down the ice. When they were nearing the red line, all hell broke loose. Brash made a clean, albeit overly hard, hit on Keith who went flying ass over teakettle, coming down hard on the ice.

Lacey watched as Jody skated over to Brash. They both dropped their gloves and took off their helmets. Luckily, Jody got a solid grip on Brash’s jersey, but Brash had about four inches on Jody, not to mention thirty pounds. He was a big fucker.

Jody got in a couple of solid hits, but took more than he gave. As he was struggling to fling his elbow pad off, Brash came around with a haymaker that threw him off balance, and he went down hard, bashing his head on the half wall at the team bench. The last thing he remembered was thinking
fuck, this is going to hurt.

Lacey gripped Zoe’s arm. Jody was just lying there, not moving. “Oh God, get up, baby.” She had chills all over that had nothing to do with her lack of clothing. It had been a good thirty seconds and still no movement. The trainers from both teams ran out onto the ice to look him over.

Bill, the Scorpions trainer, wasn’t getting any response from Jody, and Lacey saw him shake his head. He motioned for the stretcher to come out. Lacey had never felt such fear. Her whole body had tightened up, and she couldn’t move. “Oh my God, Zoe. They almost never bring a stretcher out. How do I get to him? I have to go.”
Please wake up, Jody. Oh God, please just move an arm … a leg – something.

Zoe grabbed their stuff and took Lacey’s arm. “Come on, we’ll go down to the locker room. They’ll take him there first to determine if they want to take him to the hospital.”

Jody woke up with one hell of a killer headache and something heavy on his chest. He felt around and slowly opened his eyes. The something on his chest was Lacey.
What the hell? Where am I? What the fuck happened?
As he lay there and let his head clear, he remembered going down, hitting his head on the boards.

Lacey was crying. “Lace? Angel, what’s wrong?”

She snapped her head up from where it had been resting on his chest and looked up at him. “Oh thank God, you’re awake.” Never had she been so thankful for anything in her life. He’d been out for almost an hour. She’d only left his side for the time it took for the hospital staff to run tests. The only reason they allowed her to stay with him was because she told the staff that she was his fiancé.

Jody looked around at the sterile environment. “I’m in the hospital? I hate hospitals, let’s go.” He tried sitting up, but he got instantaneously nauseous and laid back down. “Oh, hell.”

“They did a CT scan while you were out, and we’re waiting for the results, but you most definitely have a concussion and a few new stitches.” Gently running her fingers over his brow, she asked him, “How’s your vision?”

Jody looked around and didn’t see anything different. “It seems okay. I’m dizzy and nauseous with a bitch of a headache, but my vision seems clear.” That was huge. Concussions can wreak havoc on eyesight, and sometimes the results are permanent.

“I’m going to go out and tell the doctor you’re awake. I’ll let Vlad and the guys know, too.” Vlad had called Zoe the second the game was over. All the guys were worried about him.

“Okay, but you’ll come back, right? I hate being in here.” At Lacey’s nod, Jody squeezed her hand and let her go.

Jody was able to go home, but was given strict instructions. He was not to be alone for the night, and he was made to give his word that he would call the doctor if he started vomiting or had any change in his vision. Lacey promised to watch him like a hawk.