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Chapter 35

Scuba

M onitoring the ring camera, I was surprised to see that the chick was back again. I was pretty sure I had slept with her before, but I couldn’t remember her name, which was weird.

If Annie ran into her again, she was likely to freak out. Between Siobhan’s stalker and the asshole ex, the last thing she needed was to think this chick was stalking us.

Knowing Natalie would give me so much shit if I said anything about it, I had to handle it myself.

I called my lawyer. He picked up almost immediately and asked, “Ready for more NDAs?”

I laughed. I had filed so many NDAs with him over the years. They were so damn helpful in preventing issues with the people I’d slept with, and only a minimal amount of details have gotten out about my sexual pursuits.

“Actually, I still have a stack of them available,” I replied.

That stunned Dick into silence.

I continued, “Um, anyway, I need you to look into something. I keep having a girl show up at my house. Although, this time, she has a manilla folder, so I wanted to see if it might be something else.”

Dick chuckled, and I could hear his desk chair swing back. “Well, the obvious answer is that we have a kid in play.”

Shit. I didn’t even think about that.

Plus, it reminded me that I needed to talk to Dick about Eric. I’ve left him out of the loop on everything, but I should probably amend my will and whatnot to make sure Eric and Annie were taken care of if anything were to happen to me.

“Um... Funny thing. I do have a kid, but we can talk about that later. I’m not even sure I slept with this girl. Could it be something else?”

Dick sighed. “Well, it could be a custodian of the court trying to serve papers to you. Let me see if there is something on the docket.”

There was the sound of typing and then some snaps, probably to get the attention of his paralegal.

Oh shit, there was actually a case of some sort. I didn’t know how this could be better than some random hookup trying to get child support. But I didn’t love the idea of a court case.

“You’re scaring me,” I said into the phone.

“Well, you got named in a lawsuit, so it’s probably a person trying to serve you. I would open the door if she’s still there. If not, she might try coming to the rink.”

That was no bueno.

Too bad I couldn’t take him up on the advice. Since no one was home, she headed out of the driveway.

“Any clue what the lawsuit is about?” I questioned.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Hold on for a moment.”

I wasn’t even given a chance to protest since I got blasted with the greatest yacht hits. I really wanted to update his waiting music to something that wasn’t so old and depressing. Hold music could be more fun, like hip-hop or something.

I waited, tapped my fingers on the ledge, and waited some more.

I needed to get to the media room. The penalty kill team had a video session in like five minutes, so I couldn’t be on the phone forever. At least it was with my lawyer, which meant the coaches wouldn’t give me too much shit, especially since it was not like I was ordering more NDAs.

Finally, the yacht music got cut off mid-note.

“What did you find?” I asked.

I held my breath, hoping it wouldn’t be too bad.

“Apparently, you got named in a custody case as an unfit parent for an Eric Diaz. I thought you said it wouldn’t be about a kid?”

At those words, I saw red. I was so pissed since I was a great dad. There was no way this case could be coming from Annie. There was no way in hell she was calling me an unfit parent, especially after everything that had been going on for the past few weeks.

Annie walked dogs, and her budget wasn’t really one that could afford lawyers, especially when things were so good between us.

“Who filed it?” I demanded.

Dick was quick to reply, “Luke Donaldson.”

I should have known that asshole was behind this. He really was a Lord Voldemort.

“We’re going to fight it. I’m the kid’s dad, and he’s just the abusive ex who was never married to the mom. There’s no way he should be allowed to be alone with my kid. I don’t care what you have to do.”

“Okay. But we’ll need to do a paternity test to be sure. If he’s what you said, he could just be suing you and his ex as a way to bankrupt you and to be a nuisance.”

“Sure. I’ll do whatever you need me to do to make it go away. He needs to burn in hell for trying to take my kid away. Also, when we get a chance, we should update my will to make sure Eric gets most of the stuff.”

“Okay. I’ll start our end of things. Are you sure he was abusive? We can’t just throw allegations around. Especially since we both know when the papers pick up on it, you’re going to be the number one story for Hockey Night in Canada.”

I threw my head against the wall and swore. He wasn’t wrong. I was in a Canadian market, and the media was going to have so much fun trying to spin things. But it was going to get out one day, and if it was for me to keep custody of my kid, then so be it. I will throw millions at the case.

“Yes. Both Eric and his mother are living with me after he beat the shit out of her. There are protection orders and everything. Was Annette also named in the suit?”

“Yes. The more you talk, the more I think he was just suing as a way to tie you up with legal fees and as a way to stay in your life.”

Well, motherfucker. This was just great.

I hoped this was a frivolous case. Annie took on Luke’s last name even though they never married, so I wasn’t sure if the courts would think of him as the dad. Unfortunately, as more guys filtered past me, I realized I didn’t have the time to continue talking to Dick.

“Okay. Thanks for the information. I need to get to a meeting, but I’ll call you afterward so I can get a full list of everything you need from me to fight this shit.”

“Talk to you soon,” Dick said.

I hung up the phone and growled.

Carter walked past and asked, “Everything okay?”

“Fucking Lord Voldemort just can’t stay out of our lives.” I took a huge breath. I needed to be everyone’s happy-go-lucky teammate. “It’s fine. I’m a great fucking dad, and he’s just trash.”