Page 25 of Breaking Through the Doubt (Espen Jetties #4)

25

LESLIE

I could have pressed him, asked for more, but I wouldn’t do that to him. And the reality was, it didn’t change anything between us. If one day Corey wanted to tell me more, I’d be here for him. I’d listen and console him the best I could, because having a mother like her … Fuck no. It made me want to fly home and hug my mom. I was lucky to have her and the rest of my family.

“You’re not nothing,” I told him. “You’re everything. You matter. I know I don’t say it and I apologize for that. You deserve to hear how special you are, how much you mean to me.”

“Thank you,” he whispered. The tension seemed to bleed out of him the longer he held my gaze, and I held his hand. Any bit of comfort, I was happy to offer. “What do you say we get back to your new ink?”

“I’d like that.”

Corey took his time with the tattoo, giving it insane detail as he did so. When he asked for the time I wanted to put on the clock, where the hands would go, I chose seven thirty-five. It was the time I was born, when my life began. This life I led; I didn’t want to forget a moment of it. It wasn’t like I could remember being born or even those first few years, but what I did remember from my childhood, I wanted to hold on to.

When he was finished, he wiped down the tattoo carefully, mindful of my tender skin. It didn’t feel great getting inked this time, but it also wasn’t as big as the one on my back.

“What do you think?” he asked.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the tattoo. The watch was silver, and the way he added various shades gave it so much depth. Then with the face and the chain, it was stunning. I knew Corey was talented, but every time I saw more of his work, it really drove home how amazing he was. He found a career doing something he loved. That was special. If only everyone could be so lucky.

Which reminded me how I couldn’t spend the night with him. I had to go to the arena in the morning and being late wasn’t an option. Lying in bed with Corey where it was warm and I was surrounded by his scent, I wouldn’t want to leave. I was addicted to him.

We sat close with our knees touching. I reached for his hand, needing more contact. “I hate leaving. It’s the worst part of us spending time together.”

“I know. I hate it too.”

“I… I think I’m going to retire.”

His eyes went wide. “What? Really?”

I nodded. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about. When I’m with you, I don’t want to rush off or travel and be gone for days on end.”

“It’s not solely based on me though, right?”

“No. As much as I care about you, I made the decision for me. There’s a whole future out there for me that doesn’t revolve around playing hockey. I want to do more and take time to relax and enjoy life. Year in and out, it’s hockey all the time. There’s more to life. And I’m so fucking tired. My body aches at times. So yeah, while being with you does factor in, I wouldn’t end my career on it. This is for me.”

He nodded. “I understand and will be here for you in whatever way you need.”

“Thank you, Corey.”

Lifting my free hand, I clasped the back of his neck and drew him close. We didn’t kiss right away. We simply shared the same space, the same breath. There was comfort and contentment in it. This feeling of being right where I was supposed to be.

Corey was the one to close the remaining distance. The kiss he graced me with was sweet and chaste. If we did more than that, I’d want him naked. There wasn’t enough time.

“I should go,” I said, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.

Corey had already cleaned his station. “I’ll walk you out.”

Together, we got up and Corey turned the lights off, sure to turn on the alarm and lock the door on the way out. We shared another kiss then went our separate ways. I was parked a bit down from him on the street, unable to find a spot closer when we showed up. His car door closed, and his engine started before I got to mine.

A sound from the alley drew my attention before I could get in my vehicle. It was whimpering or crying. I wasn’t certain. If someone was hurt, I could try to help them. At least call for an ambulance.

With my phone in hand, I rounded the corner and drew up short when I saw Corey’s mom there with an eye half swollen shut and an angry red mark around it. She wasn’t a kind woman, hadn’t been there for her son, but I couldn’t in good conscience walk away when she was like this. I could put her in a cab and send her to the hospital.

“Are you okay?” I asked. It wasn’t the brightest question with the obvious answer being no, but it was a way for her to talk to me.

“You’re him. You were with my Corey.”

I nodded. “Who hit you?”

Before she could reply, a man emerged from the other end of the alley. “Hey!” he called. “Stay the fuck away from her. She works for me.” The closer he got, the easier it was for me to make him out. He was tall, almost level with me, but had a lot less mass on him. He gripped her by her hair and wrenched her back. A soft whimper escaped her at the motion. His eyes held mine. “Get out of here. This isn’t any of your fucking business.”

My fists clenched by my side, my nails digging into my palms. “Let her go.”

I gave up fighting, didn’t want to have any bad publicity for the team. This wasn’t about them though. And I wasn’t in the middle of a crowded bar. I was in an alleyway watching a woman be abused. None of my teammates would stand for it. It didn’t matter that she was an addict or that she treated others like shit. No one deserved to be beaten.

“You can’t tell me what to do. She’s my property to do with as I please. When she disobeys, there are consequences.” The way his hand shook let me know he was on something too. I had no doubt Corey’s mom was as well with her dilated eyes and strung-out appearance. She’d been using for a long time. Her health had declined to where she was now, a shell of a human.

“Please stop,” she begged. “You’re hurting me.”

“Shut the fuck up,” he growled and jerked her body, causing her to cry in earnest.

That was enough of this. I had to put a stop to it. I stepped closer, watching for cues of what the guy would do. He held his ground until I was mere feet away, then he tossed her to the pavement where she fell on her side with her hands stopping her head from hitting the ground. He pushed up his sleeves, revealing arms full of track marks.

Before I could say or do anything, he swung for me. It barely grazed my cheek. After playing hockey for years, and being a drunken idiot when not, I knew how to take a punch. This was more like a gnat running into me. But if I let him try to hit me again, he would land it. High or not, he realized he was short of the distance required to do damage.

Leaning in for the next swing, I ducked before he could get me, then landed an uppercut to his stomach. I really didn’t want to do more than knock this guy out so I could get her away from him. Either the drugs in his system were fueling him or he was good at fighting because every hit I landed, he bounced back and swung for me again and again.

I hadn’t been giving it my all until that point. If I did, he would have been on the ground already. I was done with this shit though. He’d only landed one solid punch to my side and that annoyed me.

Pulling my hand back, I punched him in the cheek, hard enough to knock him backward where he fell to the ground. He wasn’t out yet, so he lifted up and tried to stand, but I was on him, punching him again.

“Stay the fuck down,” I told him as I hit him once more.

His cheek had split open and there were bruises already forming from where I’d punched him. Twice more I got him, then he was out. His head was down, his body lax. I hadn’t killed him, just rendered him immobile for the time being.

When I got to my feet, I saw another man there, one I didn’t see previously. He had a phone out and was obviously filming the entire encounter. Corey’s mom stood by his side, an arm tightly around her waist to hold her in place.

“If you don’t want us to send this to every media outlet then you’ll hand over ten grand,” the new guy said.

“I’m not paying you shit,” I bit out. I flexed my hands, working out the pain in them. I didn’t think I did any damage to myself, outside of splitting a couple of knuckles and some swelling. That would go away.

“Yes, you are,” Corey’s mother said, her voice much steadier than it was before. “You care about my son, and we know who you are. Pay us or it goes public.” It wasn’t that I didn’t think she was vile before, but this was proof of her ability to be an awful person.

I knew right from wrong. I knew I was being blackmailed. But that didn’t change the reality of the situation. They could easily send that video to every media outlet, and I would royally get my ass handed to me along with a much harsher punishment. Who was to say if I did pay, they wouldn’t do it anyway? Did I really want to take the chance?

The money would go to drugs. They wouldn’t take it and use it to better themselves. I’d be feeding their addiction. There was my career to think about though. I didn’t want to retire on a scandal. I wanted to go out on my own narrative.

The guy holding her moved his hand to fist her hair. He put the phone in his pocket and pulled out a knife to press it to her neck. “Pay us or I kill her.”

She cried, “Please.”

I bit back a curse. “Don’t do anything.” I had to pay them. To see her hurt like this, no, I couldn’t watch. At least they didn’t ask for more. Ten grand was a lot of money though.

“Fine,” I said through clenched teeth.

The guy told me where to send the money. I had to send it in smaller increments, so it wasn’t flagged by the service I used. I also split it between two accounts.

I was able to look at his phone, watch as the video was deleted on it and in the cloud. It was the best I could do. They might still have it somewhere else on the phone, possibly in email or text, but the decision was made. The damage done.

Now I had to live with the pit in my stomach and boulder on my back as the weight of my decision crashed down on me.

I could have called the cops. Could have done other things, but instead, I knocked a guy out and was blackmailed into sending a large sum of money to keep more of my fighting from going public.

Lovely, just how I wanted this fucking day to go.