Page 2 of Clear Shot (Lauderdale Knights #9)

Aiden

“Aiden, can we just go back to the hotel now?”

“In a minute, honey. Let me finish my pizza.” She’s draped over me like a warm blanket, and I run my hand over her ass. The blonde is all boobs and ass, my favorite things, but I’m distracted.

My teammates and I—the guys I play with on the Lauderdale Knights—are getting deep dish pizza after a game in Chicago and it seems like the puck bunnies swooped in the second we arrived.

Felix Lessard, Jordan Palmer, and I are in heaven since we’re single, but I can tell the guys who are in relationships are getting annoyed.

I’m all about a good out-of-town hookup, but something’s going on with my friends and I’m trying to simultaneously eat, listen, and keep the blonde entertained until it’s time to go.

“…whole company just shut down,” Johan Hajek is saying. “No warning.”

Anders Nyberg shakes his head. “They had a meeting yesterday morning and told everyone. And today, when Hana got there, everything was closed up tight. She was supposed to meet with the company attorney about her visa but Randy had locked the place up. She looked in the windows and everything was gone.”

“He just disappeared into the night?” Decker Reese asks in confusion. “It sounds like this guy is the one who took the money, not the partner.”

I’m only catching bits and pieces because the blonde has her tongue in my ear.

Jesus.

I’m all about sex—almost any time, anywhere, any way.

But not in a restaurant while I’m eating.

“Can I please eat?” I ask her quietly.

“Well, hurry.” Her eyes twinkle with mischief, something that normally turns me on.

Instead, I’m just getting annoyed.

“I don’t understand,” I interject. “Hana and Claudia’s company just shut down?” Hana is Johan’s sister, and Claudia is Anders’s wife. They’re best friends and I know them both well. We all spend a lot of time together.

Hana and I were friendly for a while but she distanced herself after she got this job since she lives in Philadelphia most of the time and travels a lot for work. Well, she did. I don’t know what’s happening now.

“It’s the craziest thing,” Anders continues.

“Randy said that Glen took off with the money in the operating account. He promised to split what was left in some other account with the employees and he’d have checks for them this morning.

When they got there, everything was gone.

Like they’d never been there. From what Hana could see through the windows, there wasn’t even a trash can left. ”

“It’s bullshit,” Johan mutters. “I don’t trust these start-up tech guys.” He makes a face.

“Same.” Decker shakes his head. “I’m glad Eden works locally.”

“Anders.” The blonde purrs in my ear and my dick stirs.

But I’m still invested in the conversation with my friends.

Hana is… special .

That’s the only word I can think of.

She doesn’t fit into any of the categories I usually have for women.

Acquaintances. Friends with benefits. Hookups. One-night stands.

I have female friends, but they’re usually my buddies’ wives or girlfriends, like Claudia and Sloane.

Hana’s in a category of her own—the “I’d fuck her if I could but probably shouldn’t and I wish we didn’t meet for another ten years when I’m ready to get married” category.

She’s beautiful, smart, and hard-working, and has what I call a hidden bad-girl streak.

You wouldn’t know it from the outside looking in.

She dresses professionally for work; her tattoos are hidden beneath clothes—I only know because I’ve seen her in a bikini—and she made me promise not to tell anyone how much she loves being on the back of my Harley.

We had an instant connection, but I’m not ready to settle down and she was going back to Slovakia. Until this job fell into her lap. Then we agreed it was better for us to be friends, since we’re in different places in life.

Besides, I already have a failed marriage under my belt. I don’t want Hana to be ex-wife number two.

So friend zoning her makes sense.

It was my idea.

And it seems to be working out fine.

We hang out at group events and parties, I’ve given her a ride home a few times, and it’s nice to have someone I can talk to without worrying about saying the wrong thing or having to put on the bad-boy hockey player act.

Well, it’s not really an act—I’m a hockey player with tattoos and a Harley that I’m not supposed to ride during the season even though sometimes I still do.

I’m divorced and like to party, go to heavy metal concerts, and sleep around way too much.

My lifestyle is not conducive to any kind of relationship.

I just can’t seem to get her out of my head sometimes.

Like now.

Even though a pretty blonde is draped all over me.

I take the last bite of pizza and wipe my mouth just as the blonde runs her hand over my crotch.

“A few more minutes,” I murmur to her, putting my hand over hers to stop the movement. For some reason, I don’t want to walk out of here with a massive hard-on. The restaurant stayed open late for us since we called ahead, and I don’t want to make a spectacle of myself.

“Is Claudia freaking out?” Johan asks Anders.

Anders shakes his head. “Nah. The baby keeps her busy and now she can focus on starting her own company, which is what she wanted to do in the first place. It’ll take a little time for her to get it up and running, but now she won’t be distracted by the day job.”

“How come she didn’t do that from the get-go?” I ask curiously.

“She wanted to take some time working for someone else to get a feel for the ins and outs of a tech start-up.”

“Maybe she should just stick to being a mom,” Johan says dryly. “It seems like start-ups aren’t always a good thing.”

“There are always scammers out there,” I say. “But Claudia would be a legit entrepreneur, and we all know she’ll succeed at anything she starts.”

We all chuckle because Claudia isn’t just smart—she’s MIT-educated with multiple degrees smart.

“She’s also considering going back and getting her Ph.D.,” Anders says. “So we’re discussing all the options.”

“That sounds exciting for her,” I say.

“Yeah, we’re not worried about Claudia,” Anders says. “It’s Hana that we’re concerned about.”

I frown slightly. “Why? I’m sure she can find a job.”

“In the next seven days?” Johan drums his fingers on the table.

“Why in the next seven days?” I ask in confusion.

“Because that’s when her visa will expire. Once the company went out of business, her visa went with it. She hasn’t been able to reach Randy or the company attorney who got the visa for her so she has no choice but to leave.”

“Does she want to leave?” Jordan asks.

“No, but it takes time to job hunt and then even if they hired her immediately, a visa can take weeks, depending on the company.”

“Sounds like somebody needs to hit up his teammates for quickie marriage,” Jordan quips.

Johan arches a brow. “Are you offering?”

Jordan chuckles, shrugging. “I mean, as long as there’s a good prenup in place, and she understands that I’m not going to stop living my life—discreetly of course—I guess I could do it.”

“You are the last person anyone should marry,” Felix says, shaking his head at him.

“ You gonna do it?” Jordan asks him.

Felix looks confused. “But I am not American citizen. How am I helpful?”

“Well, from the perspective of the team, visas are pretty much a given,” Johan says.

“The team can get a visa for any domestic partner, but it’s not necessarily a work visa.

But once she has the ability to stay, she’ll have the time to job hunt and/or get citizenship.

Obviously, citizenship takes a while, but marrying someone on the team gives her time to figure it out. ”

“How does Hana feel about this?” I ask dryly.

Johan shrugs. “We haven’t discussed it. It just happened today. Once I get home tomorrow, we’ll talk more. I know she’s in a panic. She doesn’t want to leave.”

“And Claudia will be crushed,” Anders adds. “They’re attached at the hip. Hana is Anderson’s Auntie Hana and I know she’ll miss him too.”

“There are no job opportunities in her field in Bratislava,” Johan says quietly. “I’m worried about her. She was so excited to get a job here now…” He sighs. “I hate this.”

“Look, I can literally take one for the team,” Jordan says after a moment. He’s only twenty-two and by far the wildest of all of us, even me. The fact that he’s offering is ridiculously out of character.

“If necessary, I can help,” Felix says carefully, “but I need details.”

“You guys are great,” Johan says. “But I don’t know if Hana will even consider it. She doesn’t like to take advantage of friends. You know how independent she is.”

I do.

Which is why I gently push the blonde off my lap and look at Johan.

“If Hana is going to marry anyone for a visa, it’s going to be me.”