Page 52 of Hutch (Minnesota Raptors #2)

“She used to date Joseph Ayers when they were in high school. She broke up with him when she found out he was cheating on her while she was home taking care of her dying grandmother. He didn’t take it well and beat the living shit out of her, telling her she was his.”

Shaw growls and Blaine’s expression turns angry.

“It gets worse,” I warn them. “The sheriff was his uncle and they all pressured her not to file charges and ruin asswipe’s chances at going to a Division I school.

And Ayers threatened her grandmother. Told her if she didn’t shut her mouth, he’d do the same thing he did to her grandmother as he did to her. ”

“Joseph Ayers, the football player who declared for the draft?” Barry strokes his chin thoughtfully. “That’s a problem.”

“Collin and I are keeping our opinions to ourselves, but if he comes here starting problems, I will take out the trash.”

“Gloria, our head of PR, has been in touch with your agent about this. She said Daisy filed a restraining order against him?”

“He still thinks they’re together or some shit. He’s been calling and then when she filed the restraining order, he blew up her phone with threats. He even admitted in voicemail and texts what he did to her back in West Virginia.”

“That was stupid,” Blaine said. “He might deny text messages by saying his phone was hacked, but it’s hard to explain away your voice admitting to things.”

“How did she get a restraining order if he’s not in the state?” Shaw asks. “Don’t you need actual evidence of violence or something?”

“She still has the photos the hospital took of her injuries. They gave her a copy of them when the police wanted to sweep everything under the rug so those couldn’t disappear to.

They were used to show what he did to her and with his continued harassment, the judge issued the order.

Its only good here in the state of Minnesota, but she’s not going anywhere.

Her lawyer sent everything from the aftermath of the restraining order to the police in Texas, but she doesn’t think it’ll do a lot. He’s a big deal down there.”

“Hmm…what kind of threats is he making now?” Myers, another player asks. I didn’t even see him come up. Fucker moves as stealthy as a ninja.

“He left hundreds of texts messages and over seventy voice mails explaining in detail just how he’s going to hurt her and he said this time, he’ll make sure she’s not around to screw up his life.

One of my friends who’s a football player checked with his friends down in Texas and Ayers is still there, still showing up for practice.

That’s the only thing keeping my rage in check.

Fucker comes here and I’m not sure I can do that. ”

“Fucker comes here and we’ll show him just what we do with abusers,” Myers mutters. “What is it with people beating on people they claim they love?”

“Daisy is terrified of him. If you knew her before he started calling, you’d see the difference in her. She jumps now at every sound. I hate it.”

“Red is a feisty woman who tells you how it is and if she says jump, you jump. She’s a sweetheart, though, and her kindness is what defines her.

She’s my bestie and seeing her scared…it’s rough.

” Collin finally speaks, and his emotions shines through.

“That girl is my family as much as Hutch is and I will protect her even if it means my place here is in jeopardy.”

“Same,” I agree. “I appreciate the opportunity to play here, but Daisy means more to me than hockey. I’ll protect her at all costs.”

It’s something I’ve come to understand over the last few days. She’s slowly become my life and I will protect her.

“I’d expect nothing less, but the Raptors are a family and we take care of our own.” Barry nods to Shaw. “Ask Chandler. We were here when his wife and son were taken hostage. We got them both back safely.”

“The police helped,” Shaw pointed out.

Barry doesn’t look impressed. “Baas and his team got Cora back. My point is, if she needs protection from what did you call him…asswipe?”

I nod.

“If asswipe comes to our town and causes problems, we’ll deal with it. Gloria knows and has been looking into how we can help. Football is big business, but in Minnesota, hockey is a bigger business. We have the upper hand here.”

“I appreciate that.”

More than I can express actually. Knowing these guys have my back when it comes to Daisy means a lot.

Shaw slaps me on the back, a habit of his. I refrain from wincing. My shoulder’s a little sore after the hit I took in the last play of the night, but we kept the other team from scoring.

“Let’s go get you two properly introduced to the team. They’re waiting for us at Barney’s. We go there after a win to have a steak dinner and relax. Invite Daisy if you want.”

“She told me to wake her up when I got home. She’s probably in her pajamas studying or on the phone with Lucy.”

“Then take her some dinner home after you spend some time gellin’ with the team.” Blaine yawns. “I for one am looking forward to my bed. My kids kept me up all night. Stomach virus. Both of them projectile vomiting.”

We all step back from him, horror filling our expressions. Did he just infect us?

“If I take that shit home to Noah, I’m beating your ass.”

“Noah was at the house yesterday playing. If he’s not puking by tonight, I think you’re safe since he was already exposed to it. I texted Cora and warned her last night.”

Shaw mutters but pulls out his phone and starts walking toward the arena’s exit.

“Go on and join your team,” Barry tells us. “I’ll start making some calls and looking into what we can do to help with this Ayers situation. One question, can you send me the photos and copies of the texts and voicemails? I need to understand what we’re dealing with.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll do that first thing when I get home. I have it all saved on my laptop.”

Daisy will kill me, but we need all the help we can get to go against someone who is expected to be a first draft pick in the NFL. Football is king in this country.

Barry nods and waves us off.

My first NFL game is under my belt and I feel hopeful about the asswipe situation for the first time in weeks.

Taking a deep breath, I head toward the parking lot and then go to the restaurant after texting my mom and Daisy.

It’s turned out to be a fucking awesome day.