by Kat Mizera
Calling Cassie
Alaska Blizzard Book 9
Kat Mizera
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Excerpt from Playing Peyton (unedited and subject to change)
About the Author
Also by Kat Mizera
1
Two minutes left in the game and the Tudor College Mustangs were down 1-0. The small community college’s women’s hockey team had been having a rough season, but their captain, Cassie Reynolds, was determined to turn things around. If she could just get someone to pass her the damn puck. But the girls had been skating around the ice like it was their first game, and there was no cohesion out there at all.
Sinking down on the bench, she glanced over at head coach Roland Azure, and though he didn’t meet her gaze, she felt his frustration and didn’t know what the hell to do about it. She wished her friend Tara was here, the team’s former assistant coach, but she’d had to move when her professional hockey player husband had been traded to Buffalo. Tara had started getting the team into shape, with her combination of experience playing the game, experience as the sister of a professional hockey player, and of course, the generic experience of being a woman in a male-dominated sport. As a man, Coach Azure couldn’t really understand that part of it, and while no one blamed him for the overall culture of the sport, it didn’t make it any easier.
Cassie had one more shift to make something happen and she stood up, channeling her inner NHL player. Sometimes it was hard to be the captain, a player, big sister, and coach to these girls—in her head if not officially—but she’d morphed into the role and now she had a job to do. It didn’t always come together but tonight she was burning with frustration and the need to change the trajectory of the game. They’d lost two in a row and desperately needed a win. It wouldn’t change the overall season, but it might help morale as they headed into the off-season. There was only a month left and going out on a high note was important. Especially for her, since she was graduating.
She skated out to the face-off circle and gave her teammate, Deirdre Hall, a look. Deirdre usually took the face-offs, but occasionally they switched it up, and if anyone on the team could help her turn things around at the eleventh hour, it was her.
Cassie won the face-off easily, getting the puck to Deirdre, who immediately passed it back to Cassie. The other team had gotten complacent, thinking they had this sewn up since there were now only twenty-eight seconds on the clock, but she had a surprise for them.
Turning on a dime, she passed the puck back to Deirdre, who passed it to one of the rookies on the team. She was a nervous Nelly who hated having the puck, which everyone knew, and just as they’d hoped, she immediately passed it back to Deirdre, who then got it to Cassie. All the passing had given Cassie time to position herself in front of the net, and when the puck touched her blade, she slammed it in, popping it just over the goalie’s skate.
And the game was tied.
“You’re so fucking awesome,” Deirdre said, laughing as they hugged.
“I have my moments,” Cassie agreed.
Someone in the crowd whistled, long and loud, and then yelled out, “That’s the way, Cass! Woot!”
She glanced up, her heart skipping a beat as she recognized a familiar face. A handful of her friends were there, but the guys from the local professional hockey team, the Alaska Blizzard, didn’t get to many games between their own games, practices, and travel schedules. Yet there he was, the one and only Logan Pelletier. With that golden blond hair and his piercing blue eyes, he broke hearts all over Anchorage. Probably everywhere he went. Not that she was interested, but he was hard to ignore, especially since they were friends and hung out on occasion.
What the hell was he doing here?
She couldn’t think about that, though, and sank down next to Deirdre.
“You’re fierce when you set your mind to something,” Deirdre said.
“I try.” Cassie grinned at her.
They pulled out a win in overtime, and spirits were high in the locker room as they changed into street clothes. Overtime had put Cassie behind, though, because she had to get to work. She washed her hair and dressed in record time, gathering her things as she tried to make her escape. Her teammates were excited, though, chattering away and making plans to go out.
“Your friends from the Blizzard are here,” Deirdre said to Cassie as she gathered up her things.
“Damn, and I have to get going,” Cassie muttered. “Well, see you guys tomorrow.” She went out into the hallway and grinned at the group waiting for her. It didn’t happen often, but it was nice when the gang came out to a game.
“Badass Cass!” Ryder Kingston, a forward on the Blizzard, high-fived her. “That’s what I’m going to call you from now on.”
She laughed. “I don’t know about that, but it works.”
“You were great out there.” Charli Laassonen, the wife of one of the players on the Blizzard, as well as Tara’s sister-in-law, gave her a hug.
“Thanks. What’s everyone doing here?”
“Tara made us promise to come cheer you on whenever we can,” Charli said, “and of course I dragged along as many people as I could.”
“We’re going clubbing,” Ryder announced. “You wanna come, Cass?”
Cassie shook her head. “Not tonight. Thanks for the invite, but I already have plans. In fact, I’m late, but thanks for coming out, you guys.” She glanced over at Logan. “And could you possibly whistle any louder?”
He laughed. “I could try.”
“Okay, I have to go.”
“The Blizzard have a game tomorrow night,” Charli said, “but I’ll see you next Friday, if not before.”
“See you then!”
The heavy backbeat of the bass echoing through the speakers was so loud it practically slammed into her as Cassie opened the door of the club. She was late to work, so she had exactly eight minutes to change, put on makeup and her wig, and get on stage.
She raced to the dressing room, waving at a few of the other dancers.
“Girl, you’re pushin’ it tonight,” her friend Layne said, laughing.
“Had a hockey game,” she muttered, yanking off her jeans and T-shirt and wiggling into a red sequined thong.
“You and that hockey bullshit,” one of the other girls called out. “How are you gonna dance if you get hurt?”
“Well, the plan is to not get hurt!” Cassie shot back, grinning as she put on the matching red sequined bra. She grabbed the short nurse’s uniform she wore over it, pulling it over her head and stepping into red sky-high heels.
“Here.” Layne picked up the long dark wig Cassie wore to cover up her naturally blond hair and helped her secure it in place.
There wouldn’t be time for anything but her new magnetic
eyelashes and the bright red lipstick that matched her shoes and panties. She managed to smack her lips just as one of the stage managers stuck his head in the door.
“Two minutes, Nympho.”
She really hated that nickname, but somehow it had stuck and become her stage name. It was ironic, too, considering the club nympho wasn’t actually getting any at all. There was no help for any of that at this point, though, so she stood up and stuffed her bag under her dressing table.
“You got this, tiger.” Layne winked and Cassie took a deep breath, holding it for ten seconds before slowly letting it out. It always calmed her nerves, especially when she got here so close to performance time. Normally she was here early, hanging with the girls and going through her makeup ritual, which soothed her nerves. One drink before her show was good too, but there hadn’t been time tonight, and she walked toward the stage on autopilot.
One dance.
That was her mantra every time she got out there.
She got through each shift, each dance, by telling herself it was just one. She had days marked off on the calendar, how many days she had until she could quit and maybe even leave Anchorage, but for now, she had bills to pay and didn’t like living paycheck to paycheck, so she did what she had to do.
The lights went down, and the crowd started to yell. Cassie closed her eyes once more, letting the cheers wash over her, and then everything disappeared but the music. Once she heard the first note of Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” she was ready and strode out onto the stage, stopping in the middle and waiting for the lights to come up. As soon as they did, she pivoted on one foot, launching herself up and catching the pole with one hand while her legs swung out behind her. She came down and around, her right leg winding around the pole and her left straight up in the air. Then she flipped over and back onto her feet, strutting to the front of the stage.
There were already guys holding up dollar bills, and she squatted down, letting them put a few in her garter. This was just the beginning, since she was still fully dressed. The real money would come once she was down to her thong, but that was a couple of minutes away, and she danced back to the pole, spinning and giving them a taste of what was to come. As a lifelong athlete, she worked the pole better than any of the other dancers at the club, and though she was probably only a mediocre dancer in general, guys were mesmerized the moment she started her pole routine.
Ripping open the Velcro that fastened the front of her old-school nurse’s uniform, she gave them a view of her chest, gyrating her hips and moving in time to the music. She let the uniform fall away and then went back to the pole. This was about the time guys lost their minds, and she needed the money, so she gave them what they were here to see: Her. Naked. She kept her thong on for now, but the bra would be next, and then she’d start collecting the cash. She’d only go fully nude right at the end, which helped with both safety and her sanity.
Dancing topless was not what she’d had in mind when she’d graduated high school. But college was expensive, and so was a place to live, food, utilities, life. She’d started out waiting tables at a restaurant, but this paid so much better.
With money on her mind, she picked up the pace and smiled, the lyrics on her lips as she swung around the pole a few times to get momentum before letting go and sliding across the floor several feet until she stopped just shy of the edge of the stage. She’d rehearsed that a hundred times before she got it right and now it was old hat, but it always got the crowd going nonetheless.
She’d just reached back to unsnap her bra so she could fling it off when she caught sight of someone in her peripheral vision, rushing toward the stage. She turned, scooting out of the way as he lunged at her, but he kept coming. One of the club security guards was heading in their direction, but Bob was a regular here and he’d caught her by the ankle, actively attempting to pull her off the stage.
Luckily, after a lifetime of ice-skating and gymnastics, Cassie had muscular legs, and she kicked at him. When he refused to let go, she slipped off her other heel and bent to grab it. If she couldn’t pull away, she’d hit him with her stiletto until he let go.
Someone was calling her name, but she was too busy digging her heel into Bob’s thigh. He let out a screech of pain and yanked at her hair. Since it wasn’t her actual hair, it didn’t hurt, but he pulled it hard enough to displace the wig and let out a yelp of surprise when it landed on his face.
Cassie used the distraction to jump to her feet and rush backstage. But not before a familiar face swam into her field of vision.
Oh, holy hell.
Logan and Ryder were standing at the edge of the stage, staring at her in disbelief.
2
Hanging out at a strip club called All the Way had been a fluke. If Logan and the other guys were interested in a night of strippers, they usually went to the Crazy Horse Saloon, but tonight they’d wanted to be a little more low-key. The Crazy Horse was always packed, always a big party, and if they were recognized as local hockey stars, sometimes it was a hassle.
All the Way was on the outskirts of Anchorage, a bit off the beaten path, and usually fairly quiet, even on the weekends. That wasn’t the case tonight, though, because it was hopping. Apparently, the midnight show featured someone named Nympho and was amazing, so while Logan had seen more than his fair share of strippers, Ryder, Viktor, and Jude wanted to check it out and he’d tagged along.
He had to admit he hadn’t been paying much attention when Nympho came on stage dressed as a nurse, but the way she worked the pole was pretty impressive. She had a great body in general, and her muscular thighs and six-pack abs were hot as hell. He’d been even more impressed when she’d used her stiletto to start beating the guy who’d rushed the stage.
At first, he’d thought the whole thing was a hoot, watching a stripper beating down an overzealous fan with her sexy shoe, but as he’d continued watching, it was obvious she wasn’t having fun and this wasn’t supposed to happen. Security took far too long to get there and when the idiot who’d jumped on stage pulled off her wig, Logan had been shocked when he recognized her.
He never would have imagined she was a stripper, and while it didn’t matter to him for any moral reasons, he just hadn’t gotten that vibe from her. His view was probably skewed, though, since the handful of strippers he knew were hardcore partiers who didn’t go to college or play hockey.
By the time he’d gotten up to see if he could help, Cassie had run backstage, and though it had been half an hour since the incident, she hadn’t come back out. The girls usually roamed around between performances, talking, letting guys buy them drinks, and doing lap dances. Cassie had vanished, and he hoped it wasn’t because of him. Their eyes had met for a fraction of a second, and then she’d run.
“You think she’s embarrassed?” Ryder asked him as they hung out, waiting for the next dancer.
“Maybe? I had no idea she worked here and wouldn’t have recognized her if that guy hadn’t pulled off the wig.”
“I feel bad, like we should have jumped in sooner, but I thought it was part of the show since the bouncers didn’t seem concerned.”
“Exactly.” Logan scowled, thinking how unprofessional it was for the bouncers to have let it go so far that Cassie had to defend herself using a high-heeled shoe. He hoped she was okay and impulsively called over the petite brunette who’d been serving them since they’d arrived. “Hey, is Cass, er, Nympho coming back out?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. She was pretty mad about what happened.”
“Is she still here? Would you take her a note for me?” He handed her a ten-dollar bill, and she put it in a little wrist purse thing as she nodded.
Logan grabbed a napkin and took the pen she proffered.
Cassie—I just want to make sure you’re okay. Can you come out and say hello? Logan
She took the note and disappeared into the back.
“What was that about?” Ryder asked, leaning back in his chair.
&nb
sp; “Just checking on Cassie.”
“Yeah.” Ryder scratched his chin. “She’s pretty hot, right?”
Logan chuckled. “She is.”
“You should ask her out.”
Logan arched a brow. “Why would I do that? We’re buddies.”
“Fuck buddies would be better.”
“Nah, I don’t do that with actual friends.”
“Then maybe I will.”
“Hey, handsome.” The waitress came back smiling. “She said she’s going home but you can walk her out to her car if you want. I can take you back there.”
“Oh, yeah. Definitely.” He quickly got up and motioned to Ryder. “I’ll be back.”
Ryder nodded and Logan followed the waitress into the back.
Cassie was in the hallway wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, her hair in a loose ponytail, and she lifted her hand in acknowledgment.
“Hey.” Logan walked over to her. “I wish I’d known it was you—I would’ve gotten that guy off the stage.”
“It’s okay. Security was a little slow tonight. That kind of thing doesn’t usually happen.”
“You okay? Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head, chuckling. “If anyone was hurt, it was probably him. I gave it to him good with my heel.”
He laughed. “You did. That’s why I didn’t react—I kind of thought it was part of the show at first.” He paused. “Until the wig came off.”
She dipped her head as they walked. “I have a favor to ask about that, Logan.”