Power Play (BTU Alumni #1)

by Alley Ciz

  A flicker of movement by the bathrooms caught his eye and he could have sworn he saw the couple that was making out struggle. He looked over in their direction and almost had a heart attack.

  The girl was Jordan.

  Oh!

  My!

  God!

  Her pleading, terrified eyes found his and instinctively he started in their direction. As a second thought he called to Ryan so he would have backup but didn’t waste any time waiting for him to join before making his move.

  The bastard had her by her throat while she struggled. He had to give the guy credit, the location he picked was perfect, shielding his assault from any onlookers.

  With the walls forming a corner it created an alcove and the overhang from the VIP section upstairs cast shadows all around. Plus most people would think it was somewhere couples would go to have a little more privacy, like he himself originally assumed was going on.

  As Jake made his approach, he weighed his chances against the guy one-on-one. They were around the same height and size, but Jake had the upper hand, this asshole was messing with Jordan, and no one messed with someone Jake loved.

  Loved?

  Well hell.

  It was inevitable. Since the first night they met he had felt an instant connection to her so it was only a matter of time before his feelings followed. He was done waiting for her to come around, he was going to prove to Jordan that they belonged together, everyone else be damned.

  He grabbed Tommy by the back of the neck and pulled him off Jordan. Instantly Jordan slumped down to the floor and Jake knelt in front of her.

  “Jordan, are you okay?” He cupped her face in his left hand and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

  With all of his attention focused on Jordan, he missed Tommy coming up behind him. He abruptly became aware of him when he was yanked back by the collar of his shirt. Caught off guard, Tommy was able to land a right hook to his face. He countered with his own left hook, dodged Tommy’s next punch and shoved him backwards.

  Before the other guys were able to arrive, Tommy was able to escape.

  Ryan was the first to arrive on the scene. Jake pointed in the direction where Tommy fled. “Go after him, I’ve got her.”

  Ryan nodded in agreement and took off to find Tommy.

  He turned his attention back to Jordan who was still slumped on the floor. He quickly took in her appearance; her shirt was askew, tears running down her cheeks, and her neck was red and swollen. Are those fingerprints? It took everything in him to stay with her and not go back to give Tommy a piece of his mind in the form of his fists.

  Jordan still wouldn’t talk to him. He needed to get her out of there. He was sure she would need to talk to someone, the police perhaps, about what happened here but for now she was in no shape to do so. He adjusted her shirt and slid an arm under her knees and one around her shoulders to pick her up off the floor.

  Jordan relaxed into the cradle of his arms, resting her hand against his chest.

  Normally he would be happy to hold her in his arms but all he was able to feel was fury at what had happened to her.

  The rest of the guys arrived as he tended to Jordan.

  “I’m taking her home.” His tone brokered no room for argument.

  Jordan needed to rest, there was no way he was letting her stay at the bar. If anyone wanted to talk to her they could do it tomorrow, not tonight.

  To Jake’s surprise Jase nodded. “Okay but take her to the hockey house just in case. We’re gonna try and find him.”

  “Okay. Ryan took off earlier. It looked like Tommy was making a run for it.”

  The guys took off to join in the search for Tommy.

  With that settled he strode through the bar with Jordan in his arms.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Jake carried Jordan the whole way to his car. The rain that started falling earlier in the evening had picked up in to a steady downpour.

  Jordan stared blankly out the window, the pouring rain seemed to fit her mood perfectly. The rain was coming down so hard by the time they made it to the car, her clothes were already soaked through. She couldn’t stop herself from shaking but wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or the terror.

  Out of nowhere she flinched when Jake touched her with a sweatshirt. She felt guilty about her reaction to his touch but too much was bouncing around in her head for her to focus on that now.

  It was the first time she’d seen Tommy since what happened two years ago. And things hadn’t changed much, that same crazed look was still in his eyes.

  How did he get into Rookies?

  JAKE CARRIED JORDAN the entire way to his Jeep. He could feel the shivers raking her body as they were pelted with rain. Once inside the car he reached into the backseat for the sweatshirt he usually left there and handed it to her causing her to flinch.

  Seeing her reaction to his touch had him reaching for the steering wheel to curb his anger. He needed it to ground himself so he didn’t run off and join the search for Tommy Bradford. She was his priority.

  He took in how extremely pale she was and watched as tremors coursed through her body. He was so angry by how scared that prick made her feel that he swore he could feel steam coming out of his ears. Forcibly pushing down his frustration and anger, he started the car. He watched as she pulled the sweatshirt over her arms and took a calming breath. He thought she still looked too pale and could see slight shivers flow through her body. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but now was not the time or the place.

  He pulled out of his parking spot, grateful he only drank two beers during the course of the night. The urgency to get her home and someplace safe coursed through his bloodstream. He made it back to the hockey house in record time, even with periodically checking the rearview mirror to make sure they weren’t followed. Who knew where Tommy made off to when he ran away.

  He pulled into the driveway and parked the car. He needed to get her inside and taken care of. After that however, they needed to talk. It was obvious from what just happened there was more to the story she had told him.

  The biggest issue would be the amount of time he would have alone with her. He wasn’t sure how long it would be until the guys arrived back at the house so his time to uncover the truth and rein in his own chaotic emotions could be vastly limited.

  He was out of the Jeep and halfway to the front door before he realized she wasn’t behind him. As he ran back to the Jeep he could feel the ice cold rain trickle down the back of his t-shirt, causing a shiver to run down his spine. When he opened the door for her she made no move to get out, obviously still in shock from the night’s events. Instead of letting them get even more soaked by the rain by waiting for her to move, he scooped her back up into the cradle of his arms, again enjoying the feel of her there, and carried her into the house.

  Once inside the house he placed her on the couch in the living room, not caring her clothes were wet from the rain. When he went to pull away she tightened her hold around his neck and pulled him closer to her.

  “Jordan, sweetheart, it’s okay. I’m just going to go upstairs and get us some dry clothes, we both got soaked in the downpour,” he consoled her as he eased her arms from around his neck. It was harder than he thought it would be to let her go but he knew it wouldn’t be good for them to sit around in wet clothes.

  He took the stairs two at a time to get to Tucker’s room where he left his duffle bag earlier. As he pulled out dry clothes, his cell phone rang, its music cutting into the eerie silence of the room. He wasn’t going to answer but he saw Ryan’s name on the caller ID.

  “Hey man, what’s happening?” He asked Ryan right away.

  Ryan didn’t waste any time on pleasantries. “Some of the guys are out looking for Tommy. Jase and I are going to try and figure out how he even got in. Everyone knows he’s banned from the premises so it doesn’t make any sense but…” he trailed off taking a deep breath to get his anger back under control. “How’s Jordan doing?
”

  Jake was in the process of trading his wet jeans for dry basketball shorts so it took him a second to reply. “She’s shaken up. We got soaked in the rain so I’m grabbing some dry clothes for her to change into and then I was going to talk to her.”

  “If you need any clothes just take some from one of my drawers.”

  “It’s okay, I have an extra t-shirt and sweats in my bag so I have her covered. Hang on a sec.” He put the phone down while he peeled his soaked t-shirt off and put on a dry one. He went into the bathroom to hang his wet clothes up to dry.

  It was good Ryan called because now he could find out how much time he had with Jordan before the cavalry arrived. “So when do you guys think you’re going to be getting back?”

  He could hear Ryan talking to someone else in the background. “Actually we’re not. Jase, Maddey, and I are going to go back to my parents’ house. My mom is freaking out.”

  “She knows what happened?”

  “Oh yeah my aunt called her after everything went down.”

  “Do you want me to bring Jordan home now?”

  “No. Tommy doesn’t know our parents moved and we want to keep it that way. It’s one thing if he found the new hockey house but we can’t compromise our home.” Again Ryan broke to speak to someone else. “Plus Skye and Maddey think Jordan needs time to decompress on her own before everyone starts hurling questions at her. As much as Jase and I want to be there, I think they have a point.”

  “That’s probably a good idea. She still seems a little bit in shock and keeps rubbing her left shoulder.”

  Ryan took a deep breath. “I was afraid of that.” He paused. “There’s Advil and Miracle Ice in the medicine cabinet downstairs, give her some and she should be okay. I’ll keep you posted on what happens and call you in the morning… and Jake…”

  “Yeah Ry?”

  “Take care of her, okay?”

  “You got it bro, no worries.”

  He ended the call and ran a towel over his hair. He headed downstairs relieved to have the night with Jordan but still concerned about her. When he got back to the living room, she hadn’t moved from the position he had left her in.

  He bent down in front of her and placed his hands on her knees. She was trembling.

  He reached out a hand to cup her jaw. “Hey.” He waited until she looked at him. “I brought you a towel to dry off with and some dry clothes to change into.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Hey.” He said to get her attention again. “You’re safe now. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Okay, good. Now go change, you’re making the couch all wet.”

  JORDAN SAT ON the couch unable to move. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Jake placed his hands on her knees.

  She was still trembling but at Jake’s touch she uncurled her legs from underneath her and looked up into his green eyes. The concern she saw in them caused the fog of shock to clear a little.

  He traced the line of her jaw with his thumb and the warmth that radiated from his touch felt great against her cold skin. He was so thoughtful and caring all the time, she wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to resist him. She couldn’t take the worry she saw lingering in his gaze so she looked away again. “Thank you,” she said as an afterthought, she didn’t want to be rude.

  “Hey.” He said to get her attention again. “You’re safe now. You know that, right?”

  She tried to tell herself that she knew she was safe because she was at the hockey house and Tommy didn’t know where this one was located but she knew that wasn’t the complete truth. It was Jake’s presence that made her feel safe. Back at Rookies, even with Tommy a few feet away, once Jake showed up she knew she would be safe.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Okay good. Now go change you’re making the couch all wet.”

  She got up from the couch and picked up the clothes he gave her. Before she went to change, she turned to face him again and placed her hand on his arm. “Thanks Jake, for rescuing me and… everything else.”

  She gave him a brief smile trying to convey her emotions.

  “Don’t look at me like that.” His voice sounded pained.

  “Like what?”

  “Like you want me to kiss you.”

  “Maybe I do,” she said on a breath.

  “Damn it babe.” He cursed before closing the distance between them. He reached out and pulled her in for a kiss.

  One would think after being pinned and restrained by Tommy earlier in the night, having Jake holding her face would freak her out but it didn’t. He was her safe place. She kissed him back with everything in her until he pulled away.

  “Go change,” he told her, his voice thick with emotion.

  Still reeling from what had just happened it took her a moment to move. As soon as she got her bearings she turned on her heel and escaped to the safety of the bathroom. Once inside she threw the clothes and the towel on the floor and braced her hands on the sink. Putting her head down, she took a few deep breaths to regain her equilibrium and thought about what had happened.

  She took in her appearance in the mirror taking note she was still a little pale. She pulled the ponytail holder from her hair. Picking up the towel she threw on the ground, she blotted her hair dry and then ran her fingers through it to make it look semi-presentable.

  The sweats were clearly Jake’s because they were too wide and way too long. After pulling them on she had to tie the drawstring as tight as it would go and had to pull the ends of them up over her feet. The t-shirt wasn’t any better but the well worn cotton material felt soft against her skin. She noticed that it had Jake’s hockey number on it and smiled at her appearance. Dressed in too big sweats with a too large t-shirt with his number printed on it, she looked like how a girlfriend would look.

  As quickly as her smile appeared it vanished. Any hope of broaching the subject of dating Jake with her brothers was shot to hell by Tommy’s attack. She also knew the abridged version of her history was no longer going to fly. Jake was too smart to not think she left something out.

  The main reason why she didn’t want to tell Jake the whole story of what happened with Tommy was selfish. She loved the way he looked at her and she was afraid once he knew the truth, the look he gave her would become filled with pity instead.

  Steeling herself for the conversation she knew she was about to have, she left the bathroom and went back to the living room. She found him lounging back on the couch looking way too sexy in basketball shorts and a white hockey t-shirt than should be legal. Taking another deep breath for fortification she went over to sit next to him on the couch.

  WHILE JAKE WAITED for Jordan to finish changing, he opened the windows in the living room and the back door that led to the patio. He hoped the sound of the rain would be relaxing. He still wasn’t sure how she was going to react to what had happened at the bar. Her wanting him to kiss her sure shocked the hell out of him.

  Tommy assaulting Jordan at Rookies clued him in on the fact that there was more to what happened between them in the past than him just hitting her. He needed to know.

  He heard her return from the bathroom but waited for her to sit down before he looked at her. She pulled her legs underneath her and tucked her feet underneath her butt. His clothes were swimming on her but he couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked. Her hair hung around her face half wet, half dry but she looked completely adorable. He personally liked the fact that she was wearing his hockey t-shirt looking for all the world like she was his girlfriend, which little did she know she soon would be.

  He could see bruises forming on her neck where that bastard had grabbed her. He reached for the Advil and water bottle he left on the table and she took it without question.

  He waited until after she swallowed the pills to speak. “I also grabbed Miracle Ice and an actual ice pack if you want to put it on your shoulder. I saw you rubbing it earlier.”


  “Thanks, I hit it when I was pushed against the wall.”

  His nostrils flared at the statement. “How’s your neck?” He asked through gritted teeth.

  She placed a hand on the side of her neck feeling how tender it was. “It’s a little sore.”

  He knew she wasn’t telling the whole truth. “It’s starting to bruise pretty badly.” He took an ice pack off the coffee table, smacked it against his leg to activate it, and held it out for her to take.

  Taking the ice pack from him, she placed it against her neck and winced at the sudden coldness.

  They sat in silence for a couple of minutes while they waited for the Advil to kick in. When she settled deeper into the couch he decided to speak.

  “So now are you gonna tell me what really happened between you and that jackass, Tommy?”

  When she went to pull away, he pulled her legs across his lap on the couch, hoping his touch would be soothing.

  “Okay, fine, but you have to promise not to think differently of me. I don’t want your pity.”

  “Jordan, I keep trying to tell you how I feel about you. How could you even think that I would see you differently because of something that asshole did to you?”

  “Do you want to hear what happened or not?” She asked.

  “You know I do.”

  “Okay then promise, no pity.”

  “Okay.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Jordan sat up against the arm of the couch more, gearing up to tell him exactly what had happened that fateful night. There were only a handful of people who knew what actually happened that night and now she was about to let Jake fully into the fold. As much as she was afraid to have him look at her differently if he knew, she had to trust him with this.

  “So I already told you I caught Tommy cheating on me.”

  He shook his head. “I still don’t understand how someone could cheat on you.”