Laces and Lace (Assassins #6)

by Toni Aleo

  Looking over at Karson, he said, “You can’t take off for four days and expect me to play you the minutes I was.”

  “I wouldn’t think it, sir. I know I have to earn my spot back.”

  “Good, tear that ice up this morning, show the guys that you deserve it,” he said sternly as he dropped his weight into his chair, it squeaking from his size. “I don’t like not playing one of my star defensemen.”

  Compliments didn’t come from Coach Baxter so that surprised Karson and caused a grin to come across his lips.

  “Yes, sir,” Karson agreed with a nod, and then started to get up but stopped when Coach continued.

  “Now, the reason I called you in here,” he said slowly and Karson’s heart dropped. He thought they were done. Slowly lowering himself back in the chair, he met his coach’s gaze as he asked, “Why the fuck is Nate Martin telling me to bench you?”

  You’ve got to be kidding me, Karson thought as he let out a long breath.

  “I married his daughter,” he said simply. “In Vegas, and he’s never really liked me.”

  “You married Lacey? Wow, shit, she’s a good girl,” Coach said with a nod.

  “That’s why I married her,” Karson said, his grin back.

  Coach laughed. “Yeah, well, now you’ve pissed off Nate Martin, and he’s probably the craziest mother-trucker I know.”

  “Yeah, not the ideal father–in-law.”

  “Not in the least,” Coach scoffed. “Okay, well, I told him to shove it. You are my best defenseman aside from Shea, so he can kiss it. But watch yourself. That asshole will try to ruin you.”

  Karson took the warning with a grin. “Yeah, but the only way he can do that is taking Lacey away.”

  Coach’s brows shot up as he shook his head. “Newlyweds make me gag. Get the hell out of my office and go do your laps.”

  Karson laughed as he did what his coach told him and went to finish getting ready. As he laced up his skates, his mind was flooded with thoughts of what Coach said.

  That asshole will try to ruin you.

  Yeah, he will, but Karson wouldn’t give him the chance. He had it good here in Nashville, and now that Lacey was with him, nothing could touch him. He felt invincible.

  “So I guess you are moving out then?” JT asked from beside him as he taped up his stick.

  “Yeah, I’m gonna call a Realtor today.”

  “Sucks I’m losing my roommate.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be okay with all that extra space to lay it down.”

  JT grinned as he nodded. “Yeah, true.”

  He grinned back as he stood to put on his shoulder pads. Looking over at Karson, JT asked, “You two are staying in the apartment until you move though?”

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t we?” Karson asked, his brows furrowing.

  JT laughed. “Does Lacey know I live there?”

  “Um, I think so. I don’t know, but thanks for leaving your shit out. She saw it.”

  Shaking his head, JT laughed some more as Karson stood there, confused. How was this funny?

  “Dude, she is going to be pissed,” he finally said.

  “No, she was fine. I told her I’d clean it when I get back.”

  “No, I mean about me living there too. I don’t know many women that want to share a place with her husband and his best friend.”

  Karson thought for a moment. Had he told Lacey that JT was his roommate? Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “I’m sure it will be fine, and it’s temporary. No big deal.”

  Right?

  Lacey’s husband was a slob times two.

  Instead of taking the nap she so desperately needed, she had spent the last three hours cleaning her new home. The things she found, smelled, and cleaned would forever be burned in her mind. She and Karson were going to have to have a long, long conversation about cleaning and his masturbation habits.

  The tissues…the tissues.

  Ugh, she thought as she shuddered with disgust while she washed her hands for the billionth time. Leaning against the sink, she took in her work. She had done really well. It looked like a brand-new apartment, and she was sure her hubby would be pleased with her work. Going to his—well, their—room, she undressed and then took a long shower to clean off all the germs she had collected. Even with the cleaning session from hell, she was still grinning.

  She was in Nashville. With her husband. It was pretty freaking awesome, in her opinion. Her heart still hurt from the rejection of her family, especially Rachel’s, but she wouldn’t let that bother her. She was excited. Change sucked, it did; she knew this. When she lost her mom, it sucked. When she got cancer, it sucked even more. When she started college and was a mess, it sucked but it was bearable. When Karson left her, it sucked badly. Then she left for Nashville with her husband, and her family hated him and didn’t support them, and Lacey decided that that sucked the most.

  She finally had all the love she wanted and needed, but that didn’t mean anything to her family. They decided they knew better and didn’t believe in her or her love with Karson. It was frustrating, to say the least, but she wasn’t going to let it ruin her. Not when she was starting a new life. Not when she finally had her chance at true happiness. She still prayed and prayed that Karson was right when he said they would come around. The only problem was that she wasn’t very confident in that. The Martin family was very stubborn.

  When her phone rang, she wrapped a towel around herself and went into the bedroom where her phone sat on the bed. She expected it to be Karson, but to her surprise, it was Rachel. Her heart ached in her chest as she hit answer. Excitement filled her at the hope that her best friend was calling to apologize and to say how happy she was for Lacey. It was a long shot, but Lacey still thought it could happen.

  Happily, she said, “Hello?”

  “Hey, the mock-ups for the campaign came in. I am forwarding them to your email now. Do you have a second to talk them over?”

  Her heart sank as she swallowed her sob. “Yeah, hold on, let me get my laptop and throw a shirt on,” she said before putting the phone down and getting dressed quickly. Finding her laptop and entering Karson’s Wi-Fi info from the Post-it note on the fridge, she hooked everything up before logging in to her email. Like Rachel said there would be, an email was waiting for her. Clicking it, she downloaded the files and looked over each of the photos.

  She loved them.

  “They are great,” she said as she brought the phone to her ear.

  “Yeah, Grady threw a fit though and wants me Photoshopped out of them. I told him to shut it, though.”

  “Oh, okay, are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I love the pictures, and if these women can be brave enough, then I can. I think we all look incredible.”

  “I agree,” Lacey said with a nod. “I’ll have to show them to Karson. I think he’ll like ’em.”

  “Yeah,” she said offhandedly, slowly breaking Lacey’s heart. Where was her best friend who she would giggle with and talk with about boys? They were both married now; shouldn’t they be elated about that? This is what they always wanted, but now, because Lacey was married to someone they all thought was unacceptable, all their young-adult wishes were being ignored. It wasn’t fair. And really, Lacey didn’t think it was Karson. It was the fact that she left with him, that he took her away. Because of their selfish wishes of keeping her in the same state with them, they wouldn’t accept Karson. How shitty was that?

  Clearing her throat, Rachel said, “So you approve?”

  “Yeah, I’m good with them. It’s going to be a great campaign.”

  “I think so too,” Rachel agreed. “I am going to send it to the marketing team, and I’ll have more mock-ups soon.”

  “Sounds great, thank you. Good idea you had here.”

  “Yeah, so I also forwarded you some other things that need to be signed and sent back.”

  “Okay, I’ll do that in a bit. I need to blow-dry my hair.”

  “Okay, talk to you soon,” Ra
chel said and then the line went dead.

  Her best friend of ten years had just hung up on her.

  Tears welled up in Lacey’s eyes as she slowly shook her head. Why would Rachel do that to her? Not only was it incredibly rude but also didn’t she have any kind of respect for Lacey? She guessed not. When her phone buzzed, she looked down to see a text from Karson.

  Clicking it, it said:

  Karson: Got a Realtor. Wanna go look at houses today?

  Lacey: Yes, that is exactly what I need right now.

  She smiled as a tear slowly slid down her cheek. Rachel could try to hurt her all she wanted, but Lacey wasn’t going to let her. She had someone who loved her and supported her; screw everyone else. She wasn’t going to fight for someone’s love and respect, not when she had always tried to do right to others. She deserved better than that, and if Rachel wanted to be a bitch, fine, Lacey would ignore her.

  Karson: You okay?

  Lacey: Rachel is a bitch.

  Karson: I’m sorry, sweetheart.

  Lacey: No biggie, when are you going to be home?

  Karson: Leaving in 10.

  Lacey: see you when you get here.

  Karson: can’t wait.

  She smiled again before laying her phone down and then opening the rest of the emails from Rachel. They were nothing major, so she digitally signed them quickly and sent them back before blow-drying her hair and curling it. She did her makeup and then got dressed for the day. She dressed lighter than she would have in Chicago, and that tickled her for some reason. She was so used to the cold, but it really wasn’t that bad in Nashville. It was actually sort of warm.

  It was so exciting!

  Unpacking her bags, she hung all her clothes and put away her shoes. There would be more boxes coming, and she wasn’t sure where they were going to put everything. The apartment wasn’t small, but it wasn’t big enough to hold all her stuff and then her office supplies. They really needed to find somewhere else to live. When the realization that they would be doing just that as soon as her husband came home set in, she had a little more pep in her step as she hung her clothes, thoughts of Rachel’s bitchiness a distant thought.

  When she was done, she gathered Karson’s blue sheets and started for the laundry room. He may have said that they were clean, but just to be safe, she wanted to wash them herself. After starting the washer, she looked in the dryer and folded the clothes in there before starting back for their room when she noticed another room. How she hadn’t noticed this earlier was beyond her but it excited her. If Karson was okay with it, maybe she could set up her office in here until they bought their first home.

  Grinning, she opened the door to find more mess and clutter, but that wasn’t what had her pausing. In the bed was a buck-naked woman with her legs wide open, giving Lacey a view that would haunt her in her dreams.

  Gasping, she said, “What the hell?”

  The girl stirred, but instead of waking up, she cuddled deeper into the bed as anger burned in Lacey’s veins. Who the fuck was that!

  Slamming the door, hoping like hell it woke the damn bitch up, she stomped to Karson’s room for her phone to call him, but before she could reach it, the front door opened and Karson called out, “Honey, I’m home.” He then paused and said, “Man, Lacey, I told you not to clean!”

  Whirling around the corner, Lacey put her hands on her hips and said, “Who the hell is that girl in that bed in that bedroom?”

  “Huh?” Karson asked, his face scrunched up.

  “Oh, that’s Melody. She’s still here? Bitch was fucked up last night,” a man said as he came around Karson and threw his bag down. He was huge, bigger than Karson with dark brown eyes and chocolate brown hair, also sporting a beard that gave the Duck Dynasty guys a run for their money.

  “You left some chick here?” Karson asked incredulously. “And couldn’t tell me?”

  “Who are you?” Lacey asked, irritated.

  The guy grinned widely at her, his eyes piercing into hers as he said, “Jordie Thomas, but I go by JT, and I’m Karson’s roommate, which means I’m your roommate now too, darling.”

  What. The. Fuck.

  “Don’t call her darling, asshole,” Karson said glaring. “And go get that chick out of here.”

  Lacey’s heart was thumping against her ribs. Surely, she’d heard this mountain man wrong. “Hold on, what?” she asked for clarification. “He’s your—our—roommate?” she directed at Karson.

  “Yeah, we live together, but we are going to move as soon as we find a house. No biggie,” Karson said with a nod, closing the distance between them and grasping her hips. Placing a kiss to her lips, he smiled before saying, “Till then though, JT will not bring his girls home.”

  “The fuck you say. I pay for this place just like you do. If you get to hit something, I do.”

  “Oh my God,” she muttered, panic filling her. She had never lived with a guy before and was already freaking out slightly about living with Karson, but now she lived with two guys. She was not okay with that. Not at all!

  “Is this not okay?” Karson asked with worry lining his lips.

  “Told you she’d flip,” JT threw in their direction. “Hey, where are my Playboys and lotion?”

  “I threw them away,” she said, her stomach dropping. “I thought they were Karson’s, and he doesn’t need that anymore.”

  He laughed. “And you cleaned up all my come tissues? I’ve been collecting those since I came home from St. Louis. I had a good pile going.”

  “Thomas! Shit!” Karson scolded while Lacey burned with embarrassment and disgust. This guy was an animal; that’s all there was to it.

  Looking up at Karson, she said, “No, this is not okay.”

  She then turned out of his arms and went to his room just as the naked girl came out the door. “Who are you?” she said with her nose up at Lacey.

  Lacey paused and glared. The girl was perfect. Skinny, great tits and ass. Lacey instantly hated her. “None of your business. Put some clothes on! My husband is here and doesn’t need to see all that.”

  “Your husband?” she asked, but Lacey didn’t care. She went into Karson’s room, slamming the door and then falling onto the bed. What the hell? Why didn’t he tell her? This was something you told your wife, not have it be a surprise! When she heard the door open, she closed her eyes tightly and let out a breath. Karson’s weight pushed the bed down as he lay next to her, moving her hair out of her face so he could see her. Meeting her gaze, he gave her a nervous half grin.

  “Sorry?”

  She sat up then. “Karson, why did you think that was okay? Why didn’t you tell me that you had Grizzly Adams as your roommate? Or that you had a roommate at all!”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, sitting up too and holding his hands up. “I thought I had told you, and it really isn’t a big deal because we are moving out. It’s only temporary.”

  “I mean, I get that, but I’ve never lived with anyone but my family, and now I am living with you—which is already a change—but then you throw in Willie Robertson, and Karson, I’m freaking out a bit.”

  “The beard is throwing you off, isn’t it? He’s actually a cool dude,” Karson said, but that just pissed her off even more.

  “No, it’s not the damn beard. It’s the fact that I’ve lived alone my whole life! Even when I was engaged with Ethan, I wasn’t going to move in with him till after I was married, but now I am living with two men, one who is my husband and the other who jacks off more than a horny teenager! Don’t you think that’s a little bit of a culture shock?”

  “Wouldn’t it be like living with your dad and Grady?”

  Lacey almost hit him. Glaring, she said, “So, you’re my dad.”

  “Fuck no,” he said, making a face.

  “Okay then! Karson, I’m seriously about to lose it. This is not okay.”

  “Okay, jokes aside, I get it. I’m sorry and I’m going to fix it. I promise, JT will be on his best behavior.”
/>   “That is what worries me. What is his best behavior? Am I going to walk in on him skinning a rabbit while whacking off?”

  “That might be a little hard,” Karson noted with a grin, and this time, she did smack him in the arm.

  Holding his arm, he laughed as she said, “I’m serious! He freaks me out.”

  Karson gathered her in his arms and she tried to get away, but he wasn’t having that. Holding her close, he kissed her lips. “I’m trying to make you feel better, and I promise you have nothing to worry about. He is a great dude. I promise.”

  She nodded as his nose skimmed her jaw. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

  “I’m not. I’m just…it’s just…ugh, I’m just scared, Karson,” she admitted quietly against his forehead. “It’s so much change at once, and Rachel is being a bitch, and I always thought that she would be the one to support me no matter what, you know? I expected my dad and Grady to be hardheaded about this. But I always believed that my friendship with Rachel was strong, and she just broke my heart.”

  He nodded, kissing her jaw and then the side of her mouth before looking in her eyes. “I’m sorry, baby,” he said softly, moving his nose with hers. “I don’t know what their problems are.”

  “She hung up on me, treated me like her boss instead of her best friend. It hurt.”

  “Maybe she just needs time to process, you know? This is a huge change for everyone. They are going to have to get used to it all.”

  She nodded slowly as her heart ached. “I just hate that she is acting like this.”

  “I know and I’m sorry, really. The guilt is eating at me,” he said, meeting her gaze. “I feel horrible.”

  Her brows came together. “Why would you feel that way? It’s not your fault.”

  “But it is,” he said softly, his hands resting against the small of her back. “I stole you away.”

  “I came with you; you didn’t steal me.”

  He smiled. “Still, I don’t like when you hurt, and it seems like that’s all you’ve been doing lately, hurting, and I don’t like that. I want you to be only happy.”