Shutdown Player New

by dlady

  Agnes tapped out a message on her smart phone and waited a few seconds. “He’s on a road trip. Should be back by Friday.”

  “How do you know so much about their schedule?” Steph asked.

  “Ethan’s assistant is my best friend,” Agnes said.

  Steph should’ve known.

  Giles, the butler, chose that moment to enter the room. He deposited a gleaming silver tea tray adorned with a silver teapot, delicate teacups, scones, and an assortment of yummy little appetizers. Steph licked her lips, and her stomach growled.

  “Thank you, Giles,” Agnes said. She and Iona smiled at him, and their gazes lingered.

  Steph blinked a few times, relieved the heat was taken off her and surprised at the pair’s obvious entranced gazes.

  Agnes?

  And the butler?

  Who’d have guessed?

  While Steph pondered this new development, Giles bowed low, as usual, and exited the room. Agnes stared longingly after him. Steph chanced a glance at Iona and couldn’t help but notice the slight smirk on her wrinkled face.

  “Tea?” Agnes asked. Her hands shook as she poured the tea. She was flustered. Imagine that.

  Steph ducked her head to hide her smile. Once again, Otto looked up and came to the rescue. He slimed her with a swath of drool across her arm, and she busied herself wiping off his chin and her arm. Taking care of him was like taking care of a baby, except that he was much larger than thirty babies put together.

  “Why don’t you ask Giles to join us?” Iona said, looking as innocent as the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, one the few movies Steph had watched in her childhood. Steph had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling. She’d only been working here a few weeks, yet she felt closer to these women than she had her grandparents growing up. Both of them pretended to be cranky and unapproachable, but she found them to be two of the most genuinely good people she’d met in her life.

  “Oh, no, he’d be appalled if we asked him,” Agnes said. “A proper British butler never takes his tea with the ladies of the house.”

  “Then tell him to take tea with us as friends.” It wasn’t until both pairs of eyes turned on Steph that she realized she’d spoken her thoughts out loud.

  “Oh, no, dear, he’d never do that.” Agnes held one hand to her chest as if the very thought might cause a heart attack.

  Steph, having never lived a privileged life, was honestly baffled. “Why not?”

  “Because of his station?” Iona blew out an impatient sigh.

  “His station?”

  “He’s a servant,” Iona answered, as if that made all the difference in the world.

  “Why should that matter? He’s still a person.”

  Both women looked at each other, honestly puzzled.

  “Because it just does,” Agnes finally answered.

  “I still think you should invite him to join us for tea.” Steph considered the whole thing ridiculous. Maybe her indignation dated back to the patronizing way she’d been treated by wealthy homeowners when, as a teenager, she’d helped her aunt clean their regal mansions. The entire class thing grated on her.

  The sisters ignored her and poured the tea into delicate little cups. Agnes took a sip and studied Steph over the rim of the china. “Someday we’ll find the perfect match for you.”

  “No need,” Steph replied. “I’m perfectly happy with my single status. Having a man in one’s life is seriously overrated.”

  “True that,” Iona agreed.

  “Men are a necessary evil.” Agnes’s gaze strayed to the door Giles had gone out. She stared for a long time and said nothing more.

  Iona caught Steph’s eye, and a smile slowly crossed her face. Steph smiled back. Perhaps she’d do a little matchmaking herself.

  The two women were already distracted. Heads together, they were discussing another client.

  “If you don’t have anything else for me today, I’ll be on my way.”

  “Certainly.” Agnes waved a hand in the air. Steph was already forgotten.

  Dismissed, she put a leash on Otto, shrugged into her raincoat, and let herself out the door. Giles was nowhere to be found.

  Despite it being midafternoon, threatening rain clouds blotted out most of the daylight and cast ominous shadows. Steph hurried along the street, only pausing long enough for Otto to do his business. Rain began to fall in big, nasty drops. Steph pulled up her hood while Otto, a water dog if there ever was one, didn’t seem to notice.

  A dark car slowed and kept pace with her. Steph shivered, glancing around for a possible safe haven if she needed one. Most of the mansions were set back from the street behind trees and bushes. Most had gated driveways. She was halfway home and sped up her pace, ignoring the dark sedan. It pulled ahead of her, and she drew a sigh of relief, but only briefly. The driver stuck his head out the window.

  “Hey,” he said in a gravelly voice thick with threat.

  Steph stared straight ahead, almost jogging, while Otto trotted alongside her. Sensing her discomfort, the big black dog glanced at the car now pacing them.

  “Stephanie.”

  Oh, no. No. No. He knew her name.

  The dog who’d never met a human he didn’t love growled from deep in his throat, his movements now stiff and jerky, the hair on his back standing up straight.

  “Stephanie. I have a message for you from Gino.”

  Stephanie stumbled and almost fell. Regaining her balance, she faced her harasser, not because she was brave but because her legs forgot how to move, and her lungs constricted to the point she was near passing from lack of oxygen. The man stopped his car but, thankfully, made no move to get out.

  “He’s coming for you because you’re his. Got it?”

  Fear stabbed through her and sliced deep into her fragile and newfound confidence. “Tell him—tell him to go to hell.”

  The man laughed. “He’s already there. He’d like you to join him.” He made a gesture as if he were shooting a gun. It was the same man from a few weeks ago.

  Otto stood stiff-legged, his growl turning into a snarl. After casting a nervous glance at the dog, the stranger rolled up his window and sped off.

  Steph froze for a split second more before she broke into a run, Otto loping next to her. She didn’t slow down until she was locked safely in her apartment. Otto sat next to her, staring at the crazy lady, while Steph leaned against the door, attempting to gather her wits. Her heart slammed in her chest and her hands shook as she tried to unhook his leash. He watched her with concern furrowing lines above his expressive brown eyes.

  Steph dropped to her knees and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his long, wet coat. He didn’t move a muscle but stoically offered his silent comfort. The tears came, despite her efforts to stay strong, and mingled with raindrops on his coat. She couldn’t stop once she started. She cried until she was drained of tears and energy. Sinking to the floor, she curled in a little ball. Otto lay down next to her.

  The safe world she’d created had been a fantasy. She’d convinced herself Gino had moved on. She should’ve known better. She’d been Gino’s possession, and men like him didn’t give up their possessions easily.

  She wasn’t sure she’d ever be safe again.

  Chapter 4—Wraparound Goal

  The road trip sucked. The Sockeyes lost two and won one. Jared carried a lot of the blame on his shoulders, even though he knew the team wouldn’t agree. His game was off. He wasn’t seeing the puck the way he usually did or anticipating the next offensive move. He’d made a career as a shutdown player, a stellar defenseman who had won the James Norris Memorial Trophy last year at only twenty-four. Not bad, considering the hell his year had been thanks to Candy.

  He wanted more than a defensive trophy. Not that he wasn’t honored, but he wanted the Cup. And he wanted it so badly he could taste it.

  They’d dropped to third place in the Pacific Division after that brutal road trip. Half the team had been battling
the flu and weren’t at their best. Jared didn’t have the flu excuse. Physically, he felt fine. Mentally and emotionally, not so much.

  He wasn’t going through the trauma of last year. This year, his problems were subtler. He was frustrated without really knowing why. He loved hockey, but he wanted more. He envied the guys who called their families every night, talking to wives and children. He wanted what he’d never had with Candy. He didn’t think he was asking too much.

  Jared arrived back in Seattle early Friday morning and found a message from the matchmaking sisters on his phone. They wanted to discuss a potential match. After a few hours’ sleep, he woke, showered, took way too long getting ready, and drove to their mansion. The closer he got to their home, the more his spirits lifted.

  He rapped on the door, and Giles answered, bowing low, as usual. Jared resisted the urge to bow himself. It was contagious.

  “This way, sir.”

  Jared followed the older man past the double doors of the study where Steph had been working the last time he’d been here. The doors were shut, and he fought off a wave of disappointment. Giles paused at another set of impressive double doors and pushed them open.

  “Mr. Roderick is here.”

  “Show him in,” said Iona, the more flamboyant one. Agnes, the more conservative of the two, was gazing at Giles, and he was gazing back. Jared studied them with amusement. He’d have to be blind not to notice how smitten they were, a word Jared never used, but in this context, it fit.

  Iona rolled her eyes and cleared her throat loudly. Startled, Agnes shuffled some papers in front of her, while Giles quickly backed out the door and shut it after him.

  “Mr. Roderick, thank you for coming,” Agnes said stiffly.

  Iona gestured for him to sit in a chair opposite them. “What is wrong with your game, young man? I’ve never seen such a piss-poor performance from you.”

  Surely, they hadn’t called him here to talk about his game.

  Before Jared could answer, Agnes interrupted, probably glad the heat was off her. “I believe our young man is pining for the love of his life.”

  Once again, Jared opened his mouth, and once again, they cut him off. “It’s a good thing he came to us.” Iona gave him a pointed stare, as if assessing him and finding him in need of improvement.

  Agnes focused her laser-sharp gaze on Jared, and he squirmed. These two were formidable. “You’re nursing a broken heart but still believe in the power of love.”

  “I, uh—” Jared stammered. He could face down the meanest asshole on the ice without blinking, but these two had reduced him to a stuttering fool.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Iona asked.

  “Of course, I am,” Agnes said. “I have seen it. The visions are unusually strong.”

  “And very clear.”

  “Uh, excuse me,” Jared said. Both heads swiveled toward him, and the sisters blinked several times as if just now remembering he was in the room. “Shouldn’t I be involved in this discussion?”

  Agnes and Iona exchanged a glance.

  “If you feel the need.” Iona shrugged and filled her teacup.

  “What visions?”

  “Impatient, isn’t he?” Agnes said.

  “It’s his generation,” Iona replied. “They want everything right now.”

  They were talking about him again like he wasn’t in the room. Jared sighed and wondered how Steph dealt with them every day without tearing her hair out.

  Steph.

  Thoughts of her brought a smile to his face. He’d stop by the library on the way out and say hi. He hated to admit it, but he’d been looking forward to seeing her all morning. He shook himself out of his stupor to find both women watching him with knowing smiles on their faces. Shit, maybe they could read minds.

  “We’ll help you. Trust us.” Agnes patted his arm. “We have a potential match we’d like you to meet tonight for dinner, since you have a night off.”

  “This soon?” He’d expected them to act quickly, but this quickly?

  “Is that a problem?” Iona asked pointedly.

  “Uh, no. Tell when and where. I’ll be there.”

  “The Place at six thirty.”

  “The Place?” The bar and grill seemed like an odd place for a first date, not exactly classy. Yet, thinking about it, he could see the logic. He wanted a down-to-earth woman who wasn’t interested in money. The Place was a down-to-earth bar with inexpensive food and drinks. His pocketbook would appreciate the choice. “I’ll be there.”

  Jared stood quickly. He never overstayed his welcome. These two women were eccentric, crazy, or something else he couldn’t wrap his mind around. Somehow they knew about Steph. He was all over that. They could do all the scheming their little geriatric hearts desired.

  He let himself out, and they didn’t even notice he’d left. Jared hurried down the wide, elegant hallway and opened the double doors at the other end. He rapped on the door, didn’t wait for an answer, and swung it open. The room was empty.

  With a sigh, he left the mansion and got in his car. He had a date tonight. He should be happy. For some reason, he was a little down.

  * * * *

  That afternoon, Steph made it home from work without incident. No one followed her or accosted her. She hadn’t told Izzy and Vi about the threat she’d gotten. She should, but she didn’t. They’d hover and drive her crazy. If anything more happened, she promised herself she’d tell them.

  She left Otto with Izzy and took the steps to her apartment. Opening the door, she shut it behind her and clicked the deadbolt. Only then did what she’d agreed to sink in.

  The sisters had convinced her to go to The Place tonight, observe Jared and his date, and report back. They’d insisted this was standard procedure for a first date. While they usually did the observation themselves, they were committed to a charity event.

  Steph was reluctant, but they’d made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Not only would they pay her double time, but Giles would drive her there and pick her up when she was done. She had nothing better to do that evening. No parties to crash, and she was between novels, having just finished one.

  According to the sisters, she didn’t need to hide or go incognito. If Jared saw her, she could give him whatever excuse she wanted for being there, even the truth. They left the details up to her. The sisters were an odd pair, but who was Steph to question them, considering their success record?

  Resigned to her fate, Steph pawed through her meager collection of clothes for something appropriate, not wanting to over- or underdress. Overdress? She snorted at the thought. She didn’t have much in the way of fancy clothes—with the exception of a few she borrowed from the Maxwell sisters for her party-crashing job.

  After much fretting and trying on everything in her closet, she finally decided on a pair of skinny jeans that hugged her curves and a pink, feminine sweater. One thing about Seattle: you could wear jeans just about anywhere, including nice restaurants.

  What the heck was she doing? She wasn’t going on a date with the man. She was an invisible chaperone. What she wore didn’t matter. Regardless, she was anxious to see the match they’d arranged for Jared, curious what kind of woman the sisters’ visions had suggested.

  She’d have to live vicariously through the happy couple, just fantasize for a while. She was good at fantasies. In fact, lately she’d tried her hand at writing her own romance novel. This would be good research as to what normal people did on a first date. Steph had never done normal, nor had she ever had a real first date.

  As a teenager, she’d watched other girls her age as they went on dates, attended dances, and drove cars. Her strict parents didn’t allow her to date, let alone go to dances or football games. And, God forbid, she wasn’t allowed to drive—and still didn’t know how.

  She’d never forget the day she met Gino. He’d been hanging out with a group of guys at a park near the high school. One of her friends had begged Steph to go with her to talk t
o them. They were older, all of twenty-one. Gino had immediately taken to her, and she’d been flattered. She’d never had a guy pay attention to her other than a pimply-faced mama’s boy who could barely manage two words.

  Gino waited for her every day after school and gave her a ride home, dropping her off a block away so no one would see. They stole kisses in his car. Shortly after meeting him, she did the unthinkable and snuck out of the house late at night.

  Within a shockingly short amount of time, Gino became the most important person in her life, and the most influential. Steph hated lying to her parents, but she did it anyway. She’d do anything for Gino. His manipulation of her had been so subtle, at first, that she hadn’t recognized it for what it was.

  She’d needed the distance of the past several months to look back and see everything with clear eyes. She’d been a fool. He’d treated her like a possession, and she’d gone along with it, blaming herself when he hit her. All the stuff she realized now was typical of abusers and the abused.

  She glanced at the decorative clock ticking on the wall. Just like clockwork, she heard a car pull up. She peeked out the kitchen window to see the Bentley. Steph grabbed her coat and purse and did a last-minute check on her appearance in the mirror hanging on the wall. She looked okay, not that it mattered.

  Minutes later, Steph settled at a small table for two, which gave her a good view of the unpretentious bar. The Place was rustic and funky. The cedar-planked walls were almost hidden by the enormous amount of Seattle memorabilia hanging on the walls, most of it autographed.

  Giles had dropped her off only a minute or so before Jared and his date were due to arrive. Steph had wanted to arrive a half-hour early, but Giles hadn’t been available. While she had instructions not to purposely hide, she’d thought lying low would’ve been a good idea. By coming in early, she would’ve had less chance of being noticed.

  She was nervous. This was her first assignment for the sisters, and she wanted to do a good job. She had a small notepad shoved in her purse to take notes of anything significant.