Twenty-Two (Assassins Series Book 12)

by Toni Aleo

  “Okay. I’m going to go lie with the kids.”

  “I’ll do the dishes.”

  Coming to her, he kissed the back of her head as he held her close to him. “I’d be empty without you.”

  Smiling gently, she leaned into him. “Same here, big guy.”

  Kissing her once more, he whispered, “I love you.”

  “I love you.”

  As he walked away, she knew that would always be a fact.

  But her future…that was up in the air.

  And it scared the hell out of her.

  6

  What Do I Do?

  “I don’t want to move.”

  Audrey looked over at her big sister and nodded. “I don’t want you to move either.”

  “But it’s what I married. I married a hockey player. I knew going in that there was a chance we could leave. By the grace of God, we haven’t, but it was bound to happen.”

  “This is true.”

  “I want to be mad at Elli.”

  Audrey shook her head with a smile. “But you can’t. She’s already called you four times to apologize, and you know she wouldn’t have done it unless she had to.”

  “I know. I just hate it all.”

  “Yeah, and it fucking sucks.”

  Fallon held her glass up, and Audrey tapped hers to it before they each took long sips of the wine from the second bottle they had opened. They were both supposed to be working. But somehow, after Fallon’s phone call to her baby sister, Audrey had shown up with a box of cupcakes, and Fallon opened a bottle of wine and locked the door to her office. Rob was probably freaking his shit, wondering what he should do, but Fallon didn’t have time for that. She needed to talk this out.

  It had been a week since she’d found out about Lucas not being re-signed. Emery was doing fine, Molly, Lucas’s mom, was in the town helping, and the kids were good. Aiden was soaring. The kid was killing it on the ice, his eyes on the prize: Bellevue. And that just stuck another sword through her heart.

  “My baby is going to college at seventeen, Audrey, and I won’t be here.”

  “I’ll be here. I’ll keep an eye out.”

  “I know, and I’m thankful, but I’m supposed to. I’m his mom.”

  “So, let Lucas go by himself. He can come home when he can.”

  Fallon shook her head. “No, we need to stay together. The kids would flip. The girls, they have a hard time when he’s gone already. And splitting up like that, it just wouldn’t work.”

  “Yeah,” Audrey said sadly. “And he won’t retire?”

  “I don’t think so. He still wants to play.”

  “He’s so stubborn.”

  “He loves it. I can’t blame him for wanting to live his dreams. You know how he is. With his dyslexia, he’s nervous he’s never enough. With hockey, he knows what he’s doing. He knows how to win, and he doesn’t fail often. But in the real world…that’s a whole other arena he doesn’t have much experience in. He gives me palpitations, I swear.”

  “I’m sorry, sis,” Audrey said, and Fallon shrugged.

  “It is what it is. We’ll be okay, it’ll just be an adjustment.”

  “Maybe I can get Tate to talk to him. They can retire together and build a car or something.”

  Fallon laughed humorlessly, but then she looked up, meeting his sister’s gaze. “So, he is retiring?”

  Audrey nodded. “He decided last night that if this next surgery doesn’t go well, he’s done.”

  “And the doctors don’t think it will?”

  She shook her head. “There is a chance. But the infection really messed up the cartilage around his hip, and he’ll always be in pain if he continues to drop down into the butterfly. So there really isn’t an option.”

  “Yeah, man, that sucks. He had at least another ten years in him.”

  She laughed. “That’s what he said.”

  “I think I’ve heard him say it.”

  Audrey grinned. “I think the saving grace is that the Assassins have a spot for a goalie coach. It’s an assistant spot, but Elli said it’s his if he wants it.”

  Fallon beamed. “That’s awesome for him.”

  “Yeah, he has so much knowledge, and he’s damn good. So we’re hoping that if he can’t play, he’ll be able to do that.”

  “Me too. See, Lucas needs something like that!”

  “Have you asked him to look into something along those lines?”

  Fallon shook her head. “They’re down two in the series. His focus is the game, which is fine. We’re going to figure things out after the play-offs.”

  “Well, let’s hope they win, or it’s going to suck even more,” Audrey added with a grimace, and Fallon nodded.

  “It sure as hell will.”

  Boy, would it. It would be like adding insult to injury. Her husband was stressed, she knew he was, and he was tired. So damn tired. His body wasn’t like it used to be; he was worn out and he needed rest, but he had no time for that. When he was home, he slept, and when he was on the road, he slept. The guy was exhausted. She just wanted the Assassins to win and for Lucas to be relaxed enough to let go. Sleep for a week, and then decide his future. She wanted so badly for him to want to retire so she wouldn’t have to worry about picking everyone up and moving them. But, in reality, she just wanted him to be happy. If he wasn’t ready to retire, he wasn’t ready. She understood that, but it didn’t ease the fear in her soul.

  Reaching out, Audrey took Fallon’s hand. “No matter what, you’re the strongest woman I know, and you’ve got this.”

  Squeezing her sister’s hand, she said, “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am. Don’t you worry,” she said with a wink, and Fallon smiled.

  She wished like hell she had the confidence in herself that her sister and the rest of her family had in her.

  Because while everyone else knew Fallon had control, she was two seconds from curling up in a ball and crying herself into a stupor.

  Aiden was going to college.

  Emery had a broken arm.

  Asher was great and doing awesome with his technology, but she was sure something would come up.

  Stella was insane and would drive her into an early grave with her need to gossip about everyone.

  Lucas was facing an uncertain professional future, but she had no choice but to hold their family together.

  Lucas leaned forward on his knees with his hat low over his eyes. Emery sat in his lap, with Asher on one side and Stella on the other. Fallon was behind them, leaning her arms on Lucas’s shoulders as they watched Aiden rush up the ice, the puck on his stick as he skated with ease. The kid reminded him so much of himself that it sparked a certain kind of pride in his chest. A kind of pride that hurt in a way. Aiden was amazing, and when he deked around a player, taking the puck between his legs before shooting over the goalie’s shoulder, Lucas shook his head.

  “Kid stole my shot,” he said as everyone cheered around him, and Aiden looked up, his eyes meeting his. Lucas nodded his head, and Aiden beamed through the cage of his helmet before wrapping his arms around his teammates.

  “I’d say you passed it down,” Fallon whispered in his ear before kissing the side of his face, and he grinned as he looked up at her. “It will always be yours.”

  Chuckling, he wrapped his arms around Emery as she leaned back against him. “Daddy, when do you leave?”

  “Monday.”

  She groaned. “I don’t want you to.”

  “Honey, I gotta go win the Cup.”

  “I don’t want the Cup. I want you,” she pouted.

  “Me too,” Stella decided. “You’ve been gone too much.”

  Kissing the top of Stella’s head, he nodded. “Almost there, girls. Don’t worry.”

  “Dad has to be awesome, guys. Relax,” Asher added, and Lucas leaned into his little buddy.

  “Thanks, bud.”

  Asher beamed up at him from where he was playing Minecraft on his phone. The series was tied at two
each. Both teams had won in their home arenas. Now all the Assassins had to do was go there and win, and then come home and win. That was the plan, at least, and Lucas was ready. He was ready to hold that Cup above his head, kiss it, and then pass it to the next player.

  Because he was tired.

  So fucking tired.

  As he watched Aiden fly over the ice, he envied him. Lucas was pretty sure he looked like a three-legged rhino out there compared to his amazing son, but he was proud nonetheless. The kid was going places. Hopefully, following in the same footsteps as Lucas. If Lucas was lucky, Aiden would. God, he hoped Aiden did because Lucas would need some hockey in his life. The more he thought about it, the more he knew he couldn’t uproot his family to start over somewhere else. The unknown scared him. At least in Nashville, he had a home and the kids were comfortable. He hadn’t told Fallon yet because a part of him wasn’t ready to accept it. But he was pretty sure that when the series ended, so would his career.

  And that saddened Lucas.

  More than he’d imagined it would.

  He had been in the business for a long damn time; it was all he’d ever known. But he couldn’t be selfish. Fallon took the news in stride. She had a plan; she was ready because that was the way it had been as long as they’d been married. She was the rock of the household, but it was time for him to take some of the load. To be the father the girls wanted and Asher needed. He wanted to be there for his kids, for Fallon, and he wanted to watch his boy at Bellevue. Be at every game. Cheer him on.

  Just as his son had cheered him on his whole career.

  “Game over. What a game,” Fallon said, standing up behind him as the kids stood too. He had missed the last five minutes, lost in his thoughts. Kissing Emery’s head, he looked up at Fallon. “Wanna head home, and I’ll ride with Aiden?”

  She smiled as she nodded. “He’d love that.”

  “Cool, so we’ll see ya at home?”

  “Yeah,” she said, kissing him before gathering all their kids and heading off. Walking down the stairs of the bleachers, he stopped and talked to a few of the parents as he waited for his boy. Everyone on the team was kind and didn’t treat him differently since he was on the Assassins. To them, he was the dad of the best kid on the team, and they hated him just fine for that.

  With a grin, he headed out to the lobby to wait for Aiden. He only had to wait a few minutes before his son came out with his bag on his shoulder. “Mom texted and told me you were waiting, so I hurried.”

  “You didn’t have to,” he said, wrapping his arm around Aiden’s shoulders.

  “Yeah, I wanted you to meet Coach Moore before he left.”

  “Oh, cool,” he said as Aiden led him over to where a man was standing with Aiden’s current coach. When Coach Moore saw Aiden coming, his face lit up as he turned, holding his hand out for Aiden, which Aiden took eagerly.

  “Coach, this is my dad, Lucas Brooks.”

  River Moore beamed. “Lucas Brooks, how are you?”

  Shaking his hand, Lucas nodded. “Great, River, how are you? How are those grandbabies of yours?”

  “You know, getting big. Dawson, Ashlyn, and Angie are just amazing, and then with Lucy about to pop, I sure am a proud grandpa.”

  “I bet.”

  “And man, this series is going to be the death of me!”

  Lucas laughed. “You and me both.”

  “I need y’all to win. It would make my whole family happy since Jace and Jude aren’t in the play-offs anymore.”

  “Yeah, I think we all would love that.”

  River nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets. “You’ve got a special kid right here. Smart as hell.”

  Lucas looked over at Aiden, wrapping his arm around his son. “He sure is. That’s all his momma, though.”

  “Oh, but he got the hockey from you, then?”

  “Yup, and the good looks,” he said with a wink. “Minus the hair.”

  That had all of them laughing as Aiden rolled his eyes, but River was smiling hard. “You know I can’t wait to get my hands on him.”

  “He’ll need them if he wants to get into the NHL. I can’t do it all.”

  River scoffed. “Any kid would be lucky to have your hands on them. Which is why you have a job on my team anytime you want it.”

  “Ha, I’m old and achy.”

  “So? The best are. You let me know when you wanna retire and get a job. I know we’d love to have you, and I’m sure your kid would love that.”

  Aiden laughed. “Yeah, but my dad has lots of years left. I wanna meet him on NHL ice.”

  Lucas laughed as he nodded. “That would be awesome, bud. But I don’t know if I’ll last that long.”

  “Yeah, you will,” Aiden said confidently. “You’re the best.”

  Holding his boy in his arms, Lucas knew, in Aiden’s eyes, he was the best. But would he think that if Lucas weren’t in the league anymore?

  He wasn’t sure, and the doubt didn’t sit right with him. He hated that he doubted himself, but he did it often. He just wanted to make his kids proud. He wanted his kids to believe they could be anything they wanted to be—because he was what he wanted to be.

  A husband. A father. A hockey player.

  Would they still feel that way if he gave it all up?

  “Your driving sucks. You drive like your mother.”

  Aiden scoffed. “I have not cussed once, and also, I know how to turn without going on two wheels.”

  Lucas laughed. “Touché, son. Touché.”

  “So, did you like Coach Moore?”

  “Yeah, he’s a great guy. I’ve met him before, but only in passing.”

  “I’m excited. I think he’s going to do great things with me.”

  “He will. I truly believe that.”

  Aiden nodded, holding the wheel with both hands. “Would you work for him? At Bellevue?”

  Lucas shrugged. “I mean, I wouldn’t turn it down. The chance to be with you and do what I love, hockey, I think it would be great.”

  “Yeah, but you won’t have to worry about that for, like, years, and I’ll probably already be in the NHL by then.”

  “Probably,” Lucas muttered, swallowing hard.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Huh?”

  “You’re all muttering and stuff. What’s that mean?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Dad…”

  “Aiden.”

  “Really, come on.”

  Lucas shrugged. “I think you believe in me way more than I do.”

  “Why do you say that? You don’t think you’ve got years left?”

  He glanced over at his boy, his profile sharp and staggering. His hair was down, falling around his shoulders in curls as his gray eyes shone. “I don’t know, son.”

  Aiden’s brows furrowed. “What’s going on?”

  Sucking in a deep breath, Lucas was surprised he was going to say it. But then, he and Aiden had that kind of relationship. The kid was his best friend and wise beyond his years. He was a great person. His kid. His boy. “Elli isn’t re-signing me.”

  Aiden’s jaw dropped. “Why?”

  “I’m old, creaky,” he laughed with a shrug. “Plus, she needs the salary room.”

  “That’s bullcrap. You’re the best.”

  “Eh, I’m tired, bud.”

  “Still, you’ll wake up.”

  Lucas laughed. “Probably not. Pretty sure my hip isn’t waking up anytime soon.”

  Aiden didn’t laugh, though. He thought it over. “So you’ll go as a free agent? Which means y’all will move?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, watching his son’s face as Aiden kept his eyes on the road. “I don’t want to uproot your mom or your siblings. I’d feel selfish doing that.”

  “Yeah, everyone’s happy. Plus, I’ll be here.”

  “Exactly, and I don’t want to leave you.”

  “So you’re going to retire?”

  “I’m thinking about it.”

&n
bsp; “Wow,” Aiden said simply, shaking his head. “I mean, I understand, but wow.”

  “Would that disappoint you?”

  Aiden shook his head. “No, not really,” he said. “Dad, you rocked the heck out of the league. You have goals galore, and you’re amazing. You did a lot for the league, for your charity, and you’ll always be the best. Don’t worry, I’ll get up there and take over—live up to your legacy.”

  Lucas grinned. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. I’ll make you proud.”

  “You already do, bud.”

  “Good, ’cause you make me proud. You always have and always will.”

  Reaching out, Lucas squeezed Aiden’s shoulder. “Thanks, bud.”

  “No, thank you. You’re the best dad, and you’ve always believed in me. I’ll make you proud. I’ll make everyone proud.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Neither can I.”

  With his heart in his throat, Lucas squeezed his boy’s shoulder once more. “I love you, son.”

  Looking over at him, Aiden nodded. “I love you too, Dad.”

  7

  The Cup Goes to…

  Fallon had chewed off all her nails.

  Down to the quick.

  And they hurt.

  But if she stopped chewing, she might scream.

  Because this game was going to kill her.

  After winning two at home, the Assassins had gone to Washington and dominated, winning with ease. But now, game six was in Nashville, and the Capitals weren’t going down without a fight. They were up by one, but the Assassins were relentless, firing shot after shot on goal. Though, the Capitals’ goalie wasn’t letting anything in. He was on fire.

  “This is stressful,” Aiden said, leaning on his elbows over the railing of Elli Adler’s box.

  “It is,” Elli said, chewing on her lip. “I want a goal, at least to tie it up.”

  “Yeah, we need that.”

  “Yeah, that,” Fallon said, her eyes intent on the ice. For once, no one was moving. All the kids were in a line, watching the game in their respective Brooks Assassins jerseys with their eyes on the ice. Emery hadn’t moved since the second period, an ice cream in her good hand, while her purple-casted arm laid on her lap as she sat in Aiden’s lap. They all knew the importance of this game. This could be the end, and damn it, the Assassins wanted to win it at home.