I grab my handbag and the bag of baby things when I remember the photo Dani had taken of Tank and I when I was about four months pregnant. He had his arms wrapped around me and those big hands resting on my stomach while I was looking up at him. I dump my bags and run around the house like an idiot searching out the photo.
Finally, I head into the garage, checking and double checking the house is properly locked up, after all, I just had my house scrubbed clean, I wouldn’t want any crazy stalkers coming in and rubbing their junk all over my furniture.
I push my way through my office door for the first time in three months and I have to say, it kind of feels weird to be back here again. I dump my bag on the floor and take a look around. It’s instantly clear that my office is not the way I had left it. While everything is neat and tidy, it’s also a big mess.
First thing I noticed was the new door and computer, my cork board has a big crack through it and my couch is in the wrong spot. Then on closer inspection, the papers on my desk have all been tossed together into a neat pile, my desk drawers look as though they’ve been emptied and someone has thrown the stuff back in. The picture frames of my most daring articles have all been reframed and are back up on the wall… in the wrong order.
I consider leaving it the way it is and getting started on a new investigation but I know better than that. There’s no way in hell I’ll be able to concentrate until this shit is sorted.
With a sigh, I get started on fixing up my office.
An hour later, I’ve finished perfecting my office and boot up my new computer. I’m pleased to find the computer guy must have been in here and worked his magic as everything is exactly how I had it on my last computer.
I click on my emails and wait as it attempts to load everything from the past three months. While the emails slowly trickle in, I head out to the kitchen and put the kettle on while I catch up with the other girls in the office. We get carried away with our mindless chatter and I soon have to excuse myself to get back to work.
Pleased to find all my emails downloaded, I take a seat and start sorting through them.
One by one, I go through and unsubscribe from all the mailing lists about healthy babies and foetal development, then delete them. I go through and delete all the emails from my sources about tips on new cases, well, I only delete the ridiculous ones and the ones that could potentially get me into trouble again. The ones that Tank would deem too dangerous but I feel really need to be investigated are forwarded to the next best in the business, leaving me with the shitty but super easy ones.
Though, I have to say, it won’t be that easy now that Tank has demanded I do it all with Harry Potter’s invisible cloak. I have no idea how I’m going to make this work but I guess I’ll have to be creative.
I print off the few tips that I can actually work with and start doing a little research on my new scumbags.
By lunch, I’ve nearly got one solved and the rest are well and truly underway.
Feeling a bit claustrophobic in my office, I head out for lunch. I find a nice café and eat while sitting out in the warm L.A sun before heading down towards the mall. I push my way into Frisky Framing, making the little bell above the door dingle before making my way towards the counter.
I notice the second the guy behind the counter sees me as an interested grin takes over his face and his eyes look me up and down.
I can’t help but look him over as he brings his hands down on the counter and leans forward. I start at the top and make my way down. I inwardly groan as I take in his unwashed, unbrushed man bun, his tanned skin that’s also peeling from what must have been a very nasty sunburn, down past the long scrawny body that I’m pretty sure I’d be able to see his ribcage through and finishing off on the toneless, chicken arms which support his weight on the counter.
I can’t help but groan knowing he’s going to try and crack onto me but seriously, does he even think he has a chance? I’m married to a man who’s at least four times his size and has the whole dark, smouldering thing going for him.
This guy though, he looks as though he owns one of those hippy vans that breaks down on the highway with a surfboard on top. In other words, he has no chance in hell.
I finish making my way towards the counter and begin rifling through my bag for my other bag filled with my baby things while his grin becomes wider and his eyes become hooded.
Ugh. My eyes quickly scan the shop to check if there are any other employees but just my luck, I’m stuck with Mr. Man Bun.
“Hey,” he says as he gives me a slight nod. “What brings such a beautiful woman like you into my store?”
I ignore his flirty comments as I dump my little bag on the counter before pouring the contents out and getting on with it. “I need this stuff arranged into a frame.”
“Uhh..,” he starts as he rips his eyes away from mine and down to the counter. “Sure… wait. Is that a…”
“A piss stick? Yes,” I confirm.
His face scrunches up in disgust. “You can’t put that there,” he informs me.
“Seriously?” I groan. “It’s clean. Can you do it or not?”
“Yeah,” he sighs. “What were you looking for?”
I rattle off the few ideas I have floating around in my head and leave him with it while also giving him specific instructions on being careful with my things.
I give him a friendly smile before turning away and making my way to the door when he calls out.
“Ahh, Sophie? Is it?”
I turn back around and look at him, unsure of what he could want. I mean, I’ve already given him all my ideas and have already paid. “Um, yeah?”
“You, ah… wouldn’t fancy going on a date? Maybe dinner tonight?”
Are you serious? After I just showed him the picture of my husband cradling my baby bump, my piss stick and an ultrasound, and he still wants to ask me out. At least the guy has balls.
“I would… with my husband,” I tell him.
He gives me a tight smile and a nod. “Fair enough,” he says before looking away.
I take that as my cue to leave and dash back out of the store, a little too excited about the final product, hopefully, it doesn’t take too long to put together. Though, one thing’s for sure, I can’t wait to surprise Tank with it.
I make my way back to the office and give Dani a quick call, letting her know all about my little project before I find myself back behind my desk, searching for new and improved spyware and bugs that I could use in my new investigative techniques.
By the afternoon, I stumble on in through my front door and dump my bag right next to Tanks. I make my way down into the living room and instantly collapse into his lap. “Holy shit, I’m exhausted,” I say as he wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his body so I can lay back.
“Big first day back?” he asks.
“You can say that,” I grunt. “I’ve already got three ongoing investigations.”
“Three?” he questions. “You never work on more than one at a time.”
“I know,” I sigh. “But I’m playing by your rules now and only taking the easy ones. The first one’s basically done, I just have to put the article together and the other two will be finished by the end of the week. Besides, after taking so much time off, my inbox is crawling with new leads.”
His dark eyes narrow curiously on me for a moment before he finally speaks up. “So, how are you solving the cases so quickly?” he questions in a strange, knowing tone.
A grin cuts across my face. “That’s for me to know and for you not to.”
“Really now?”
“Mmhmm,” I murmur as I adjust myself on his lap so I can face him properly.
He grins back at me with a sparkle in those sexy eyes. “Interesting.”
Now it’s my turn to narrow my eyes on him. “What’s interesting?” I question as his fingers come up and push a stray lock of hair behind my ear.
“Well, I got a call from the bank today thinking some
one was fraudulently using our account, trying to buy a shitload of spyware.”
“Really? That is interesting,” I smile.
He rolls his eyes as he pulls me in close to his chest. “Just be careful with that shit,” he tells me.
“I will,” I say, leaning in and pressing a comforting kiss to his lips before resting my head on his shoulder. His hand starts rubbing up and down the length of my back as he turns the tv on to ESPN and finds a game. He puts the volume right down and I soon find myself falling into a deep, well needed sleep.
Chapter 19
Tank
I sit amongst our closest friends after a beautiful memorial that Sophie and I held for our son. Both our families managed to make the trip here from Denver which was great as Sophie really needed her mom by her side today. Unfortunately, they’ve all had to head back home but it was great seeing them anyway.
After the service, everyone headed back to our place where I surprised Sophie with a plaque with our son’s name and conception date on it, though, I purposefully left off the day where he was taken from us. I’m not sure that reminder would have been good for Soph, especially after the day she’s had.
Most of the guys from the team came and have since left, leaving just the few closer ones and of course, Dani and Miller are never far away. We all sit in our living room, the girls have hit the liquor hard while the rest of us hockey guys are taking it easy, seeing as though we’re in training.
“Remember when Sophie came busting into the locker room after that game and burst into tears,” Cameron smirks as he looks to Sophie.
She grabs a chip from the bowl in the center of the coffee table and launches it across the room at him. “Shut up,” she grins. “I was hormonal, I couldn’t help it.”
“You think that’s bad,” Dani says as she throws back another shot. “I had to be the one to massage her boobs when they were hurting.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad to me,” I murmur with a grin.
“Really?” Dani questions. “I’m sure you’d absolutely love it when she’s sobbing and throwing up all over you at the time?”
I can’t help but cringe as I look to my wife for confirmation. “That didn’t happen?” I question.
She gives me a guilty, embarrassed smile as the rest of the guys crack up into laughter. “That morning sickness really is a bitch,” she tells me.
“I second that,” Dani pipes up.
“Whatever,” Miller grunts to his wife. “You didn’t have it that bad.”
“Are you kidding me?” Dani shrieks with her eyebrows practically in her hairline.
“Yeah, you threw up a few times. That’s it.”
Dani’s jaw drops to the ground as she stares at her husband in a shocked silence making the rest of us worry that she’s about to explode, only it never comes as Sophie is quick to her feet to defend her best friend. “What would you stupid boys know anyway? A part from sex, your bodies are practically useless. We have to suffer through ovulation, period pains, nine months of pregnancy only to then destroy our bodies by pushing a fucking watermelon through our vagina’s and just when you think the hard work is over and you can finally enjoy your little creation, we’re used as a tiny humans personal feed bag.”
Sophie finishes up her declaration by taking another shot while Dani gets to her feet beside her. “Fuck, yeah,” she exclaims as she fist pumps the sky.
Miller and the rest of the guys sit in stunned silence as they stare at our girls.
“You done, babe?” I ask.
Her fuming eyes turn on me and the anger instantly dissipates. “Yes, I think I am,” she tells me with a grin before turning to Dani with a gleam in her eye that could only be one of mischief. She grabs Dani by the hand and disappears from the room, taking the bottle of tequila with them.
“Oh, geez,” Miller murmurs. “It’s going to be a messy night.”
“Got that right,” I say. “But as much as it goes against everything I know to sit back and watch Sophie annihilate herself, I know she needs it.”
“True,” he says. “But if they somehow get themselves arrested again, I’m going to bail them out. There’s no way in hell I’m missing that again.”
“Deal,” I smirk.
I sit amongst the boys and as expected the conversation quickly turns to hockey.
An hour later, after not hearing a word from the girls, I decide to go and find them just to make sure they haven’t passed out in a pile of their own vomit.
I follow the sound of giggling and snorts coming from the study and round the corner to find both Sophie and Dani sitting on the floor, looking at Sophie’s laptop while they listen to what sounds like the conversation the boys and I were having in the living room.
I lean against the door frame and look down on them with a smirk. I watch as they continue on with whatever the fuck it is they’re doing, having no clue that I stand in the doorway.
After they each take another swig from the bottle of tequila, I make my presence known by clearing my throat. Both the girls instantly look up as their faces drain of all color. I raise a questioning eyebrow at my wife. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” she grins as she fumbles around, trying to close her laptop.
Dani bursts into laughter and is suddenly rolling around on the floor, unable to control herself before she slaps a hand between her legs. “Fuck, I’m going to piss myself soon,” she laughs, which sets off Sophie.
Once the girls have themselves under control, I look down at my wife. “Did you bug our living room with your new spyware?” I ask.
She squishes her lips together as hard as humanly possible as she tries not to smile. “Nope,” she lies. I give her a stare as I wait for her to come clean. “Fine,” she whines as she crawls to the desk and grabs a little device off her desk before dropping it and losing it in the carpet. “I had to make sure these little guys actually worked,” she explains.
“Fair enough,” I laugh. “What about your laptop?”
She gives me yet another guilty smirk. “I’ve kind of been learning how to hack into other people’s computers,” she tells me.
“What?” I practically shriek.
A massive grin takes over her face. “I’m in Crazy Jill’s computer right now,” she tells me as she opens her laptop and turns it to show me.
“Shit, seriously?” I ask, pretty damn impressed with my wife’s newest skills. I walk on into the room and sit at Sophie’s desk while I take the laptop out of her hands and start looking.
“Yeah, she really is crazy, obsessed with you,” Sophie says. “I looked up her browse history and she has been searching for the Tank Meyer’s sex Tape for weeks,” she laughs.
I can’t help but grin at that. I mean, it’s not like Sophie and I haven’t got a sex tape, we have quite a few, to be honest, but there’s no way in hell we’re letting that shit go public. Seeing my wife like that is just for me.
I click into her gallery and find nearly every photo is of me. It’s not just photos of me that the media have taken, though, they’re here too. The photos are ones that she’s personally taken of me and not at games either. There are some of me training in the gym, some where I’m grocery shopping with Soph, there are ones from my few hours of sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to get to Denver but more importantly, there’s one of me sitting by Sophie’s bedside in the hospital with my head in my hands as I waited for her to wake from surgery.
Seeing the photo infuriates me. That was a private moment not intended for a single soul to have witnessed and now this crazy as fuck bitch has it documented for the world to see. “Can you delete this shit?” I ask Sophie.
“Yeah but she will know someone has been in her computer and knowing how damn crazy she is, she probably has it all saved somewhere else as well.”
I let out a sigh. She’s probably right but at least this is a start. “I don’t care. Get rid of it,” I tell Soph.
“No,” Dani cries out.
We
both look at her as though she has gone nuts. “Why the fuck not?” I question.
“Because it could be evidence if shit ever gets worse. This is the perfect way to document just how fucking crazy she is, this tells everyone just how often she’s stalking you. I mean, sure, you should delete it from her computer but not before you make a copy of your own.”
“Wow, who would have known that your brain could still function after having so much tequila,” I murmur.
“Who cares about her brain,” Sophie grunts as she takes her laptop and sits down in my lap. “It was a damn good idea,” she informs us as she gets to work.
Ten minutes later, Sophie has shut down her laptop and I’m leading the girls back into the living room where Sophie cuts off all conversation of ice hockey and turns the music on. She starts dancing around the house with her bottle of tequila and her best friend.
Some of the guys join in but they simply just aren’t drunk enough to keep up with the girls.
Sophie’s soon laying on the cold tiles with her arms and legs spread out, telling the guys how she would have made snow angles with our son before explaining how to make a snow angel.
Dani runs to the pantry and grabs the bag of flour before instructing Sophie to close her eyes and making it snow in my living room. The girls crack up into laughter once again and soon enough, the bag of flour is empty and Dani is laying on the ground beside Sophie making her own flour angel.
Miller rolls his eyes as he watches his wife on the floor beside mine but I see the fun in his eyes and he could never pass up an opportunity to see his wife having the time of her life. “I take it I’m not getting laid tonight,” he grunts when Dani suddenly jumps up and runs to the bathroom covering her mouth.
“That would be a no,” I laugh as Sophie hops up and runs after her. “I’d dare say you’re spending the night here.”
Chapter 20
Sophie
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