The Penalty Box: A hockey sports romance novel (A Vancouver Wolves Hockey Romance Book 3)

by Odette Stone

  My whole body reacted to that. “She’s alive?”

  He glanced at me. “Someone escorted her into the police station. No one knows who, but she walked right up to the counter and told the officer she wasn’t missing.”

  “Are you shitting me?”

  “She gave a written statement that everything she wrote in her journal about you was false. She claimed it was never meant to be read by anyone. She said it was merely her fantasy.”

  “She set me up. She deliberately set me up to take the fall for this. Has anyone asked her about this?”

  Mark glanced at me. “Trust me, they are asking. She’s scared about something. She won’t talk, but it’s obvious she wasn’t the brains behind this scenario.”

  “Who was?”

  “We’re not sure.”

  I watched as the car drove up my street. I wondered how all of this would affect my hockey career with the Wolves, but I didn’t care. I first needed to see Charlie.

  The car pulled up in front of my house. The place looked dark and lonely. Charlie’s car was missing.

  “I have to go.”

  He nodded towards the house. “She went to bat for you, Mica. That one’s a keeper.”

  I already knew that. “Thanks for the ride.”

  I got out of the car and sprinted to the front door.

  The moment I got inside, I knew something was wrong. The house was pitch dark. Charlie wasn’t home. Even weirder, the dogs didn’t come out to greet me.

  “Charlie? Sniper?”

  A whimper sounded from the laundry room. I opened the door. Sasha bounded out past me, but no Sniper. I flicked on the light. Sniper lay on the tile floor.

  “What are you doing in here?” Charlie never locked the dogs in small spaces. Part of Sniper’s duty was to protect the house. We always let him move freely around the house. Charlie would never lock the dogs up without food or water.

  Sniper lifted his head and tried to scramble to his feet. He looked woozy, almost drugged. I felt a sinking sensation in my body. I knew something was wrong.

  “Charlie?” I yelled. “Charlie!”

  I moved to the bedroom. Dresser drawers were open, clothes were missing. So were most of her toiletries.

  What the actual fuck. For a second, I thought she had left me, but I instantly dismissed that notion. That was not Charlie. If she left me, she would do it to my face, and she would never leave Sniper behind.

  I was without a phone. I dug through my sock drawer, but my phone from Andrusha was gone too.

  Sniper slowly moved to his water dish and drank the entire bowl.

  I crouched down beside him. “Where’s Charlie? What happened to her?”

  Sniper whined.

  “Where’s Charlie?” I asked him again.

  As if he understood, he moved to the front door and looked back at me. Seriously?

  I opened the door. He wasn’t moving too quickly, but his nose was to the ground. He led me down the driveway, to the sidewalk. He slowly walked along the sidewalk and stopped at the end of Andrew’s driveway.

  No fucking way.

  I debated my options. Should I call the cops? I didn’t even have a working phone. Plus, only hours before, I’d been arrested for the disappearance of one woman. I didn’t exactly want to report another one missing. I moved closer. There was no movement in the windows. I walked around the side of the house and, hands over my face, peered in the garage’s window. There sat Charlie’s vehicle.

  I’m going to fucking kill him.

  I worked to get my emotions under control. I needed to play this smart and safe, and I needed to get into the house.

  I thought about my strategy before I rang the doorbell.

  I heard footsteps, and then Andrew opened the door. He wore a button-down shirt and an apron.

  “Hey, Mica.”

  “Hey, Andrew. How’s it going?”

  “Not bad. You?”

  I shoved my hands in my pockets, trying to appear casual. “Have you talked to Charlie lately?”

  He frowned and shook his head. “No, why?”

  I looked over my shoulder and winced. “Well, I was in some trouble and I couldn’t get a hold of her. When I came back tonight, she was gone.”

  Surprise registered on his face. “What do you mean, gone?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “She packed up all her shit, and her car is gone. My phone is dead. I can’t even call her.”

  “That doesn’t sound like her.”

  “I think she left me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I lied, needing to get him to relax. “We were having some big issues before. To be honest, I’m not surprised.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  I put my most hopeful look on my face. “You mind if I use your phone? Like I said, my phone is dead. I plugged it in and everything, but the cops did something to it. I think they busted it.”

  He looked uncertain.

  “It’ll be quick. I just need to call my agent and let her know I’m out.”

  He held the door open. “Yeah, why not?”

  “Thanks, man.”

  I followed Andrew into the kitchen. He handed me his cell phone.

  I dialed Andrusha’s number.

  “Who is this?” he answered in Russian.

  “Hey, Krista,” I said. “I just got out of jail. You have a moment?”

  “Talk.” Andrusha knew something was up.

  I feigned my end of the conversation to give him as many details as possible. “My phone is dead, so I’m borrowing my neighbor’s cell.”

  “Where is this?”

  “No, not far, just a couple doors down.”

  “Where is Charlie?”

  “She left me and she took off.”

  “She’d never do that.”

  “The cops broke my phone. No, don’t call them. I’ll deal with them on my own.”

  I was telling him Charlie was missing, where I was, that I didn’t have a cell, and that I was trying to deal with this situation on my own.

  “We’re on our way.”

  “Yeah, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  The entire time I was talking, I was assessing the kitchen and the dangers. There was a knife block on the counter, boiling water and hot pans. All potential threats, all potential weapons.

  I handed Andrew his phone. When he reached for it, I grabbed his wrist and twisted it. “Where is she?”

  The guy was strong and to my surprise, I could tell he was trained in martial arts by the way he moved. He twisted out of my grip and moved just out of my grasp.

  “She’s not yours.” His eyes were moving around the room, also assessing.

  He reached for the pots hanging above the island. Interesting choice. I charged him and drove him back into the kitchen table. We crashed through chairs, and he landed half-on, half-off the table before rolling off and springing to his feet.

  Fuck. This guy was good.

  “Where did you learn to fight?”

  He grabbed a towel off the counter and twisted it, flipping it with some ninja moves, making it into a high-tech weapon that whizzed past my face. I picked up a chair and threw it at him.

  Chair vs. Towel. Let’s see who wins that round.

  The chair grazed his shoulder. We circled in the kitchen. He went for the boiling water next, but I grabbed a knife. I threw it, hitting him off-center in his upper arm. It didn’t do much damage, but he dropped the pot. The splashing hot water made him flinch and jump out of the way. When he pulled the knife out of his arm and lunged towards me, I took the defensive for the first time.

  My military training kicked in. I picked up a cutting board, chopped vegetables went flying, and used it as a shield as he started coming at me with fast hand-to-hand combat. Technically, he was a better fighter than me, but I was a lot bigger than him and in much better shape.

  He was breathing hard. I wasn’t even breaking a sweat. My goal was to tire him out and then take him out when he got
sloppy.

  I swung the cutting board at him, hitting the bottom on his wrist, and the knife went flying. I swung the other way, and he ducked, narrowly missing getting beaned in the head. He grabbed the toaster and wrapped the cord around my wrist, yanking me off-balance, but I put all my weight into it, reversed the motion and ended up pulling him over my head. He recovered before he even hit the floor and swung the toaster towards my face.

  It narrowly missed hitting my face.

  By the time I had untangled myself from the toaster, he was back on his feet, heading towards the dining room. Which meant unknown territory. Two steps and I was flying, landing on his back.

  He rolled over and got in a series of decent punches, most of which I wasn’t able to avoid, before I got my arm under his neck and had him pinned.

  I hit. Once, twice, three times. My fourth hit completely knocked him out, but I kept on hitting him. I knew I was getting close to killing him and I forced myself to stop. I looked around, spotting an extension cord behind the couch. Yanking it free, I took two minutes to hog-tie him before standing up and screaming.

  “Charlie!”

  I heard a rustling at the front door and then Sniper barked once. Sharp. I ran to the door and let him in.

  “Sniper, where is Charlie?”

  Sniper, nose to the ground, led me down the hallway before disappearing downstairs.

  He sat down in front of a shelf.

  “Where’s Charlie?” I asked him again. I looked in the laundry room, recreational room and Andrew’s pathetic workout room, but she wasn’t anywhere.

  Sniper barked again and looked up at the shelf.

  Breathing hard, I looked closer. The shelf was on a track. I slid it along the track, and then I saw the door.

  I opened the door, and she came out, screaming like a banshee, arms flailing, teeth bared.

  “It’s Mica.” I grabbed her flailing, windmill arms, trying to keep out of striking distance. It took her a moment to realize who I was. Then, with a cry, she fell into my arms.

  “It’s over.” I held her head to my chest. “It’s over.”

  Chapter 31

  CHARLIE

  “He hurt Sniper, and there’s a woman here. Where is he? Where is Andrew?” My voice came out in a near shriek. “He’s dangerous. He had a gun.”

  “He’s tied up. He can’t hurt anyone.”

  “Oh my God, Mica,” I sobbed, clinging to him. “Are you real? Are you really here?”

  “I’m here.” He held my face in his hands. “Are you hurt?”

  His words barely registered. “We need to call the police. He’s kept someone here. A prisoner.” I spotted Sniper, who was lying on his side. “Sniper!”

  Sniper lifted his head and whined.

  Mica looked in the room and caught sight of the woman. He stood there for a long moment. “Holy fuck.”

  I was full-on babbling. “She’s the missing nursing student. Andrew set you up with Sabrina. How are you here? How did you get out of jail?”

  “Charlie, calm down.” He grabbed me by the shoulders. “It’s over. It’s going to be okay.”

  Tears streamed down my face. “Is she dead? Where is Andrew?”

  With reluctance, Mica stepped into the small room. He crouched beside the woman before taking off his hoodie and gently covering her body. He looked at the iron shackle around her ankle. “We have to call the police. She needs an ambulance.”

  Adrenaline and heart-pounding fear coursed through my veins until I felt like collapsing. “We need a phone.”

  “Come on,” he said. “Andrew has a phone upstairs.”

  I bent over Sniper. “I can’t leave him.”

  Mica didn’t even pause. He reached down and picked up Sniper in his arms. “Please come with me.”

  Sniper was panting, but he was licking Mica’s face vigorously. Mica gently laid Sniper down at the front door. I stood in the kitchen’s doorway, taking in the broken furniture.

  “Where is Andrew?” I was still in full-on panic mode. “Where is he? Be careful!”

  Mica stepped in the room, looking for something. “He’s over here. He’s not going anywhere.”

  He grabbed a phone but paused. In the distance, sirens screamed, coming closer.

  “I think that’s for us.”

  I felt dizzy. I opened the door, and Sniper moved slowly to follow me. Mica came out behind me. He stood with his arms wrapped around my trembling body as we watched police cars and ambulances park haphazardly on the street.

  An officer approached us. “What’s going on?”

  Mica spoke in a steady voice. “There’s a female in the basement. I don’t know how long she’s been there, but she needs your help. There is also a man in the living room, tied up. He’s the one who abducted my wife.”

  The two officers disappeared into the house. A few moments later they reappeared and one of them shouted, “We need medical in here. Someone grab some bolt cutters.”

  It was complete chaos after that. Police went in and out of the house, questioning me, questioning Mica. I felt super nauseous and light-headed. Tears streamed down my face and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath.

  Mica was answering questions, but his eyes were on me.

  He paused and moved to put his arms around me. “Are you okay?”

  Blackness was edging out my vision. I felt his arms hold me up, and then I felt something warm gush between my legs.

  I looked down. Blood, so much blood, stained between my legs.

  “Mica!” I tried to cry, but my voice was just a whimper.

  He swung me into his arms. “Fuck, Charlie. Stay with me.”

  And then the world went black.

  Chapter 32

  MICA

  I sat silently in the waiting room while people who loved Charlie began to show up and join me in my vigil. Krista. Andrusha. Ryan. Zoey. In silence, their presence held me together. Kept me from falling apart.

  Ryan sat on one side of me, Andrusha on the other.

  My worst nightmare had occurred. Only this time it didn’t matter that we had access to an ambulance, trained medical staff and one of the best hospitals in the country.

  I had accepted that Charlie had begun to lose the baby. Now I was terrified of losing her.

  I spoke, trying to come to terms with what had happened. “She never woke up. She passed out in my arms, and even in the ambulance she never regained consciousness.”

  Andrusha put his arm on my shoulder. I put my face in my hands and took deep breaths, trying to get a handle on my emotions. If I lost her, I would not survive.

  “She’s tough. She’s going to be okay.”

  I looked at him. What if she doesn’t survive? What if she leaves me? How can I endure that kind of pain? All my questions were in my eyes, and he held my gaze with his own. Andrusha knew my past. He understood my pain.

  His fingers squeezed my shoulder, and he repeated stubbornly, “She’s going to be fine.”

  “Mica Petrov?” a voice called from the door.

  I staggered to my feet and moved towards the doctor, who wore a yellow hospital gown over his scrubs.

  The only words I could manage were, “My wife?”

  He smiled at me. “Your wife is fine.”

  I wavered on my feet as I took in that news.

  “She has anemia, which is fairly common with pregnancy, but her anemia went a bit too far, which resulted in low blood pressure. The shock and adrenaline probably caused her bleeding.”

  I worked to stay on my feet and take in his words. “What now?”

  “We gave her a blood transfusion and an iron infusion treatment. We’d like to monitor her for a few days, but she should be ready to go home within forty-eight hours.”

  “She’s going to live?” I repeated, needing the confirmation.

  He smiled. “She and the baby will be fine.”

  Wait, what? “The baby is okay too?”

  He paused and frowned. “I thought you understood that.�
�

  I couldn’t speak because of the enormous lump in my throat. I swallowed repeatedly.

  He patted my arm. “Mom and baby are doing great. They are just transferring her to a room. The best thing for her is a lot of sleep.”

  “Can I see her?” I gasped.

  He smiled at me. “She’s asleep, but you can sit with her.”

  She looked so tiny and pale in the hospital bed. She wore a hospital gown, and her hair was tangled in a riot of curls on the pillow. I pulled up a chair to her bed and watched her breathe. I studied my beautiful wife, who had completely captured my heart.

  Thank God she’s alive.

  I had no idea what I would have done if she hadn’t survived this. I had lived through my worst nightmare. The full impact of everything that had happened washed over me, and I put my head down on the bed, working to get my emotions under control. I felt a small hand touch my hair. In wonder, I lifted my head and looked into her beautiful brown eyes.

  “Sweetheart,” I breathed.

  Her eyes looked so scared. “The baby?”

  My eyes filled with tears and my voice was gruff. “You’re both doing great.”

  A tremulous smile crossed her face. “Are you okay?”

  My heart was still hammering in my chest. I lifted her hand to my mouth, kissing her fingers. “I am now.”

  Her smile remained on her lips as her eyes drifted shut. “I’m sorry, I just need to take a nap.”

  She was so damn cute.

  So much joy was spilling out of my chest as I smiled and kissed her hand again. “That’s okay. Just sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  Chapter 33

  CHARLIE

  I opened my eyes, taking in the unfamiliar hospital room. I glanced over to see Mica. He was sitting in a big hospital chair, his feet up on the end of my bed. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was breathing heavily with sleep.

  My husband. I studied his beauty, taking in his messy hair and dark stubble, loving the thickness of his arms that crossed over his muscular chest. How had I gotten so lucky to have this man in my life?