The Enforcer (29 page)

When she finally looked up at him, he looked like he might actually cry.
Jesus, oh God no, anything but that.
How could this big, strong, alpha male look so vulnerable? She cupped his face and apologized for losing it like that.

“Jody, I’m sorry. I’m okay. I mean, it hurts, but I’ll be fine.” Trying to find a smile she continued, “At least now I can probably get that restraining order. And Jody – listen to me. This is not your fault. You can’t control everything and shouldn’t expect to.”

Jody rubbed a hand over his eyes, looked at Steven again, and started walking over to him. “Wait!” Lacey pulled on the back of Jody’s shirt. “Stop. Let the cops take care of him.”

Cage walked over to them, flexing his hand. “Dude’s got a hard jaw.” He was totally unconcerned that he had just beaten Steven so hard that he knocked him out. “I called the cops, Chief. They’ll be here in a sec.” Jody nodded his head in thanks.

Lacey turned Jody around and put her hands on his face. “If you promise not to touch him, I’ll promise to learn self defense. I’ll promise to never be alone until Steven goes back to London. I’ll do whatever you think I should to ensure my safety. Just don’t get yourself in trouble.” Lacey would promise him anything if he’d leave Steven alone. She knew that if he got a hold of Steven,
Jody
would be the one to get thrown in jail. She was also a little afraid that he might go too far if he gave in to his rage.

Jody turned his head and kissed her palm. “Okay, I promise. When camp is over for the day, I’ll follow you home so you can pack your clothes.”

“Huh? Pack my clothes?” Oh no, he wasn’t serious. “Wait, I’m not going to move in with you. Jody, that’s not fair, that’s going too far. Are you serious about that?” Would he really make her do that to keep his promise?

The very tip of Jody’s lip tilted up. “No. I’d like to demand it, but I know that won’t work with you. So as long as you promise me that you girls will always leave the alarm on and keep your pepper spray on you, and if you are ever alone, keep it in your hand, I won’t make you move in with me … yet.”

At the sound of the police sirens, Steven started stirring. When Vlad saw him he said, “I’d suggest you stay down, asshole.” Vlad would have liked to take a couple of swings at him, too.

The officer that got out of the first squad car was the same one that Lacey had spoken to about Steven. “Ms. Benoit. I’m sorry that we’re meeting again like this. Can I assume that is Steven?”

“Yes.” Pointing to her cheek, she said, “And this is courtesy of Steven. Is that enough to get a restraining order? I have witnesses who saw him hit me.”

“We’ll start the paperwork today. We’re also going to take him in to the station. We’ll need an official report from you, too.” Jody asked the officer if he could bring her in at the end of the day.

“That shouldn’t be a problem – just see that you do.”

After going over her account of what happened, from beginning to end, the police took Steven away.

“Let me go talk to the coach and see if he’ll let me drive you home. I don’t want you driving like this.”

“What? I’m not going home. I came here to see my boys skate. The Scorpions are my new favorite team.” Lacey smiled, but winced, and realized her face truly did hurt.

Vlad put his arm around her and started walking her into the rink. “Let’s get Bill to take a look at this, huh?” Just like Vlad knew he would, Jody lifted his arm off Lacey and pulled her up next to him.

“Bill’s the trainer, right? Come on, all I need is a wet paper towel so I can wash the blood off.” Jody’s grip tightened on her at the mention of her being bloody. Lacey slipped her arm around Jody’s waist, leaned up to him and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“What was that for?”

“Just for being you and caring about me so much.” Lacey couldn’t help but be affected by the way he cared about her. He’d stay attached to her all day and night if he could. Jody made her feel cherished. It had been a long time since she felt that way.

Lacey could tell that Jody was exhausted from an entire day at camp. She tried to tell him to go home instead of going to the police station with her. Not surprisingly, he refused. “Lace, there is no way I’m letting you go file that report alone so just forget it.”

Jody knew he was being a little short with Lacey, but he was getting tired of her thinking she had to do everything by herself in order to be a strong woman. Sometimes it was good to lean on someone. And he was determined to be that someone for her.

After a short discussion, Jody followed her home to drop off her car, and they went to the police station in his truck. He held her hand and stroked her palm with his thumb the whole way. Lacey knew it was supposed to be comforting, but it was seriously turning her on.

“Um, Jody?”

He looked over at her. “Yeah?”

“Can you stop doing that?”

“Doing what, Lace?”

“Rubbing my palm like that. It’s driving me crazy.” Her mind went right back to the things they’d done to each other and how much the both enjoyed it. She wanted more. Right … that … second.

Jody stopped rubbing her palm, but didn’t take his hand away. “Why? Does it tickle or something?” He knew damned well what it felt like, and two could play that game, so she unclicked her seatbelt and slid over to sit in the middle of the bench seat.

“No. Never mind.” Then she put her hand on his thigh and started making slow circles. With each circle she made, she went a little bit higher and gave him a squeeze. When she reached the very top of the inside of his thigh, she was gratified to see him squirm.

“Uncle! You win, Lace, I cry uncle.” Winking at her in his customary way, he told her, “If you are a benevolent being, you’ll go just a bit higher. Please.”

Lacey laughed. She loved teasing him like this. But then they arrived at the police station, and her hand stilled. “Do you think he’s still in there?”

“I think it’s possible. We’ll find out soon enough.”

Jody helped her out of the truck and kissed the back of her hand. “I’ll be right beside you, Angel.”

They found out from Officer Beacon that Steven was still there. He wanted to press charges against Cage. That was precisely why Lacey didn’t want Jody touching Steven. “Can he do that?”

“Yes, he can, Ms. Benoit. If it were you who had hit him, it would have been self-defense. Even if Mr. Booker had only hit him once to stop him, I think a judge would let that go, but Cage Booker hit him multiple times and knocked him out. It was obviously done with intent to injure.”

Lacey felt awful. “God, all of this is my fault. I should have taken him more seriously when he threatened me.” Officer Beacon put a hand on her shoulder.

“And what would you have done differently, Ms. Benoit?” He hated these cases. How a man could ever hit a woman was beyond him.

“I don’t know, but do you know what this will look like when it gets out? Somehow the media will make Cage look like the bad guy.” She sighed with remorse, “I hate this.”

Officer Beacon spoke up. “Well, you might like this then. Mr. Marlow doesn’t want this going public either. I think he has more to lose than Mr. Booker. News travels, even to London, and he’s concerned with his reputation. He said he’d agree to drop all charges against Mr. Booker if you drop all charges against him. He’s also agreed to go back to London as soon as he can book a flight. I think he means, it Ms. Benoit. He’s not built for jail.”

Lacey looked at Jody. While Jody didn’t think Steven deserved to get away so freely, he
did
want him gone and did not want to repay his debt to Cage with charges being filed against him. “As much as I’d like to see him behind bars, I think this might be the best solution for you. The decision is ultimately yours, of course.”

It sounded perfect to Lacey. Utterly perfect. With Steven in London, he couldn’t just pop up any time he wanted, and Cage would be off the hook. She’d feel awful if he got in trouble for defending her (even if he did defend her to the point of knocking Steven out – not that Steven didn’t deserve it).

“I’m fine with that. Where do I sign?” There was no actual paperwork for her to sign saying she wouldn’t press charges; she just didn’t fill out the paperwork
to
press charges.

“Mr. Marlow requested to speak to you.” Jody’s hackles went up.

“No, Lace. No, please don’t. Just let him go on his way.” Jody was trying his best to not demand things of her, but this was a tough one. He didn’t want Steven anywhere near her ever again.

“I’m going to agree with Jody on this one, Officer. I don’t want to see him.” Lacey truly thought this could be the end of things, and they left without seeing Steven. Jody dropped her off at Zoe’s, kissed her goodbye and told her how proud he was of her for the way she was handling the whole Steven situation. His girl was strong.

“Thanks Jody, I appreciate it. And thank you so much for being there with me.” Lacey pulled his head down for a steamy kiss. He tried to talk her into going home with him, but she didn’t. Jody needed his rest so that he could secure his spot on the Scorpions, and Lacey was mentally exhausted and wanted to go to bed.

Training Camp took up most of Jody’s time. When he wasn’t training, he was bonding with the guys or resting. Lacey, knowing hockey as well as she did, understood one hundred percent. And still, he never ended his night without a phone call to her or a short text. Not seeing him for five days in a row (except for one quick lunch on Wednesday) bothered Lacey more than she thought it would. She also found herself thumbing through his texts a minimum of twice a day.

Monday morning:

Jody: Good morning, beautiful.

Lacey: Good morning, handsome.

Monday night:

Jody: All tucked in bed?

Lacey: Yup, just shimmied out of my panties. :)

Jody: I was just about to ask.

Tuesday, lunchtime:

Jody: Having a break in between practice sessions. How are you?

Lacey: Hi Jody, I’m fine. Are you checking up on me?

Jody: Busted …

Tuesday night:

Jody: Thought about you all day, Lace. Sweet dreams.

Lacey: I think about you a lot, too, Jody. Give Izzy a scratch behind the ears for me.

Wednesday mid-morning:

Jody: I can’t take it anymore. Need to see you. Quick lunch at noon?

Lacey: I miss you, too. Yes!

Jody only had time for a couple of slices of pizza, which they ate at the picnic table behind the rink. They also got a couple of steamy kisses in. Lacey was starting to think he could be the real deal. She was getting in deeper and deeper with him, but instead of the fear she felt before, there was excitement, and dare she say the L word?

Wednesday night:

Jody: Nice to see you today, but it wasn’t long enough.

Lacey: It’ll get better … right?

Jody: Yes, Training Camp is almost over. Nite Lace.

Thursday morning:

Jody: I had the BEST dream about you last night, Angel. Woke up wanting nothing more than you beneath me.