The Penalty Box (A Vancouver Wolves Hockey Romance Book 3)

RYAN LACED up his skates and asked me casually, “Did Charlie tell you about the doorbell?”

“No. What’s happened?”

“Zoey said the last few nights, someone’s been ringing the doorbell in the middle of the night. When they open the door, no one is there.”

I grabbed my phone, stood up on my skates, and walked across the locker room. I dialed Charlie’s number. I was low-key pissed she hadn’t told me. We had chatted or texted briefly every night, but not once had she mentioned it.

“Mica!” She answered the phone by saying my name.

“Tell me about the doorbell.”

“Who told you?”

“Ryan. Why didn’t you tell me?”

She sighed. “You have enough to worry about.”

“My job is to worry about you. What’s going on?”

“Someone rings the doorbell in the middle of the night. Anywhere between two and three. When we look outside, there is no one there.”

It was crushing me that someone was scaring her and I wasn’t there. “You need to stop opening the door.”

“We stopped.”

“Are you okay?”

She didn’t speak for a moment. “I’m glad Zoey is here. This would be way scarier alone.”

I mentally started to form a list of people I could bribe, pay, or force to stay with Charlie for all my away games this season.

I heard laughter in the background. “Where are you?”

“At home. Zoey and Andrew are cooking an early dinner.”

I gritted my teeth. “Oh yeah?”

“Andrew went to the Fisherman’s Wharf this afternoon and came back with way too much sidestripe shrimp, so he offered to cook for us.”

“That’s nice of him.” My words were the opposite of my less-than-impressed tone.

She sounded breathless. “I thought so.”

“The guy knows you’re married, right?”

“It’s not like that,” she rushed. “He’s just being a friend.”

A long pause hung between us, highlighting the discomfort both of us felt about talking about Andrew. I trusted Charlie. I just didn’t trust Andrew. And the blatant way he was making himself at home, in my life with my wife, didn’t sit well with me.

“Are you and Zoey watching the game tonight?”

“Yes.” She brightened. “Andrew is a hockey fanatic.”

Fucking Andrew. I winced at the ceiling, working to keep my tone measured. “That’s great.”

She started to speak but stopped herself.

“What?” I pushed.

“I hope you don’t get into a fight tonight.”

For the first time since this conversation started, I smiled. “Why’s that?”

“You were bleeding!”

“You worried about me?” I was putting us on dangerous territory talking like this, but I didn’t care.

She huffed. “I don’t like violence.”

Players were standing up, ready to head into pre-game warmup. “I gotta go.”

“Be safe,” she added.

“I’ll call you later.”

AFTER EIGHT LONG days on the road, I was ready to get home. Usually, away games were a lot of fun, but this trip, I had counted down the days until I got home.

Charlie had offered to come and pick me up, but my flight was coming in after 1:00 a.m., so I told her I’d take a cab.

When my cab pulled up to the house, my heart nearly stopped. The red and blue lights of two cop cars silently flashed in the driveway.

I threw money at the driver. “Put my bags on the driveway.” I sprinted up the driveway.

The front door was open. A police officer tried to hold me back but let me go when I snarled, “This is my house.”

Only when I saw Charlie sitting on the couch did my heart start beating again.

I looked around. Two cops studied the front door. Another cop sat across from Charlie. And fucking Andrew sat beside her with his arm around her shoulders.

She lifted her face to mine, and I saw tears had streaked down her cheeks.

In three strides, I was across the room. She stood up, and I captured her face in my hands, looking her over.

“Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “I’m okay.”

“What happened?”

Andrew spoke from his seat on my couch, his voice slightly accusatory. “Someone broke in.”

I looked back at Charlie. “What happened?”

She wiped tears from one cheek. “I was getting ready for bed when the alarm went off. I locked myself in the bathroom. The alarm company called the police.”

I looked at Andrew. “What are you doing here?”

He stood up to his full height, which was, to my immense satisfaction, a few inches shorter than me. “I saw the flashing police lights and came over.”

“I’ve got it from here.”

He looked like he wanted to protest, but my fuck off expression stopped him. He placed an overly familiar hand on Charlie’s shoulder and said in a soothing voice, “I’m always here for you.”

My jaw clenched.

“Thanks, Andrew, for everything.” Her eyes went soft when she looked at him. It took all my energy to not grab him by the shirt collar and shove him out the door.

He took his time walking out, and I flanked him. We didn’t speak.

When we got to the end of the driveway where the driver had deposited my bags, he turned on me. “She was scared to death while you were gone.”

I ground my teeth. This guy was more than getting on my nerves. “My wife and I will deal with this.”

He crossed his arms. “I know you and Charlie aren’t sharing a bedroom, so you can drop the act.”

The audacity of this dude was almost unbelievable. My voice cut like a whip. “Not sure how that is any of your fucking business.”

He shrugged, completely unfazed by my tone. “Charlie needs—”

I cut him off. “What my wife needs is none of your concern.”

He gave me a cocky look that made me want to flatten him into the sidewalk. Then without another word, he turned to walk back towards his house.

I took my time picking up my bags, needing a moment to get my emotions under control. The idea that someone had broken into our place filled me with rage. The fact that I wasn’t here when it happened, and that Charlie turned to Andrew’s arms for comfort, made it that much worse. I needed a game plan.

The police gave me a report number and left. I called a 24-hour locksmith to come and fix the door. And then, only then, did I go and sit beside Charlie, who huddled on the couch. She had stopped crying, but she looked pale and shaky.

I wanted more than anything, to pull her into my arms, but I restrained myself, settling on grabbing her hand. “Are you okay?”

She gave me a tired smile. “Glad you’re home.”

“I will make this right, okay?”

She swallowed. “Do you think this is Yazimoto?”

“I’m not sure who is doing this.”

She unfolded herself from the couch. I hung onto her hand, loving how she gave a little smile as she tugged her small hand out of mine. “I should go to bed. I have to work tomorrow.”

“You still sleeping in my bed?” I half teased. Ever since I had found out she had been taking over my bed, I realized I didn’t mind that idea at all.

She arched an eyebrow at me. “I’m back in the guest room.”

“Maybe you’d feel safer sleeping in my room?”

Her lips twitched. “I am not sure if that is the safest place for me.”

“You’d be safe, but I can’t guarantee you’d get any sleep.”

I watched as her cheeks flamed a sweet pink. “Goodnight.”

I waited until that delectable ass disappeared from my view before I picked up my phone. I needed to sort some things out.

THREE DAYS LATER, I picked up Charlie from work. I watched her walk across the parking lot, and I used that time to admire her legs in that skirt. Her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail and she gave me a quick smile when she caught me watching her.

She got in beside me and said sweetly, “Hello.”

I tried and failed to keep the smile off my face when I imagined her getting her surprise.

She caught sight of my expression. “What are you up to?”

“I have a surprise.”

She frowned and smiled at the same time. “What is it?”

“You’ll see.”

“Are you cooking something Russian for dinner?” She sounded hopeful.

“Better.”

“Better than Russian cooking? Impossible.”

Charlie loved my Russian dishes, and her enthusiasm only made me want to cook them more often.

When we got home, outside the door, I captured her hand. “Ready?”

She looked slightly scared. “I guess.”

I led her through the house and onto the back deck where Sniper and Tony awaited her arrival. Sniper was a $70,000 German shepherd that weighed 84 pounds and had a shiny, black and tan coat. Tony was his trainer. Sniper sat obediently at Tony’s feet but whined when he saw us.

Charlie looked stunned. She looked at me and then back at the duo. “You bought me a dog?”

“Your husband bought you one of the best protection dogs on the market,” Tony said. “This is Sniper. Want to come say hi?”

She covered her face. I expected her to rush to Sniper’s side, but she turned to me, wrapped her arms around my waist and put her head on my chest. I crushed my arms around her. She felt amazing.

“You got me a dog,” she murmured.

“I did.”

“I love dogs.” She glanced up at me. “Why would you do that?”

I wanted to kiss her. “So you’re safe when I’m gone.”

She looked at me with both awe and gratitude.

“Go say hi.” I reluctantly let her go.

She slowly approached Sniper and bent down, offering her hand. Sniper sniffed, wagged his tail and inched closer to her.

“You’re so beautiful,” she crooned to him.

Tony started telling her about Sniper. I had spent two days researching protection dog services and this one, out of Oklahoma, had been the most recommended. They trained the dogs from birth to be both a family dog and a protection dog with phenomenal skills that matched a K9 dog. They were the Navy SEALs of dogs, willing to fight to their death to protect their owner. I flew Tony and Sniper in this morning. Tony would stay in a hotel for a week and would work with Charlie, training her in how to use all the commands that Sniper lived to obey. Usually, the company vetted their families a lot longer, but I pulled a lot of strings to get them the information they needed, convincing Tony, with a healthy cash bonus, that he needed to make us a priority.

Tony stepped away, letting Charlie and Sniper get to know each other.

“You want a beer?” I asked him.

“Sure.”

He followed me inside. “You gave your wife an amazing gift.”

I cracked open a beer and handed it to him. “The gift was for me. I need peace of mind when I travel.”

Charlie’s laughter drifted in through the open balcony doors. That sound was worth every penny.

THE NEXT WEEK PASSED QUICKLY. Charlie brought Sniper and Tony with her to work. Sniper adored Charlie and never left her side. When Tony left to go back to Oklahoma, he told Charlie that she was one of his best students.

My only miscalculation with buying Sniper was that now Charlie had a dog. And that meant, every single night, she went walking with the dog walking group.

Andrew brazenly started knocking on our front door each night to pick her up for their walks, like it was a fucking date.

My only salvation to that situation was that Sniper disliked Andrew.

The first night, Charlie came home from a walk and innocently said, “I don’t think Sniper likes Andrew that much.”

I didn’t lift my head from my magazine, but I was all ears. “Oh yeah? Why do you say that?”

She gave a half-laugh. “Sniper refuses to let Andrew touch him. Every time Andrew tries to pet him, he just backs away or ducks his head.”

Smart fucking dog. “That’s weird.”

“And when we are walking, Sniper insists on walking between us. I even tried switching sides, because Sniper was sort of pushing Andrew away from me, but as soon as I moved to the other side, Sniper nosed his way in between us again.”

I had to work not to show my satisfaction. “Did Andrew do something to Sniper?”

She sounded so confused. “No, but Sniper won’t even play catch with the ball when Andrew is standing beside me. It was only when Andrew moved away that Sniper decided he wanted to play ball. When Andrew came back to stand next to me, Sniper came back and stood between us. So, I had to ask Andrew not to stand near me, otherwise, Sniper didn’t get to play.”

Sniper might be the best fucking $70,000 I have ever spent.

“Well, considering how hard Sniper works, he deserves to play.”

“I agree, although I think Andrew’s feelings were hurt.”

When Tony called for a post check-in, I casually mentioned this to him. “I’m not a big fan of the guy. Do you think Sniper’s picking up on my emotions?”

Tony answered thoughtfully. “Maybe, but dogs tend to make up their own minds about people. They are quick to judge a person’s character, and there are some people they simply don’t like.”

“Charlie said Sniper doesn’t let Andrew walk beside her.”

“Sniper is a pack animal, and you and Charlie are his pack. If he thinks that this guy is trying to nose in on his pack, he’s going to make it pretty clear he’s not welcome.”

Andrew was definitely trying to nose his way in on my pack. “Should I be worried?”

“Sniper won’t let anything happen to her. Sounds like Sniper’s tolerating this guy because of Charlie, but he’s being clear about how far he’ll go.”

Sniper was cockblocking Andrew. I think I loved this dog. “Good.”

“Have you guys experienced any level of threat?”

“Nothing so far. I’m leaving tomorrow for a series of away games, so we will see.”

“Charlie is trained in using Sniper to protect. And Sniper’s only goal in life is to keep Charlie safe. If something happens, give me a call.”

“I’ll let you know.”

I didn’t want to leave Charlie again, but I felt a hell of a lot better about leaving knowing Sniper would be there.

IT WAS SATURDAY MORNING. I packed my bags and stacked them by the door. Charlie stood at the island, watching me. “I can drive you to the stadium.”

“Ryan’s coming to pick me up.” I took a good look at her. She looked less strained, less anxious. “How are you feeling about being here alone?”

Her smile was beautiful. “Safe.”

“Are you two going to camp out in my room again when I’m gone?”

A small smile played on her lips. “Maybe.”

“We’ll only be gone five nights this time.”

A honk sounded from the door. Charlie took a step towards me and then faltered.

That was the first time she had ever made a move towards me, and I wasn’t going to waste it. I closed the gap between us and caught her face in my hands. I gave her a kiss that made her sigh heavily before I lifted my head.

“Be good,” I teased.

“Always.” Her eyes looked a bit dazed from my kiss, and it made me want to kiss her again. Another honk sounded.

I turned and picked up my bags. “See you when I get back.”