Rushing the Goal (Assassins #8)

by Toni Aleo

  When he opened his eyes, he looked down, thinking maybe he could get Jace’s number from Jayden and call him, but something caught his eye. The paperwork from court with Mark Sinclair’s business card stapled to the top.

  Could this have to do with Rick?

  Turning the folder so he could see the number, he dialed Mark’s number, but he didn’t answer. Setting his phone down, he figured he’d try again tomorrow since it was almost midnight. He needed to go to bed. This had been his roughest Assassins road trip to date. He was aching everywhere from the hard-fought games against the Bruins, Islanders, Devils, and Rangers. They had won two of the four, but he was exhausted. Plus, he was worried, feeling like everything was just falling apart. He knew sleep wouldn’t come easy.

  When his phone sounded, he looked down to see a text from Lucy.

  Lucy: I’m going to kill you for calling my mom.

  Benji: I’m desperate. Talk to me.

  Lucy: I can’t. Not yet.

  Benji: What the hell does that even mean?

  He waited, but nothing came. Not even a little text bubble that signaled she was writing him back.

  Nothing.

  Complete silence.

  The only sound he could hear was his heart breaking.

  Benji didn’t fall asleep until six a.m. He had watched his phone until it died and then as it charged, until he finally fell asleep. He felt pathetic, but he couldn’t help it. He felt like he was losing everything with no clue as to why. He was pissed. So damn pissed at Lucy for doing this. He didn’t understand what she was holding back. What she was hiding and why? Didn’t she understand that he loved her unconditionally and he was going to support her no matter what?

  What in the world had her running like this? Hiding?

  The only thing he could come up with was fucking Rick.

  Rick had done something, and it was taking everything out of Benji not to find that bastard and kill him. He considered driving to his house, but then he didn’t know where the asshole lived. He also didn’t have his number, so he was stuck. As he stared up at the spinning ceiling fan, he couldn’t take the coldness that he felt. The way the house felt empty without them. How he had no clue what the hell to do. He was a fixer, he was a doer, but at that moment, he felt like a loser. With no clue how to rectify that.

  As much as he wanted to believe she would come home and they would be okay, he knew they wouldn’t. Not after all this. No, she wanted to break up with him. She just couldn’t do it. While that should have pleased him, it just broke him more.

  What in the world had he done? Or what had happened to make her want to leave him? To take away her love and Angie’s? It was unfair, and in a way, he was convinced it was fucking payback for Ava and Leary. It had to be. Why else would he feel like this? Feel like he wanted to down a whole bottle of vodka and just die. Never in his twelve years of sobriety had he truly wanted a drink, but he could use one now.

  But even he knew that nothing would dull the pain inside of him.

  No, only Lucy could make it better.

  Rolling over, he brought her pillow into his arms, nuzzling his nose into it, hoping to get a whiff of her. Taking in a long pull, her flowery scent intoxicated him and everything hurt.

  Why couldn’t she just talk to him?

  When his phone rang, he scrambled to get to it, almost falling off the bed before getting his phone in his hand.

  But he didn’t recognize the number.

  Hopeful, though, he answered. “Hello?”

  “Hey, this is Mark Sinclair. This number called me last night.”

  “Yes!” Benji said, sitting up. “This is Benji. Benji Paxton, Lucy’s boyfriend.”

  Or was he?

  The thought made his whole body ache.

  “Hey, Benji, what’s up?”

  “Um, well, funny you should ask,” he said, exhaling hard. “Lucy left for Florida—without me—and I really don’t know what’s going on. And I was wondering, hoping, actually, maybe you knew something about this.”

  Mark paused, and Benji could hear him clicking his pen against something. “I’m sorry, what do you mean, left? I thought you all were going.”

  “Yeah, I did too, but she called saying she needed time to think. Whatever the hell that means.”

  Mark made a disgruntled noise and muttered, “Fool woman.”

  Benji panicked. “Listen, I know you don’t owe me anything, that you don’t have to tell me anything. But, if I’m losing my family, I need to know. I need to fix it. Save this before I can’t.”

  Mark chuckled. “Boy, you love those girls.”

  “Like you wouldn’t believe. Both of them.”

  “I can tell. I can hear it in your voice.”

  “Then you know I have to know what is going on so I can fix it. I can’t lose my family, Mark. I can’t, not again,” he said, his voice breaking as the tears flooded his eyes.

  When Mark cleared his throat, Benji held his breath. “All right, son, listen. I’m gonna give you my address and you come on over, okay?”

  Benji was out of bed and getting dressed before Mark even finished his sentence. He wasn’t sure what this would help, but it was clear Mark knew something. Getting the address, Benji rushed out of the house, into his truck, and then across town to Mark’s office. Knowing that Mark could possibly help him gave him renewed hope he could fix this. But when he got there, nothing could have prepared him for what Mark had to say.

  Blinking, completely speechless, Benji just looked across the desk at the older man, unsure what to do or say.

  “It was fake, though. Completely. I saw that with one look at it.”

  “So he’s trying to say I touched Angie inappropriately?” Benji asked, choking on a sob. He would never. Who would even think to accuse someone of that?

  A fucking sicko, that’s who.

  Mark held his hands out, shaking his head. “I know, crazy. But since he has the intentions of making the allegation formal, it will be investigated. They will question Angie, they will question you, and Lucy, if it makes it to court.”

  “So you think it won’t,” Benji said, his mind racing, and Mark shook his head.

  “Let me tell you something about my daughter,” he said then, leaning back in his chair. “Lucy isn’t dumb. She’s a survivor and she protects the ones she loves. She thinks if she cuts all ties with you, goes to court and says you two aren’t together any longer, that it will be a dead end. What she doesn’t realize is they’re still gonna investigate the allegation, which will run your name through the mud. It’ll hit the media, for sure. I’ve already contacted your lawyer this morning. It’s going to get nasty if it goes to court.”

  And then it all made sense. She was doing this to protect him. That damn, crazy, gorgeous, fool woman was willing to break them up, and it still wouldn’t stop his name from being ruined, no matter what she tried. Didn’t she realize he was nothing without her? He was going to shake some sense into her when he got his hands on her, which would be right as soon as he left Mark’s office. But something was bothering him about what her father had said.

  Benji’s eyes narrowed as he held Mark’s gaze. “You keep saying ‘if it goes to court.’ What does that mean?”

  “It means that, just like Rick, I know how to hire a PI. And what my PI found will confirm that he is the lowest piece of shit imaginable.”

  “Okay,” Benji said slowly, shaking his head, confused. What in the world was Mark implying?

  “I can’t go to him with this, being a man of the courts, but you can. You and Lucy together can urge him to keep his bullshit-ass video out of court, so that his dirty laundry doesn’t fly free. ’Cause I’ll fly it, loud and proud, to ruin that fucker,” he said, acid dripping from his voice. “My hope for court next week is that we walk in, everything goes in our favor, and that’s the end. I had planned on calling Lucy and telling her this today, but I have a feeling I won’t need to do that.”

  Benji shook his head. “No, sir, I
plan to take care of it.”

  Mark nodded. “She’s lucky to have you.”

  Benji’s lips curved. “Funny. Usually, I say that.”

  He nodded, looking down before pushing the file to Benji. “Well, Benji, I’m depending on you to take care of her.”

  “I don’t have to; Lucy takes care of herself. But if you want me to love her, support her, be there for her, and never break her heart, I can do that.”

  Mark smiled. “That sounds even better,” he said roughly, his voice breaking. “You know, I’ve done wrong to my family, and that’s something I’ll live with. But Lucy, she’s always been my sweet baby girl, and when I failed her, broke her heart, I think it was worse than when I broke Autumn’s heart.” He paused, clearing his throat as he met Benji’s gaze. So much pain was in the depths of his green eyes. “I’m not much of a man and I know that, but you are, and I am so thankful that my daughter has found you. So, thank you. And please, fix this. Get her to get her head out of her ass and make that bastard go away. I’m depending on you.”

  Benji nodded and he knew that was his cue to leave, but he couldn’t will himself to do so yet. Instead, he held Mark’s gaze. “I know the story, hell, everyone does. No one really speaks fondly of you, except Angie. But I think Lucy still loves you. She’s just so upset by your betrayal, and I can’t blame her.”

  “Neither can I. I messed up.”

  It was that simple, and Benji was glad he owned up to it. “But, like I said, she loves you. And I think it would mean a lot to Lucy to know that I wanted to ask you this.”

  Mark’s brows pulled together. “What?”

  “May I marry your daughter?”

  Mark leaned back in his chair, a chuckle leaving his mouth as he looked up at the ceiling, smiling. “When Lucy was a teenager, we watched this silly chick flick, The Wedding Date. There was this part when the guy—he was a gigolo the girl had hired to go to the wedding with her, but he actually started to feel for her. Well, he asked her dad if he could date his daughter. Totally cheesy movie, but I liked it because when that part happened, Lucy looked at me and asked, ‘Do guys really do that, Daddy?’ And I shrugged, told her I had, and I hoped the man that she would spend the rest of her life with would do it for her. She told me she hoped so too ’cause that’s a real man.” He paused, her eyes clouding with tears as he met Benji’s gaze. “Rick never asked. She had asked me if he had before they ran off, and I told her no because I was so mad. I think she hated me for that. I think she wanted me to lie.”

  Benji watched him, his heart hurting for the man who just wanted to fix his mistakes. His love for his daughter was obvious, but the cuts he made were too deep, and Benji feared he’d never be able to mend them. Too much hurt, too much pain had been caused, and while Benji had no issue with the man he knew now, he knew that Lucy and her family did.

  Mark shook his head and smiled before glancing back up at Benji. Clearing his throat, he said, “I couldn’t lie to her, though. I hated that boy, man, whatever. But now, looking across at you, seeing how much you love her, love Angie, I have nothing else to say other than, yes, son, you can marry my baby. Because I don’t think there is anyone else in this world who is meant for her but you.”

  There wasn’t.

  Now he just hoped Lucy knew that.

  A vacation was where she was supposed to relax and have fun, and Lucy decided she sucked at vacations. Because, even though this was a work vacation that was more lie on the beach than work, she was a mess. A big ball of emotion who cried at the drop of a hat. She just hurt. Her soul hurt. Everything ached. She missed Benji. She felt bad for hurting him, for worrying him, and she hated most of all that she was allowing Rick to win. But she honestly saw no other choice in the matter.

  It just wasn’t fair.

  She wanted to call Benji, tell him what was going on, ask him what he thought they should do. But he would want to push through. He wouldn’t want to do the smart thing, which was to break up and let each other go—because that wasn’t him. Hell, it wasn’t her. She finally had the person she wanted for the rest of her life, and she couldn’t even keep him? How fucked up was that? But that was her life. Rick was a constant villain who was hell-bent on ruining everything.

  Why hadn’t she kicked over his motorcycle instead of getting on it all those years ago?

  Thankful for the sunglasses she wore, she watched as Angie threw sand in a bucket in a cute little two-piece that made a starfish across her belly. But when Lucy looked at her face, she was scowling.

  She was not happy with Lucy.

  “Mom. Where is Benji? Can I call him? We had plans here,” Angie said, frustrated, and Lucy shook her head.

  “Honey, he’s busy,” she said once more, her voice breaking a bit. She didn’t miss the way Avery looked at her, shaking her head. Avery was the only one who knew what had happened, and Lucy had threatened her life if she uttered a word to anyone. Even to Ashlyn.

  “This is so stupid! He promised me he’d be here to help me,” she complained, throwing her bucket down and letting out a long breath. Lucy’s heart broke a little. Shit, she was hurting everyone. This was so stupid. Maybe she should just call him. But how could she own up to this? Now it was her pride. She couldn’t call him and ask for help after she ran, thinking she could handle it all on her own. No, she had made this bed, she was going to lie in it and fix it.

  She just didn’t know how.

  Avery let out a knowing sigh, shaking her head once more, and Lucy cut her gaze to her. “What? Got something to say?” she asked and Avery shrugged her shoulders, checking on Ashlyn, who was sleeping in her little sand crib, a shade over her.

  “Oh, nothing. It’s none of my business,” she said, holding her hands up. She still must have been upset from when Lucy snapped at her over breakfast. She just didn’t want people telling her what to do. Especially when she already knew what to do.

  Call Benji and tell him she was an idiot and she needed his help.

  “One thing is for sure, you need to get the sand out your vag,” Avery said before standing up and pulling her bottoms out of her butt.

  “There isn’t any,” she snapped back and Avery scoffed.

  “You need to check. I think a whole sand castle is up in there,” she threw back as she stood before Lucy in all her beautiful glory. It made Lucy sick that she was still so skinny after having a baby. Not one stretch mark. Bullshit. “I’m going to go make a sand castle with my niece ’cause she’s nice. You’re a brat.”

  “Well, if there is already one in my vag, why build one?”

  Avery glared back at her. “Because we don’t want your stinky, angry one.”

  She almost laughed, but she didn’t want to give Avery the satisfaction as she went over to Angie, sitting down to help her. When Angie looked to Avery, her little face sad, Lucy felt like shit as she asked, “Do you know where Benji is?”

  “No, honey, sorry,” Avery said. But then Angie stood, her face changing as she waved her hands above her head.

  “There he is!” she screamed, running past Avery and toward the house. Lucy turned, and she wasn’t sure why she was so surprised, but there he was.

  Benji.

  Angie jumped toward him and he caught her midair, kissing her hard on the cheek as she hugged him tightly. How did he find them? What was she going to do?

  But, oh, thank God he was here.

  Lucy looked back to Avery, shocked. But Avery must have thought her look was accusatory because she shook her head. “I promise I did not tell him.”

  “Benji! Where have you been? I missed you soooooooooooo much,” Angie stressed, her body wrapped around him like a koala. “I thought I was going to have to make this castle by myself, and I was so mad you weren’t here. Where were you?”

  “Sorry, sunshine, little miscommunication. But come on, let’s make this castle,” he said, carrying her toward them. He looked gorgeous. No shirt, his muscles rippling and bunching as he walked in a pair of swim shorts. He had a
hat on and a pair of sunglasses, a careless grin on his face, like he was supposed to be there.

  And he was.

  If Lucy hadn’t told him not to come.

  Even with the sunglasses, though, she felt his gaze on her as he stopped beside her, bending down while still holding Angie to press his lips to hers. Closing her eyes, she almost cried at the feel of his lips before he pulled back, looking deep into her eyes. “Hey, sweetheart.”

  Breathless, she swallowed hard. “Hey, I thought you weren’t coming.”

  He smiled. “Yeah, your mom said to tell you she loves me more.”

  That stunned her for maybe three seconds before she glared. That Autumn Moore! As much as she wanted to be mad at her mom, she couldn’t be. She wanted Benji there. She was just too damned proud to admit it.

  She watched as he carried Angie to the sand mound she had made. He put her on her feet before looking back at Lucy. “Nice suit.”

  His lips curved and she fought a grin as she covered her chest with her arms. She was wearing a suit he had picked out for this trip, and while it pleased her that he liked it, she still wasn’t sure what to do. He was acting as if everything was fine, but what did that mean? Did he know what was going on?

  “Hey, Benji,” Avery said as she stood, dusting sand off herself but he stopped her.

  “You don’t want to build?”

  She laughed. “I was the stand-in till you showed up,” she said with a grin before patting his back. “It’s good to see you.”

  “You too.”

  Lucy watched as Benji bent down, getting to work with Angie as Avery came back to sit down. Leaning back in her chair, she said, “Maybe he can clean the sand out of your vag.”

  “And maybe I can bury you in it,” she said, glancing over at her sister-in-law.

  Avery grinned. “Love you, sister.”

  “Love you.”

  “Now why don’t you go build a sand castle with your daughter and your boyfriend?”

  “’Cause I’m probably not invited. They’ve been talking about this mermaid castle for, like, a month,” she said as Benji started to stack buckets upon buckets. “Plus, I’m sure he’s mad at me.”