Overtime

by Toni Aleo

  The Bellevue Bullies Series

  Boarded by Love

  Clipped by Love

  Hooked by Love (Fall 2015)

  The Assassins Series

  Taking Shots

  Trying to Score

  Empty Net

  Falling for the Backup

  Blue Lines

  Breaking Away

  Laces and Lace

  A Very Merry Hockey Holiday

  Wanting to Forget

  Overtime

  Standalone

  Let it be Me

  Taking Risks Series

  The Whiskey Prince

  Becoming the Whiskey Princess

  Down and out with an injury keeping him away from the game, Assassins’ defenseman Jordie Thomas lives for the blades of his skates on the ice and the feeling of oblivion off it. With no choice but to heal, he’s forced away from the sport that runs through his veins. With everything at stake and darkness setting in, he quickly finds himself spiraling even further out of control. As his life begins to come crashing down around him and his contract with the Nashville Assassins on the line, he’s given an ultimatum. Ready or not, Jordie is forced to face his past, the fears that consume him, and the one woman he let walk away.

  Kacey King had her professional dreams come true, yet her heart was battered and broken. With an Olympic gold medal around her neck, she’s ready to look forward to the future but without the one man she wanted in it. She’s missing the key pieces of her heart she left months ago with the only person who was capable of destroying it, causing her to falter in all her plans to move on.

  In the game of life, there are winners and losers, and neither Jordie nor Kacey want to be on the losing bench. If only Jordie could convince Kacey he’s a changed man and that he wants her right by his side as his MVP for the biggest and best parts of a life they build together. With emotions running high and the game on the line, can two proud people find happiness with each other, or will their hearts and souls be left in the cold? Will they see that sometimes having someone by your side who knows the good, bad, and broken is better than going it alone and losing everything through the back of the net? They are out of time on the game clock and fighting for the win of their lives.

  But overtime was made for an Assassin like Jordie.

  This book is for anyone who is fighting to better themselves.

  Fighting the battle of addiction.

  Fighting the battle of depression.

  Fighting the battle of abuse.

  Know that this book is for you.

  You can do it.

  I believe in you.

  As Jared Padalecki says:

  JUST KEEP FIGHTING!

  Jordie Thomas knew he was screwed.

  There were two things that he didn’t want, ever, in his life.

  Herpes, and to be called into Elli Adler’s office.

  Everyone knew that it wasn’t good to be called into the office of the owner of the professional hockey team he played for, the Nashville Assassins. If it was something good, usually she just called to chitchat, as she called it, and dote on her players. But when she called them into her office, ten out of ten times, they were screwed.

  And today, Jordie must be screwed.

  As his good leg bounced from the nerves, Jordie waited for the door to open to Elli’s office. His shoulders were taut, his other knee ached, and his heart was pounding. Ever since he got the call that she wanted him to fly from Colorado to Nashville for a meeting, he had been replaying every single scenario in his head. He hadn’t been making the greatest decisions lately, and he was pretty damn sure this had to do with his spur-of-the-moment vacation to Louisiana.

  He should have just stayed home.

  That whole trip was a clusterfuck. That’s the only way he could describe it. He hadn’t acted like himself, he kept trying to forget a certain someone, and he really should have just stayed home and healed. Not only had it pushed him back a week in PT but now he was worried that something he did there may be back to haunt him. As he replayed the weekend, which consisted of a lot of alcohol, a lot of women, and a good long visit in the ER that resulted in even more great sex, he couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary that could have brought him here. Then again, Elli didn’t like when her players’ whore-like tendencies hung out, but still, she usually called and warned them to clean it up.

  Hell, he had gotten that call plenty of times. Maybe that’s why he was here? She was done with his ways? Damn it. Hopefully, that wasn’t it though. He was on the road to recovery after a really nasty hit into the boards last year, and nothing was going to keep him off the ice.

  Well, except Elli Adler, that is.

  Maybe she didn’t want to wait for him to heal? The draft was coming up; maybe she had her eyes on someone to replace him. Shit. Did he want to go to another team? He had already been to so many, and he was convinced this was the team he was going to retire from. He loved the Assassins. They were his brothers, his friends, and he was invested in this team. He couldn’t leave…but then the nagging voice inside of him kept reminding him that his career could be over. Yeah, the doctors felt good and were optimistic about a full recovery from snapping his leg in two, but what if he didn’t play like he used to? Maybe Elli knew that and wanted to cut ties now? If she knew that, then that meant everyone must know.

  Fuck. Was he in denial?

  Slowly running his hand through his hair that he really needed to cut, he wondered what he would do if he didn’t play hockey? Hockey was his life. It’s all he’d ever wanted to do. It’s all he knew how to do. It was his saving grace, the one thing that kept him going when life seemed to be over. Which, growing up, was a lot of the time. He didn’t have it easy like some kids. While his mom always married guys for money, it didn’t mean that any money went to Jordie like it should have. While she was decked out in Gucci, Jordie rocked Goodwill, but he really didn’t mind. She made sure he had his hockey gear, and that was all he cared about.

  Nothing mattered but hockey. Because of that, during school, all the girls did his homework for his attention and he was glad to provide it, so it wasn’t like he was book smart. Street smarts, sure, he could get by with no problem, but his math and his spelling were a little suspect, and he was pretty sure he would need those to do any job a normal person would do.

  Stroking his beard to keep his hands from shaking from the nerves that were rapid-firing through his body, Jordie bit into his lip. He wasn’t good at anything but hockey. Oh, well, and sex. He was damn good at that. He loved it too. Come to think of it, he was hung like a horse too, so maybe he could become a porn star? Hey, that wasn’t a half-bad idea.

  Before he could even entertain that idea, the door opened to Elli’s office and she filled the doorway, looking killer in a pair of green heels that should have been illegal. Her auburn hair flowed down her shoulders, curled to perfection, her green eyes piercing and her skirt tight, wrapping around her thick thighs. No one would ever assume that Mrs. Adler was a mommy of five; she was too hot for that. She may be his boss and even his captain’s wife, but Jordie had always had a soft spot for her. It was probably because she’d always been on the chunky side from having so many babies. Jordie loved kids, and he really loved her kids. But as he drank her in, he noticed that Mrs. Adler looked mighty fine and a little leaner.

  Grinning at her, he slowly stood. “Have you lost weight, boss? Shea not feeding you?”

  She giggled. “Oh hush, I’m watching what I eat.”

  “Well, you can tell, and that Shea Adler is a lucky man, boss.”

  As she smiled back at him, his heart slowed a bit. If she was smiling, that was a good thing. Maybe he’d overthought this? “Thanks, Jordie. Come on in,” she said in her thick accent that always made him feel like she was t
en seconds away from serving him a big, buttered biscuit.

  Hobbling over, he passed by her, her intoxicating mango scent making him dizzy as she asked, “How’s the leg?”

  Regrouping, Jordie nodded his head. “Healing. I’ll be brand-spanking-new for next season,” he answered, holding her gaze. But when she shut the door, he looked up and saw that not only was his agent Charles Bolster sitting by Elli’s desk but so was the other owner of the Assassins, Bryan Fisher.

  Double fuck.

  Swallowing loudly, he went for an aloof approach and said, “Hey, guys. Didn’t know you were coming too.”

  “I didn’t know either,” Charles said, annoyed, and that had Jordie’s stomach sinking.

  “Elli wanted us here,” Bryan answered, and Jordie’s chest clenched. Ignoring the need to flee, he dropped slowly into the seat that was in front of Elli’s desk and glanced nervously over at Charles. He was working his lip, looking over some paperwork in front of him. When he looked at Jordie, he knew he was fucked to the max.

  His heart started to slam into his ribs as Elli came around her desk, lowering into her big, puffy teal chair with black trim. Behind her was a massive museum-like display of pictures of her and her family. The sweet faces of her five children—that Jordie could honestly say were the greatest kids ever—smiled back at him in different poses and shots. There was even a picture with all the kids and him, along with some of the other guys from the team. When his eyes settled on that picture, he saw Elli’s oldest, Shelli, was wrapped around him like a koala. She had always been his favorite. She loved to braid Jordie’s beard and paint his nails. He never told her no since she was a mini Elli and, really, he didn’t mind. He loved kids.

  He also hoped that kids were in his future, but he couldn’t be dwelling on that right now. Not when his boss was looking at him like he was one of her five children and he’d been caught busting the windows out with a hockey puck.

  “You’re probably wondering why you’re here,” she started and he shrugged, leaning back in the plush teal chair that was a smaller version of hers.

  “I’ve narrowed it down to assuming I’ve done something wrong,” he joked, trying to break the tension in the room. But when her green eyes cut to his, he snapped his lips shut.

  “You’ve assumed right,” she said, sliding a piece of paper toward him. Picking it up, the first thing he saw was Suspended written below his name. His heart stopped as his brows shot up, and soon he was unable to catch a breath.

  “Suspended?” he croaked out before looking up to meet her gaze.

  Lacing her fingers together, she slowly nodded her head. “We don’t tolerate drug use, Jordie. You know that.”

  He did, and he hadn’t touched a single drug because of it. He wasn’t into them anyway, so what the hell was this… And then it was like the whole room went still as it dawned on him that he’d never told her about Louisiana like he’d meant to.

  “Your last blood test came back with high amounts of MDMA, and also, your trainer is saying you are drinking a lot more than usual.”

  He was, but he had always been a drinker.

  Dropping the paper, he held his hands up as he scooted to the edge of his seat. “Okay, I forgot to call you and tell you about the Molly when I was in Louisiana. I was drugged, and you can call the nurses and doctors down there and they’ll vouch for me.”

  “I already have,” she said and his brow furrowed.

  “Okay? Then why is this an issue? Why am I being suspended?” he asked, completely confused.

  “Because you put yourself in that position, Jordie. Everyone has heard about your wild weekend in Louisiana. Even the girls you were with have done interviews, saying how you hurt your leg trying to have sex with them.”

  He grimaced; it wasn’t the most flattering blog post either. The only good thing about it was that they said his cock was huge. Points for him, but he was sure that didn’t matter to his boss. “Yeah, but—”

  She shook her head, cutting him off. “No, you’ve been making some really, excuse me, but shitty choices lately. Your drinking is getting you in trouble. Now, usually I let it go, but you went down to Louisiana, got shit-faced drunk, high out of your mind, and screwed anything with tits. You are all over the blogs about your wild nights, and you’re making our team look bad. You’ve been doing this for a while and I’ve been turning my cheek to it because you’re a good guy, a great player. But the drug use, voluntary or not,” she added when he went to interrupt her, so he swallowed his retort as she went on, “is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Things are gonna change, or I will not be renewing your contract in October.”

  What? That was bullshit!

  “Are you serious right now? I’m being punked, right?” he demanded, turning to Charles. “I’m not that bad. I have fun, I do what I want, but I’ve always been a team player. And my extracurricular activities have never interfered with my game play. Never.”

  Looking over at him, Charles shook his head as Elli went on, “You’re right, Jordie. But you’re supposed to be healing, not going out getting trashed and hurting yourself all over again.”

  Meeting Elli’s gaze, he shook his head. “I know that wasn’t the best choice for me, but I wanted to have fun. I was going stir-crazy,” he said, which was a total lie.

  He’d wanted to forget a certain someone and thought partying down in Louisiana was the way to go. Actually, it was the worst idea ever, and he still hadn’t forgotten her. If anything, his feelings for her had only gotten stronger, which meant that his weekend that had now resulted in him getting suspended was for absolutely nothing.

  Scary shit, feelings were. Trouble too.

  “Which is completely understandable, Jordie. But the one bad decision snowballed into a mess. Now we have trainers wondering if you’re even worth working with because you’re drinking all the time and coming up hot on a drug test. And then the blogs are going nuts with this. Questioning Elli’s and my next move. I mean, what we should do is let you go now. But you’re lucky that Elli fights for the people she believes in and did the research needed. Because, if it was me, you’d be gone,” Bryan said, and Jordie’s eyes met Elli’s. She looked sad and stressed out, and he hated that his actions caused her eyes to be filled with all that. “The only thing you should be doing is sleeping and working on rehabbing that leg.”

  “You’re right,” Jordie decided, looking from Elli to him. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry isn’t enough, buddy,” was his answer and Jordie looked away.

  Jordie didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to be suspended; he’d worked hard to stay in the good graces of his owners, and this wouldn’t help him when it was time to renew his contract. He’d always kept his party life separate from his hockey game. Before, yeah, he drank, but he only drank when he wasn’t playing. And even then, it wasn’t much. But when he busted his leg, he drank to dull the pain that was eating him alive. Between not being able to play and being away from his team, he was also dealing with all the feelings he had for her. He was a mess and, now, it was about to get worse.

  Swallowing loudly, he looked back up at his owners and nodded. “Then tell me what is enough. I don’t want to be suspended.”

  Slowly unclasping her hands, Elli crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back in her chair. “We don’t want to suspend you, Jordie, but it’s the only way we can show you we mean business.”

  “I understand that.”

  “Good, so now we need to see that you mean business too. We have enrolled you in a rehab facility back in Colorado for ninety days. Your PT will come to you and work with you.”

  There was silence as what she had just said slowly sank in, and when it did, Jordie came unglued.

  “What the fuck! Rehab? There is nothing wrong with me! I don’t want people thinking I’m a fucking druggie. Or an alcoholic! I like to drink. There is nothing wrong with that!” he yelled, unable to fathom why they thought he needed rehab.

  Elli’s eyes
went wide as Bryan shook his head at Jordie’s outburst. Soon Charles was talking fast. “It isn’t a real rehab place, Thomas. It’s private and residential—no one will ever know you are there. You can even keep your phone. But when people come to see you, they will be searched, and you can’t leave until your time is up.”

  “That is fucking stupid!”

  “Those are our terms,” Elli said. “When you are done, you will go to group therapy two times a week and one-on-one therapy once a week. All your therapists and PT have to clear you before you can come home.”

  Looking between each of their faces, Jordie’s mind was reeling. Surely, they were joking… But their faces were like ice, and he didn’t understand why this was happening. “I don’t need rehab,” he reiterated, and he truly believed that. “This is extreme. You haven’t even given me the chance to clean up my act.”

  “Because I don’t think you can,” she answered and his face scrunched up.

  “What?”

  “You’ve changed, Jordie. The injury has really messed you up.”

  It isn’t only the injury, he thought, but he didn’t say that. “Yeah, it hurts, but I’m fine!” he said, his voice rising. “I’m still me.”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I can hear it in your voice when I speak to you weekly. You are hurting and becoming so withdrawn. People are saying you aren’t returning calls and texts. You’ve gone to PT drunk more times than sober. You’ve changed. You aren’t my Jordie, and we all really feel this will help.”

  He wasn’t?

  He wasn’t.

  He knew he wasn’t.

  Looking into Elli’s green eyes, he could see the truth staring back at him. His face was reflected in her eyes, and he almost didn’t recognize the man looking back. Usually a confident, carefree person, he was now scared. Carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Scared his career was hanging in the balance. Scared that his feelings for her meant more than he thought. He was confused and he was hurting and, yeah, he was using alcohol to help that. It numbed everything. But he honestly saw no problem with that. If he wanted to stop, he could.