by Barbara Gee
Her smile was jubilant. “I knew you were going to blow them away.”
“Jax says it’s a miracle. I don’t know, maybe it is. All I know is I’m not having any headaches at all. Not even when I’m really exerting myself.”
“Have you played with the team yet?”
He nodded. “I practiced today. Non-contact only, though, which is more frustrating than you can imagine.”
“Are they going to see if you can clear the concussion protocol?”
“They’re satisfied I’m symptom free, but I have to do the cognitive tests tomorrow morning. It’s a formality, and I’m not worried about it. Coach told me today that if I’m good on the tests, I’ll be thrown right into practice, full contact and going full out. If I can keep up, I’m in.”
Jolene’s eyes widened. “You’re in?” she whispered.
“As in, I’ll play the following night.”
Her face lit up. “You’re going to play the last five games of the regular season?”
He nodded, loving that his girl loved his sport.
“If you play those games, we’re a lock!” she said, beaming.
He chuckled. “Not exactly a lock, but I’ll do my best to help us get there. I like to think it’ll make a difference, but we’re most likely going to have to win three of the five. That’s definitely not a given.”
“Oh, it’ll make a difference. No question. Not just because of your skill, but because of the boost it’ll give your team. They’ll be so pumped. Do they know it’s a possibility?”
“Jax does. I’m sure the others are speculating. Hopefully we can tell them at the end of practice tomorrow.”
Jolene leaned forward, wincing only a little, and wrapped her slender hands around his wrists. “I’m so happy for you. I know how much you need this.”
“Yeah, I do. But I need other things, too.” His eyes crinkled when he smiled. “And right now, my very, very pressing need to kiss you is at the top of the list.”
She stood up and walked to where he sat, then straddled his legs and carefully lowered herself onto his lap. Boone put his hands on her waist, feeling the thick, tight wrapping of elastic bandages.
“Okay?” he asked, running his hands lightly up and down her sides. “You’re not hurting?”
“I’m not even thinking about my ribs,” she said softly. “Or my jaw.” Perched on his lap, her head was only slightly below his. When his eyes met her dark gaze, his pulse quickened, thudding deep and strong.
He moved his hands up along her arms to her shoulders, his thumbs caressing the hollows below her collarbone. “You’re beautiful, even with a swollen jaw,” he said with a crooked smile. “When I saw you coming toward me at the airport I felt—I don’t know how to describe it. Full, I guess. Blessed.” He lowered his head and brushed his lips lightly across hers, slowly back and forth. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Kiss me, Boone,” she whispered against his mouth. “Please. I need you to.”
He brought his hands up to her face and tilted his head slightly before claiming her lips the way he’d wanted to since greeting her at the airport. The way he’d needed to since hearing she’d been harmed.
Thank God she was here now. She’d come to him. And she was going to be okay.
* * *
Jolene loved the way the man kissed her. His lips were firm and smooth, demanding and giving at the same time. He was holding back though, she could tell. Probably because of her sore jaw and cheek. He raised his head as his fingers tangled in her hair, tugging slightly and baring her throat. He pressed kisses against the soft skin there, lingering on the pulse point at its base.
“I love kissing you, Boone,” she murmured.
“Good, ’cause I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of it.” He raised his head and smiled. “Wanna come to the rink with me tomorrow?”
Her face lit up. “Seriously?”
“Mmm hmm. You’ll have to stick close to Holt and Tobin, but I checked and they’re okay with you coming.”
“I’d love to.”
“I thought you would.” As he bent his head to kiss her again, there was a knock on the door.
“Room service,” Jolene sighed.
“Of sorts. It’s actually either Holt or Tobin. All the food deliveries come to them, in case there’s a bad guy posing as room service. Then they bring the food over.”
Boone helped her off his lap, then crossed the room to the door. Agent Holt handed off the food and returned to his own room.
“That smells so good,” Jolene said as he set the food out on the table. She sat down, and Boone got a couple bottles of water from the fridge before joining her.
“So, Jo, the fact that I didn’t know where you went to college makes me realize that although I feel like I know you really well on certain levels, there are a lot of basic things I don’t know about you. And I want to.”
Jolene nodded as she swallowed a bite of sandwich. “I could say the same about you.”
“Yeah, I figured. So how about we take turns asking each other questions. I’ll ask you three, and then you ask me three, and so on.”
She smiled. “Can I start?”
“Sure.”
So she did, and as it turned out they had so many questions for each other they were still at it two hours later, although they’d left the table and gotten more comfortable. They were lying side by side on her bed, propped up on pillows against the headboard.
Jolene felt her eyes starting to get heavy, and she looked at the clock on the bedside table. “It’s late. You need to get to bed so you’re ready to practice tomorrow.”
He stretched his arms above his head. “I can’t wait.” He turned toward her. “Any more questions before I hit the shower?”
“No, I guess not.” She grinned. “Thanks for being so open with me, Boone. I know talking about your childhood brought back a lot of good memories, but I also know it made you feel even more conflicted about your dad.”
“I’ll deal with it. We need to know that stuff about each other, including the early years. Our childhoods helped make us who we are.” He smiled a little sadly. “For better or worse.”
He pushed up off the bed and held out a hand to her. “You want to get changed?”
“I think I’ll take a quick shower, too. It’ll help me relax.” She let him help her up, giving him a quick hug before going to the dresser to get sleep shorts and a tank.
“I’ll come tuck you in,” he said.
“Give me twenty minutes.”
***
He gave her twenty-three, just to be safe, then knocked on her door. She told him to come in, and he opened the door to see her sitting on the side of the bed with her phone.
She looked up and ran her gaze appreciatively over his tee shirt and shorts, both emblazoned with the Minnesota Wild logo. “Hey. I’m texting my mom quick, letting her know where I am. She’s a night owl, so she’ll still be up.”
“You gonna tell her why?”
“Nope. I don’t want her to worry. I just told her I’m visiting you for a few days.”
He sat down beside her, rubbing her back lightly as she finished a text. “No wrap?” he asked, feeling nothing but warm skin under her thin top.
“Nah, I’m going to try it without. Honestly, I think my ribs are just bruised and not actually cracked. I think I’d be in a lot more pain if they were cracked. It’s only uncomfortable if I move too quickly or twist the wrong way.”
Her phone beeped and Jolene laughed as she read the text from her mom. “Oh my word, she’s crazy. She Googled you yesterday, and found out you’re considered to be one of the best players in the league. Now she says she needs a picture to prove I’m really with you, and not making it up.”
“Is she serious?”
Jolene laughed again. “Definitely not, that’s just her way of trying to get a picture so she can show it to her friends.”
Boone took her phone and brought up the camera. “Selfie time,” he said, til
ting his head so it was against hers. He snapped the photo, which actually turned out pretty good.
“She’s going to love this,” Jolene said, sending it off. “Thanks, Boone.”
“Any time.”
“She’ll love you, too, if you ever get to meet.”
“I hope so.”
Jolene stood and pulled back the blankets. Boone held them up while she carefully slid in and smiled up at him a little self-consciously. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had anyone tuck me in.”
He smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’ve never done it. I hope you’re not expecting a lullaby.”
Jolene laughed. “Not even Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?”
“Not even anything. Trust me, it’s for the best.”
“I’ll settle for a goodnight kiss.” She grabbed his hands and laced their fingers together. “But it’ll have to be a quick one.”
He raised a dark brow, his jade eyes gleaming. “I’m not that tired, Jo. Getting to bed a few minutes later isn’t going to make a difference.”
She dropped her eyes and shook her head slowly. “It still has to be quick. Because you look really, really good to me right now. And you smell fantastic. And it’s been such a good evening.” She looked up at him sheepishly. “I want things I shouldn’t, and if you kiss me like you did earlier, I might forget the ‘shouldn’t’ part.”
He squeezed her hands. “I won’t, though. Not because I don’t want the same things, but I won’t risk doing anything we’ll regret later.” His eyes glittered as he looked down at her. “If we ever make love, Jo, I don’t want you to have a single doubt, or a hint of regret.” His lips curved into a slow smile. “I just want you begging for more.”
Before she could respond to his teasing he lowered his head and gave her a short, hard, kiss. Then he stood up, his gaze warm as he looked at her.
“We’ll need to leave here at seven. I’ll order up some breakfast at 6:30.”
“Okay, I’ll be ready. Good night.”
“Sleep well,” he said softly.
“I will. Leave my door open, okay? I like knowing you’re close by.”
“I’ll leave mine open, too. Call out if you need anything during the night.”
He left and Jolene snuggled into the comfortable mattress. She didn’t know how long she’d be able to stay here with Boone, but she intended to enjoy it while she could. Each hour she spent with him felt like a gift, and getting to go to the arena with him tomorrow would be icing on the cake. She could hardly wait.
CHAPTER 32
“He skates so well for a big man,” Agent Holt said the next day as they watched the team practice.
“That’s his biggest strength,” Jolene agreed. “Well, that and his incredible hands. His stick is like an extension of him. He doesn’t have to resort to brute force, because he can finesse the puck into the zone.”
Just then Boone put a player into the boards with a well-timed check that cleared the way for a pass to the man in front of the net, for a nice score.
Holt chuckled. “But he has the brute force when he needs it. He’s definitely our best all-around player.”
The two of them were seated a third of the way up in the empty stands, giving them a perfect view of the ice. Boone had easily passed the cognitive tests and was going full out in this Saturday practice. The trash talking was going strong as his teammates ribbed him about being soft and out of shape, even though it was obviously not true. After Boone won yet another race for the puck and deked the defenseman for a goal, he pointed at Jax, who had been giving him the most grief.
“Who’s soft, Jax? Who’s off his game?” he called out, grinning.
His friend shook his head, spitting his mouth guard into his glove. “Better stop showing off, Boonzy, or you’re going to be sucking wind before Coach has time to see what you’ve got.”
“Don’t worry about me sucking wind, brother,” Boone said. He looked around at the other players as they congregated at center ice. “Do I look like I’m laboring out there, boys?”
“Better pick it up, Jax,” one of the wingers said. “He’s skating circles around you.”
Jax smiled good-naturedly. “He’s always skated circles around me. I’d be worried if he couldn’t now.”
The men quieted and turned as their coach and the rest of the players skated out to join them on the ice.
“Good practice, men. If we show that kind of grit tomorrow, we’ll get another notch in the win column. I’m going to need to make a few changes to our lines, though.” The man paused and looked around at his players, who were looking at him expectantly. “Looks like we’re gonna need to make room for Boonzy on the top line.”
Jolene got chills as the men erupted in cheers and took turns slapping Boone on the back. Hockey teams, especially the well-coached and managed ones, tended to be a close-knit group. A family. When one was out of commission, the whole group suffered, and when it was their captain who was struggling, the suffering was worse. Hearing he was coming back long before they’d expected was exactly the boost they needed.
Holt and Jolene exchanged proud smiles. “No question he’s their leader,” Holt said. “He’s one of the good guys, that’s for sure.”
“He is. I see the play-offs in our future.” Jolene watched as Boone bantered with his men, eventually leaving the ice as a group. Soon after, she got a text from him saying he’d meet her in the player’s tunnel outside the locker room in thirty minutes.
Jolene passed that info on to Holt and they made their way in that direction. They were about ten feet from the tunnel entrance when Holt put a hand on her arm and stopped her. He had a finger pressed to his earpiece and a scowl darkened his face.
“Roger that. Are you on Boone?” The agent listened, then nodded shortly. “Yeah. I’ll let you know where we go to ground.”
Holt looked at Jolene, his gaze intense. “An arena guard was just found knocked out and tied up in a bathroom stall. Police have been called. We need to find a place to hole up and wait it out.”
“Was that Agent Tobin? Is he with Boone?” Jolene asked urgently as they stopped at the tunnel entrance.
“Yeah. He’s fine. They’ll join us if possible.”
Holt stuck his head out into the tunnel for a split second before pulling it back. Nothing. He looked out again, slower this time, looking both ways. His gun was clutched in his right hand, his left was holding Jolene’s upper arm. Then he was still for a moment, listening again.
“Roger. Let the guard at the locker room know we’ll be coming around the corner ten seconds after the all clear.”
Holt looked at Jolene and frowned. “I forgot you’re injured. Can you run?”
She nodded. “Where are we going?”
He held a finger to his earpiece, waiting for word. “To a conference room just past the locker room door. Tobin and Boone are going first. As soon as they’re clear we’re going to go, and we won’t stop until we get there, okay? I’ll go in front until we turn the corner, then I want you in front and I’ll cover from behind. Tobin will be at the door we’re heading for.”
“Okay. Just make sure Boone is safe. He’s the one they’re after. I doubt they even know I came to St. Paul.”
“The best way to keep him safe is to have you with him. Otherwise he’s going to insist on going to find you.”
“Okay. I’ll be right behind you.”
They waited for several tense minutes, then Tobin told Holt to move. The agent checked the hallway one more time, then nodded to Jolene. “Here we go.”
She ignored the pain in her ribs and sprinted down the hall on his heels. When they came to a tee he slowed down and motioned her around him to the right. Jolene kept up her pace, not slowing until she reached Agent Tobin and he waved her through a doorway, his gun sweeping the hallway ahead of her while Holt covered the rear.
Boone was waiting in the middle of the room, and he held his arms out to her.
“Thank God,” he bre
athed, pulling her close.
“What’s going on?” Jolene asked, her cheek pressed against his shirt. He was still sweaty from practice, and barefoot, dressed in a tee shirt and sweats that he must have hastily pulled on before leaving the locker room.
“Tobin got a call from Tuck saying Ethan Golding purchased a plane ticket under an alias, and they’re pretty sure he’s already in St. Paul. A few seconds after Tobin hung up from that call, the head of security here at the arena called him and said they found a guard tied up in the bathroom. He’d been knocked out and still hasn’t regained consciousness. It’s a good bet Golding is responsible.”
“You think he’s here himself?” Jolene asked.
“I don’t know. We know he’s in St. Paul, but he could have hired people. The arena is on lock-down until the police can get it cleared. Let’s hope they catch whoever is here and finally put an end to this crap.”
The two FBI agents were speaking in hushed tones by the door, working out a strategy, and Tobin soon left to stand guard down the hall. Boone pulled a chair away from the conference table and pushed it to a front corner of the room, settling into it with Jolene in his lap.
“Let’s hope Tobin doesn’t run into anyone down here,” he said grimly. “I don’t want to see my guys put in danger.”
“Hey, Boone, is there an external exit in the locker room that we need to worry about?” Agent Holt asked.
“There is one, but the door is always locked, and there’s no way to open it from the outside.”
“Do the players have any idea what’s going on?”
“Just Jax. I told them I’d be in to explain as soon as the threat is lifted.”
Jolene slid off his lap and onto a chair next to his. She took his hands in hers. “We need to be patient and pray no more innocent people will get hurt, and that this will be the end of it.”
“Yeah.” He looked over at Holt, who had his back pressed against the windowless door, ready to push through at a moment’s notice. “I’d rather be out there trying to find whoever is looking for me.”
Holt looked back at them. “Tucker Simon would have my hide if I let you do that,” he said with a wry smile.
