Blocker (Seattle Sharks Book 5)

by Samantha Whiskey

  “I can’t do that to him,” I said. “We’re in lo—”

  “It’s been six months,” he cut me off. “Honey,” he said more gently. “Be honest with yourself. Is the thing between you worth his future? Yours? Because if you don’t break it off...it will cost him the contract.”

  I wetted my lips.

  Nodding over and over again like he’d broken me.

  Eric was worth everything.

  Absolutely everything.

  Even the pain that would destroy me.

  “I’ll do it,” I said, tears rolling down my cheeks. “Please, just don’t fire him. He deserves better.”

  “I’m sorry, Pepper,” he said, reaching out to gently clutch my shoulder. “I’m so damn sorry. But this will pass and…we’ll find common ground again. Right?” His eyes darted between mine and Ivy’s, hope blistering the gaze.

  “Sure,” I said.

  “Pepper,” Ivy’s voice broke on my name as she lunged for me. “Don’t hate me,” she whispered into my ear as she hugged me.

  I let out a deep breath and hugged her back.

  “Never,” I said, and it was the truth.

  I knew she was reeling from Crosby, from all of it. Knew she was trying to protect me before I got in so deep I couldn’t find the surface again, but damn it…she was too late.

  They both were.

  I let her go and spun on my heels, shutting Dad’s office door behind me. I’d just cleared the locker room when I ran into something hard and tall and smelling so damn good I wanted to burst into tears right then.

  The image I’d seen earlier—of Eric’s family, their land, their farm—it pushed ice into my veins.

  Because that’s what I had to be now.

  Ice-cold.

  “There you are,” Eric said, his hands on my shoulders. “You didn’t wake me,” he said, glancing over my shoulder toward the locker room door. “I told you we needed to do this together.”

  I shook my head. “There is nothing to tell.”

  “You did it alone? Pepper,” he chided me, moving like he was going to go explain to Dad, but I put my hand on his chest to stop him. “No,” I said, drawing his gaze, my chest aching. “You don’t get it,” I said.

  “What’s wrong?” He asked, grazing his knuckles along my cheek.

  I licked my lips, tasting the salt from my tears, and clamped my mouth shut. My jaw ached before I could speak again.

  “Whatever it is we can get through it,” he said, his eyes wide, panicked.

  “No,” I said, hating how clear my voice was. Hating that my heart was breaking right in front of him. “I had a revelation on the way over here,” I continued, knowing if I didn’t do this now, I never would, and then he’d lose everything. “I know we thought we were ready to tell him…but I realized…” I swallowed the tight knot clogging my throat.

  “Realized what?” He whispered.

  “That this…” I motioned between us. “It’s too much.”

  “What?” he tilted his head.

  “Too intense. Too fast,” I said, lying through my teeth. “It’s only been six months,” I continued, using Dad’s words against him. “And it isn’t…” I gulped back the tears. “Worth it.”

  He fell a step back like I’d hit him with a sledgehammer.

  It felt like one had knocked a hole through my chest.

  Silence, thick and heavy and painful, settled between us.

  “You,” he said. “You don’t want this?”

  I bit my lip, hard enough to draw blood, and shook my head. “No. I don’t. Not anymore.”

  “I don’t believe you—”

  “It was fun, Eric,” I said, and he flinched. “But we’re kidding ourselves if we think this is for the long haul.”

  He narrowed his gaze. Anger replacing confusion.

  “You’re about to be one of the biggest Shark stars,” I continued. “And I’ll be in the box, watching you succeed, watching you get showered with awards and bonuses and…bunnies.”

  “You know that isn’t me,” he snapped. “You know better.”

  God, Eric. Don’t see through me. Believe me. For your sake.

  Acid seared my heart, my vision clouding.

  “You’re right,” I said. “I do know better. I’ve lived it.”

  His massive body shook with adrenaline. “Don’t you dare compare me to Mason,” he snapped, and I recoiled. He’d never used that tone with me before.

  But I deserved it.

  It and so much more.

  But for him, for his family, I would take this hit. Would take this pain. Because Eric Gentry was one of the good ones.

  And he was worth everything.

  “At least I wouldn’t have to hide him from my father,” I snapped right back, my heart splitting down the center with my cold words. With the look of betrayal that cracked in Eric’s eyes. “And how can I not compare you two?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest. Retreating from his intoxicating presence. “You’re in the same position. About to explode onto the world. And that’s great, Eric. It really is.”

  “So, you’re punishing me for being good?”

  “No,” I said. “I’m letting you off the hook. Letting us both off the hook. My job is at stake, too.” I shrugged like I wasn’t destroying myself. Wasn’t shredding my soul. “It was fun,” I said again. “But now it’s time to grow up and be serious.”

  Something broke behind his eyes, and I knew in that moment he believed me. Believed I didn’t care as deeply for him as he did me.

  “Be serious,” he repeated, his voice so cold.

  He glared at me, shook his head, and turned his back on me.

  I stood there, shaking, holding back a sob, as I watched him walk farther and farther away. The whole while my heart begged me to stop him.

  To tell him the truth.

  Tell him I would’ve done anything to protect him.

  Even ruin us.

  I swear I could feel my heart shatter into a thousand pieces.

  And before I could even think about grabbing the tiny slivers to try and put together again one day…they set ablaze and turned to ash.

  Chapter 20

  Eric

  Mason–fucking–Hall.

  The picture was crystal clear, Mason helping Pepper down the steps at a black-tie gala two nights ago. It was noted that he was her escort.

  How the fuck could she do this to me? It’d only been three fucking days since she ripped my heart out.

  I crumpled the tabloid on Connor’s coffee table into a ball. The press had been all too happy to report on the return of their favorite hockey couple, and now that Mason had been offered a contract for next year to replace the retiring players cut through me like a knife.

  I couldn’t fucking breathe. Couldn’t think. I swore my heart stopped beating. If a broken heart was the price for loving, then fuck that shit.

  “No, I can’t right now. You know I have a game today.” I heard Connor snap.

  “I don’t have any other choice!” A woman shouted. It had to be Connor’s sister, Jessica.

  I looked back over my shoulder toward his entry hall and was greeted by a flurry of footsteps as Hannah rushed in, confirming my assumption. Her green eyes sparkled like the glitter on her unicorn shirt as she climbed onto the couch next to me.

  “Hi, Uncle Eric!” She said, bouncing on the couch cushions with all five years of her weight. “My mama says I’m going to the game with you today!”

  Another round of shouting began at the door, and I quickly tried to distract Hannah.

  “Is that so?” I asked the urchin. “Does that mean you’re going to help me out in the goal?”

  She giggled, the sound bright and open. “Uncle Eric, you know I’m too little!”

  “Fine then. Leave me alone to face the giant hockey players all by myself.”

  I heard the sound of the door shutting, and Connor appeared, running his hands over his hair.

  “Hannah Banana, why don’t you r
un to the kitchen? I bought some of those yogurts you like.” He gifted his niece with a smile.

  “Thanks, Uncle Connor!” she jumped off the couch and raced toward the kitchen.

  “What the fuck am I gonna do?” Connor asked, tension radiating off him. “She doesn’t give a shit about Hannah, just wants to chase after the next asshole that’s going to promise her a high. And I can’t stop her. I can’t do shit but clean up after her mess and try to keep Hannah safe. Any other time, I could take her, but we have a game.” He checked his phone. “A game that we’re going to be late for we don’t leave in the next three minutes.”

  “We’ll figure it out at the rink,” I promised him as I stood. “Maybe Bailey or Paige will be there. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of her. Worst comes to worst, I’ll slap a helmet on her and stick her in the goal behind me. You know nothing’s getting through.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’ll trust you with my team, my scoreboard, and my life, but not Hannah.”

  The subject of our conversation popped her head in. “Sour apple is my favorite!”

  “I know, that’s why I got them.” Connor scooped her up, grimacing at the hole in her jeans and her knotted hair before forcing a smile. “What do you say we go see a hockey game?”

  “Yes!” She threw her arms up, sending yogurt splashing down on Connor’s hair.

  He shook it out like it was nothing and laughed.

  It never failed to shock me how different he was with her. How the skirt-chasing asshole on the ice only melted for one female on the planet, and she was five.

  Hell, the girl who melted me didn’t want a fucking thing to do with me, and had moved on so fast I should have called our break-up a pit stop, so in that regard, Connor definitely had more going for him.

  I rode with them, seeing as he had a booster in his Rover and I didn’t have one in the truck. Once we got to the rink, we each took one of her little hands, keeping her between us to block the paparazzi that had lined up at the player entrance to the rink.

  The guard gave us a smile and opened the door.

  “Thanks, Don,” I said as we slipped into the building.

  “Have a great game,” he answered, tipping his hat at Hannah.

  I muffled a curse as I saw a petite blonde leaned up against the wall outside the locker room. “What could she possibly want?” I growled. As if Pepper hadn’t shredded my soul, now Ivy needed a piece?

  “Whoever knows what Ivy wants?” Connor remarked, shaking his head.

  My head snapped toward him. “You can tell them apart?”

  He gave me a look that blatantly called me an idiot. “Ivy’s face is slightly narrower, her lips are a little fuller, and her eyes are a shade darker. Plus, she’s hotter.”

  “Bullshit,” I snapped in automatic defense of Pepper before I remembered that she wasn’t mine to defend anymore.

  “Language,” Hannah lectured with very serious eyes.

  “Sorry, Banana. I’ll work on it,” I promised, squeezing her hand.

  “Hey,” Ivy said, wringing her hands just like Pepper as she walked toward us.

  God, it made my fucking heart hurt. But maybe it was a good trial run for dealing with Pepper today, not like my head wasn’t screwed up enough before a game.

  “What’s up?” I asked her.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “Well, I’m not sure there’s really anything to say. She made a choice. I wasn’t it.”

  I didn’t miss the look Connor shot me.

  Neither did Ivy.

  “Maybe after the game?” She asked quietly.

  “I like your skirt,” Hannah said, eyes on Ivy’s short, black choice for the day. “And your boots.”

  Ivy’s eyes widened, and she dropped down to Hannah’s level. “I like your sparkles,” she said, pointing at her worn unicorn shirt.

  “Thank you,” Hannah answered. Sounding way more grown up for her five years. Then again, considering the shit the kid had seen, she was way too mature for her age.

  “She yours?” Ivy asked Connor.

  “I’m his niece,” Hannah answered.

  “Hey, Hannah,” Gage said as he walked by us, headed for the locker room. Shit, he looked tired today. That was a bad omen.

  “Gage, is Bailey here?” Connor asked

  “Nope.” He shook his head but smiled at Hannah. “Sorry, honey, Lettie is sick. She was up all night with a cough and fever. I know she would have loved to play with you.”

  Connor muttered a swear word.

  “Everything okay?” Gage asked.

  “Yeah, Jessica just got…” He cleared his throat. “She thought Hannah might like to see a game.”

  Understanding dawned on Gage’s face. “Okay. Let’s see if Paige or Nine is here. I’m sure she can hang with them.”

  “I’ll take her,” Ivy offered.

  “I’m sorry?” Connor asked, taken aback.

  “What?” Ivy asked, narrowing her eyes up at him. “Am I not good enough to hang out with Hannah? It is Hannah, right?” Ivy asked her.

  She nodded. “Can you braid?” Hannah pointed to Ivy’s long blonde hair which was done in some kind of intricate design.

  “Yep! Want me to braid yours?”

  “Yes! Please, Uncle Connor! I’ll be so good, I promise.”

  Connor’s eyes locked with Ivy’s, a war waging in his eyes. There was nothing more precious to him than Hannah. And there was no one he thought less of than Ivy after she’d let Pepper take the temporary fall for the Crosby pictures.

  “I’ll keep her in the family box. After we take a pit stop to the merch storage because you definitely need a jersey if you’re going to cheer on the Sharks!”

  “She’ll be okay,” I said to Connor, keeping my voice low.

  “Please?” Hannah begged.

  He melted.

  “Okay. Just...be good, and careful, and stay right next to Ivy. And if you get lost, you just tell them that your name is Hannah Bridgerton and show them this.” He slipped his security badge over his head and put it around her neck. “Ivy, she is…” He stroked a hand over Hannah’s hair.

  “I’ll take care of her. Promise,” Ivy told him softly, losing her usual cool confidence. She put out her hand, and Hannah took it without hesitation, which was something I’d never seen. It had taken me a year to earn her trust. “Now, what do you say let’s get you a jersey. Who’s your favorite?”

  The two walked down the hallway as Hannah said, “Uncle Eric!”

  “Screw that! Ivy, don’t you dare! It’s Bridgerton or...well, that’s it!” Connor called after her.

  Ivy threw a smile over her shoulder and wiggled her fingers in goodbye, disappearing into the belly of the rink with Hannah.

  I laughed as we headed toward the locker room, and it struck me that I hadn’t laughed since Pepper had broken up with me.

  A flash of blonde and pink caught my eye, and I stopped dead in my tracks as Pepper appeared at the end of the hallway.

  Our eyes locked, then hers fell away as Mason came up behind her, slinging an arm around her shoulder and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

  “You going to tell me what’s going on there?” Connor asked as we turned into the locker room.

  “We had something. Now we don’t. Simple as that.” I slung my bag to the floor and started to strip.

  “That didn’t look simple,” he said carefully.

  I looked around us, making sure no one could hear. “I loved her. We had to keep it secret. She chose her job...and apparently Mason.”

  His eyes didn’t widen as much as I’d expected after dropping a secret like that.

  “Yeah, I figured it was something like that.”

  “You did?”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? Have you seen you lately? You were all puppy-eyed at Pepper, or both of you looked like you were going to strip each other and fuck on the ice. Then you stopped sleeping if those circles under your eyes are any indication, and well...you’re kind of an a
sshole again.” I might be oblivious sometimes, but I’m your best friend. Feel better now that you’ve told me?

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “Good. Now get that shit out of your head. We have a game.”

  We lost.

  The buzzer sounded, and I leaned back against the top rail, listening to the crowd’s displeasure. Yeah, guys, I feel the same way.

  I’d played like shit, and the reason was sitting directly on the blue line with Mason-fucking-Hall. Guess she was letting someone else keep the numbers so she could run them later, but she’d never fucking skipped out on keeping stats herself so she could watch me play.

  Ever.

  And now I sounded like a jealous little bitch. Awesome.

  Fuck, I’d never let a woman in my head to that level, let alone lost a game because my dick overrode my brain...or maybe it was my heart. Not that it mattered. What was the point of having a heart if it just iced you out and left you numb?

  It was time to take my heartbroken ass home to my apartment. At least then the only sounds of disappointment would be my own.

  “Contract is signed,” I told my agent. I was now the fifth highest-paid goalie in the NHL, and a Shark for five more years. I’d briefly debated taking the New York offer, even with fewer dollar signs, just to get away from Pepper, but she’d chosen what was best for her career, why shouldn’t I do the same?

  “Good. I got the other papers you signed, too. You sure about this?” Greg asked. “It’s a shit ton of money.”

  It was two million dollars to be precise. My entire signing bonus, which meant I’d be living on my monthly paychecks in this apartment instead of the house I’d had my eye on. But I could build a house on my family land in Montana as my endgame, so I was more than cool with it.

  “Yep, I’m sure. Just make sure he doesn’t think I’m the lender, only the co-signer.”

  “Yeah, I know the drill by now. Consider it done.”

  “Thanks, Greg.”

  “She’s not with Mason!” Connor shouted as he burst through my front door.

  “Greg, I’ll call you back, someone just dropped in.”

  “No problem. Later, Gentry.”

  I hung up, and took another swig from the bottle of whiskey I was a quarter of the way through. “Good to see you, too. How was your day, dear?”