Shutout (The Renegades Series Book 5) (24 page)

“Okay, um, I will talk to you soon.”

Once he left, she sat and stared at the door in silence. She had to keep looking at the check to make sure it had all really happened. Forty thousand dollars.

“Hey Hailee, meeting over already?” Alison’s voice interrupted her mental freak-out. Alison frowned and tilted her head to look at her. “Did it go okay?”

“Did it go okay? Ali, you have no idea.”

Alison sat down across the table with her coffee. “So? Fill me in. Did he buy more than one? I see you have a check in your hands. Who is the buyer? Is it someone famous?”

Looking at the check, Hailee shook her head. The buyer was still a mystery. All the header said was DVZ Inc.
Whatever that is
. She shrugged. “Still no idea who he is. But he likes hockey.”

“So it went well?”

“Did it go well?” Hailee repeated the question and paused for dramatic effect. She slowly turned the check to show Alison. “Looks like I’m finally getting my gallery.”

Dominic

It was May and Dom was happy to still be playing hockey. The Renegades easily made it to the third round. They beat Washington in round two in five games. Dom played the first pair of games and Kaden finished the series off. Somehow this switching back and forth was working. He hadn’t been convinced that it would. Dom liked to play every game when he was on a roll, not sit on the bench and watch. Staying calm and letting Coach Walker take the lead was a learning curve for him, but finally it was sinking in. The nights off helped him recover and be fresh for his next game.

The third round didn’t start off to plan. Kaden was in net and was on his way to a shutout when Boston’s defense took a run at him. Without even an attempt to stop himself, the Boston player skated with force into Kaden, pushing him backwards off his skates and into the net. Kaden, unable to catch himself, smashed his head against the goal post as he went down, but he got up and waved off any help.

The next rush at their net didn’t help matters. Boston’s Rancy took a slap shot that deflected right off Kaden’s mask, knocked it up into the air and landed him on his back on the ice. He didn’t hit his head off the ice, but he appeared not to have his bearings once he stood back up.

Kaden was directed off the ice by the trainers with minimal help, but his bell got rung. Which meant Dom was going in cold. Kaden didn’t return, and luckily Dom held the shutout. He figured he would play the first two games and see where they stood; maybe Kaden could come back in. But bad news followed — Kaden was out with concussion symptoms. Indefinitely.

By the time game three came, the series was tied at one game apiece, and no new update on Kaden. The front office wasn’t releasing any information to the media on how he was doing. He wasn’t practicing with the team right away, and it was starting to affect the attitude in the locker room. Dom worried he wouldn’t be able to carry these games all by himself.

Boston wasn’t letting up, and with Kaden out, Dom continued to play in net. Night after night he left the ice dehydrated; one night he even needed an IV. But he pushed on. He had no other choice.

The team had called up Robbie Higgins from their farm league as backup goaltender, but being that this was Higgins’ first time on the PHL bench, they would play Dom as long as they needed to.

They could close out the series tonight in game six if they won. If Boston won, they’d push the series to seven with it tied at three games apiece. But Dom didn’t want that to happen.

Tonight he’d already been slashed in the neck with a stick and over-extended the muscle in his shoulder while leaping across the net to stop a shot. He was going to make sure they left this ice tonight the winners, at any cost.

The third period started slow. Tyler and Kris did all they could to keep possession of the puck and out of their own zone. Then Kyler had a turnover and lost the puck to Rancy. Dom eyed Rancy up while he rushed down the ice on a breakaway. The rest of the Boston guys were far behind. Dom slid side to side, preparing for whatever kind of shot Rancy was going to make. The closer Rancy got to the net, the deafening roar of the Boston crowd was silenced in Dom’s ears, until all he could hear was his own heartbeat.

Rancy deked to his left, then switched to his right. All Dom could think to do was flatten his pads against the ice, his legs stretching post to post, and hope Rancy didn’t pop it up. Dom was tall enough that he filled the width of the crease. As his left skate closed off the gap between him and the post, the puck slid in that direction and was stopped under his leg pad.

The roar, well, now booing of the crowd, returned to his ears. He had stopped the shot. The Renegades still led the game 2–1. The crowd was not happy at the missed goal, and tossed a variety of items onto the ice, voicing their displeasure and stopping play before the teams could face off.

Dom skated back and forth, trying to stay loose as the refs and ice crew cleaned up the mess of cups, programs, and whatever else was tossed. The fans were warned. Another incident of things being thrown onto the ice would give Boston a delay of game penalty.

There were only two minutes left in the third period. Even with the displeased roar of the crowd, all the Renegades had to do was hang on.

Dom’s hip and shoulder ached, his neck throbbed where he was chopped with the stick, and he was tired. But he was determined to do this for the team. Winning tonight meant one extra day of rest before the final series started. Not knowing if Kaden would play at all in the finals, he’d take any extra rest he could get.

He looked up at the scoreboard; just two minutes remained. He took a deep breath and nodded to Tyler. “Let’s do this, boys!” he yelled as he got into position. When the puck dropped, Kris shot it to Boston’s end in Tyler’s direction. Tyler had a clear breakaway, and flipping the puck over the goalie’s shoulder, he buried it into the back of the net.

The buzzer sounded and the Renegades had won; they would move on to the final series, winner gets the Cup.

The Renegades filed out onto the ice, cheering and yelling, making a beeline for Dom. They all head-butted him or tapped him on his helmet, telling him “Good game.” It was a big win for them, but no one wanted to celebrate too hard and jinx it; they still had four more games to win.

Tyler and Kris waited outside the bench as the rest of the team went to the locker room. Dom brought up the rear of the line, but stopped at Kris and pulled off his glove to do their usual goofy handshake. It was tradition after a win. “Zanetti, great game!”

After a head-butt with Kris, they both skated to Tyler. He held his hand out for a fist bump and tapped his stick against Dom’s leg pads. “That post to post save, Zanetti…”

“I didn’t want it to go fucking five-hole. Not again.”

“Well, you stopped it, but damn that looked like it hurt.” Tyler winced.

The locker room cheered as Dom entered. “You’d think I was a superstar or something. Damn.”

Matt started a “Meatball” chant, just as Kaden entered the room in his game day suit. He gave Dom a few punches in the arm and chanted along with the other guys. “Good game out there, dude.”

* * *

As the plane was landing in Pittsburgh, Dom wasn’t tired yet. He should be exhausted and asleep on his feet, but he was far from that. “So, I’m thinking of going to get a drink before going home. Maybe just down the road at Shamrock. Kaden, do you wanna join me?” Shamrock was the local bar just down the road from their place.

“I’m going to have to pass, Dom. Sorry about that. Docs don’t want me drinking alcohol yet. Plus, I’m meeting up with Ali for a bit.”

“Ali, huh? Don’t hurt that one. She isn’t like your normal bunny.”

“I know; no worries.” Kaden rolled his luggage towards his car. “Don’t wait up. And be good, okay?”

“Yeah, I will. I just need to unwind. You are being cleared to play the next round. Right?”

“That’s what they tell me. Between you and me, I fucking hope so. Well, I’m out, man. See you later.”

Dom tossed his bag into his truck and drove in silence back toward his apartment, turning in to the Shamrock parking lot instead. It wasn’t too busy, which suited him fine. He sat down on the empty side of the bar and ordered a beer. The last series took a lot out of him.
This final series will be better with Kaden
. He’d been wrong about wanting to play every game and stay on a roll. He let out a breath and took a long sip of the cold beer. “Bartender, excuse me. I’m going to need another one as soon as I’m done with this one, thanks.” Two beers then he was out of here, since he had his truck. The benefit of this place was they could walk when they wanted to have a night out drinking.

“Wow. You’re Dominic Zanetti!” A women’s voice startled him and annoyed him at the same time. She looked to be in her early twenties, long bleach blond hair, big blue eyes, and a one-piece dress that hugged every curve.

He couldn’t help but look her over; she was standing right in front of him, her hand on her hip, her curves for the world to see.
Damn
.

“I was just watching you on television. You were
amazing
tonight.” She sat down next to him, and ran her fingers along his arm, then pushed his hair out of his eyes. “I thought maybe you could be amazing with me, what do you say?” Her fingers trailed down his arm then down to his thigh.

She pulled out her phone and held it above her head, looked at him and said, “Say cheese!” He noticed at the last moment she tilted the phone to get her hand on his leg in the photo, and snapped a selfie.
Great, more pics of me and bunnies for social media. That’s what I need right now.

His body responded as any red-blooded man would, he got a nice chubby as her fingers moved along his leg towards his crotch.
It would be so easy to take her back to the apartment, rock her world then send her on her way
. Something told him she wasn’t one to hang around, which would make it that much easier.

His phone buzzed. “Excuse me.” Looking at his phone, he saw he had a text from Hailee. It simply said:
Nice Game. Good luck in the Finals
.

She’d watched. Obviously he was on her mind, just as she was on his. The blonde sitting next to him was no interest to him. Hailee was on his mind and she wasn’t going anywhere. She was the only one he’d been thinking about. He grabbed the second beer and downed it. He’d had enough temptation tonight, because he was horny as hell now, but the only woman he wanted was Hailee. He turned to the girl sitting next to him. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

Hailee

Today was the day. Hailee was headed down to meet the realtor at the space for her new gallery, where she was signing the lease agreement. Since the office space was right by Alison’s dog spa, she was coming over after, and they were going to have pizza and champagne in her new gallery. Tomorrow Hailee planned to go down to the club and quit. Things were all falling into place. Almost.

Against her better judgement, Hailee had texted Dom last night. He played so awesome, and even though he got hurt a few times, he won the game for his team. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t turn the game off. She missed seeing him in net, in full gear, working his magic. Maybe he appreciated her text, maybe he didn’t. She could only hope it made the win a little sweeter for him. She hoped it would help slowly get her back into his good graces.

Her phone rang as she turned onto the street where her new gallery sat. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hi sweetie. Is today the big day?”

“Sure is, but you knew that.” She smiled so brightly that she was sure her mom could hear it through the phone. Hailee sat in her car and waited. “How is everyone doing?”

“They’re all just fine. How are you doing, dear?”

“Excited. Even though I’ve been waiting for this forever, I can’t believe this is happening so quickly.”

“I told you things would all work out.”

“Well, almost all. Oh, Mom, the realtor is here, I have to go.”

“Okay, good luck, and I love you, honey.”

Hailee met the realtor at the door. Once he unlocked the door, he handed her the key. “You’ll be needing this. And here’s the one for upstairs.”

Once inside, the whole process didn’t take very long. The realtor unfolded the paperwork and handed her a pen. Once he had her signature, the place was hers.

After he left, she stood in the empty storefront and glanced around. She imagined where each of her paintings would be on the walls, illuminated by lights, with nameplates and price tags. Maybe one wall would be good to display new up and coming artists’ work, and she’d have to get a few pieces of furniture for the lobby area. She walked down the empty hallway that led to a bathroom and an office. There was even a small breakroom with a kitchenette.

She would need a desk for her office, and a coffee maker for the break room.
I should really start a list
.

“Hailee? Ding-dong, it’s Alison.”

Hailee hurried to the front of the empty space. “Hey Alison! It’s all mine!”

“Yay! Well, I brought over a blanket for us to sit on, and the pizza and champagne to celebrate!”

Hailee laid the blanket on the carpeted floor, and took the champagne from her. “Wait, we don’t have any glasses.”

Alison put the pizza box on the blanket and set her bag down on the floor. “I don’t have fancy stem glasses, but I did bring pink Solo cups.” Alison beamed as she pulled them out of her tote bag. She popped the cork from the bottle, and poured the foaming liquid into cups. “Congratulations, Hailee. Here’s to the next chapter of your life.”

“Thanks.” Hailee took her cup and raised it to meet Ali’s in a toast. “Now we’re neighbors, which is even cooler. I’ve got some other news.”

“You’re pregnant?” Alison teased and took a slice of pizza.

“No! Shut up!”
Don’t even tease about that
. “I’m serious. Tomorrow I’m quitting The Cat House.”

“Finally! Yay!” Alison waved her hands in the air.

“With my big art sale, I was able to advertise my webpage where it would get the most traffic. I already have some other interest in my paintings. The loft above my gallery is available, and I talked to the landlord about it.” She waited and grabbed a piece of pizza as Alison put together what she had said, and a huge smile grew on Alison’s face.

“Does this mean you’re going to move out of that dingy neighborhood and right by me?”

“I am.”

Alison tossed her slice of pizza back in the box and hugged Hailee. “This is just what you need, Hailee. See, this really is the next chapter of your life. I have a feeling everything is going to work out just great.” She pulled back and studied Hailee’s face. “How have you been doing with the whole Dominic thing?”

“I don’t know. How should I be doing? He’s moving on.” She had been flying high until now, but her heart sank at the mention of Dominic.

“You think?” Alison took a quick sip of her drink.

“Well yeah. I’ve been looking, I mean, I’ve seen the photos online. Who could blame him? The one I saw, she was beautiful.” She picked at the cheese on her pizza slice.

“And you know for a fact he was with her?”

“I guess. Why?” She didn’t want to talk about this. “You know what, can we not talk about him?” Hailee looked around the room.

“I’m just saying, things aren’t always what they seem.”

“Whatever that means…”

* * *

Hailee paced her loft in a pair of yoga pants and Dominic’s t-shirt. It was early and she was trying to wake up, drinking her morning coffee. She was still foggy after last night when she and Alison had finished off that bottle of champagne.

Things were changing so quickly for her and the sooner she started embracing the change the better. Boxes sat in the corner that used to be her mini gallery. The walls were practically bare now, as most of those paintings were now boxed up and ready to ship, and Mr. McKnight was sending a truck this morning to pick them up.

Only a handful still remained. The one of her and Dominic riding on his motorcycle she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to bring herself to sell.

Other boxes were scattered around her apartment. If she could get moved into her new place, she could spend more time getting the gallery ready and painting, instead of running back and forth. Plus, after this afternoon, nothing would be tying her to this neighborhood.

She finished her coffee and checked her phone before packing more of her things while she waited. Now that she had the keys to her new place, she couldn’t wait to get out of here.

The first thing that caught her eye was the hockey scores. The Renegades played last night. They beat Boston, which meant they were on their way to the finals.

* * *

As she walked into the club, her stomach hurt. This is what she’d worked so hard towards. This job had only been a means to her dream. It was not a career. Being able to walk into this building in comfortable street clothes and know there was no skimpy lingerie outfit waiting for her inside was the best feeling ever. No more lap dances, no more private dances, and no more grabby customers.
This is finally over
. And she hoped she would never need this place again.

“Hailee!” Sasha called from the bar. “You’re not on the schedule tonight. What are you doing here? You here for lunch?”

“Hey Sash.” She sat down at the bar. “Nope, not working tonight. I actually came in to talk to Leo.”

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Sasha smiled sadly.

“Well…” She couldn’t bring herself to say the words. The friends she’d made here were the kind of girls who always had your back. They were the only bright spot in coming in here night after night.

“Hon, don’t look sad about it. Leaving this shit hole is a good thing.”

“Where’d you hear?”

“Oh, girls talk, you know how it is. I’m happy for you, and don’t worry, we’ll stay in touch. Here, give me your phone.”

“I’m going to miss you.” Hailee handed Sasha her phone so she could add herself to the contacts.

“Here you go. Leo is back in the office whenever you’re ready.” Sasha looked to the end of the bar where two men just took a seat. “I’ve got customers to wait on, so I’ll talk to you later. Love you, girl.”

Taking a deep breath, Hailee looked around the club. It just opened a little while ago, and the lunch crowd had started to come in. Girls danced on stage and around the tables. Some were newer; she didn’t know their names. It was probably best this way, the fewer friends she had to run into the better. Making her way back to the office, she held her head high. It was time to close the door on this part of her life.

She took a deep breath before she knocked on Leo’s office door.

“Come in,” he called.

“Leo, hi.” Her voice cracked a little, and she tripped on the carpet as she walked into his office. Catching herself before she could fall, she looked up to see Leo busy on the computer, not even seeing her non-graceful entrance.

He looked up at her, surprised. “Hailee? What are you doing here today?”

“Leo, I need to talk to you.” She didn’t think this would be easy, but she didn’t think it would be this hard either.

“Well, have a seat. This doesn’t sound too good. What’s up?”

“Funny, because I totally thought this would be easier.” She chuckled nervously. “There’s no good way to say this. Leo, I’m quitting.”

Leo looked at her for a few moments, then he smiled. He had tired dark eyes and slicked back hair. He was exactly what you’d think the manager of a strip club would look like. Yet he was the nicest guy you’d ever meet. “Hailee, just remember, if you ever need anything, we’re here for you. If you need to come back for any reason, don’t hesitate. The door is always open.” He sat back and smiled at the look that must’ve been on her face. “You’re surprised?”

“Kind of.”

“I always knew you weren’t a ‘lifer’; some girls aren’t meant for this business.” He put his hand out to her. “Good luck, Hailee.”

Walking out of the club, Hailee smiled. This was finally her new beginning. The sun was warm on her face, and the breeze was cool. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was Mia.

“Hey girl, what’s up?” she answered.

“Hailee, you sound happy.”

“I am. Things all seem to be working out. I just quit my job since that large painting sale, and with the pending order, I’ll have steady income for the year.”

“Yeah, about that order. Did you find out who the buyer was?”

“No. The name on the check was just some company. Why?”

“Because there was a story on the news about some of the group homes up here getting a hockey program. Each home was given a few grants, and a fully funded hockey program. It’s run by someone in the Professional Hockey League.”

“Well that’s great, but—”

“They also got a collection of hockey themed paintings. I’m sure some of them were yours.”

A hockey player, wow. That’s really awesome
.
Except…
“Mia, did they happen to say who it is? I’d like to thank the person who aided in making my dreams come true.” Whoever bought those paintings single-handedly helped her fund her dream gallery, her career. So why was she getting a strange, uncomfortable feeling about this?

“No. They never said who. I figured it was just a promo to make the PHL look good. But I wanted you to know since it sounded like your paintings.”