Hooking - Kristine Allen Page 0,81

barely cognizant of the click of my door as I drifted off to sleep again.

“Ashes of Eden”—Breaking Benjamin

When I left her office on Monday, I was starting to pull myself out of the funk I’d been in since Isaac’s father and his attorney came to pick him up. It didn’t seem possible that in a week, I’d become attached to that tiny human.

Considering I’d never wanted to be a father, the idea had started to grow on me as much as that little guy had. I’d venture a guess that I actually cared about him. More than a little.

“Alex.” I heard my name called from down the hall and paused. I knew exactly who it was.

My eyes closed, and I whispered, “Fuck.”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Simon demanded quietly so as not to be overheard.

“Walking down the hall?” I opened my eyes and met his angry gaze.

“Don’t get fucking smart. I warned you to stay the hell away from her.”

“Yeah, but it turns out it wasn’t my kid. Surely you’ve heard.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

“I don’t give two shits. You’re still the same guy. You don’t have your shit together, and gossip and scandal will forever follow you because you can’t seem to grow up,” he ground out.

“How the hell would you know? I own my own home, have a car, a motorcycle, and a motherfucking cat. I’m not in debt, my credit is good. What more do you want from me?” I held my arms out as I tipped my head at him.

“I want you to stay away from my niece. All she wanted was to get a job that she enjoyed. She has that. By dating you, she’s jeopardizing that. If she loses this job, she’ll be pressured to work for her father, my brother. He loves her but he doesn’t always know what’s best for her. She’ll be miserable. Is that what you want for her? You may not care because your life is so goddamn perfect, but I worry about her happiness. So this is the last time I’ll tell you. Stay the hell away from her, or you’re done. You’ll never play hockey again. I. Will. Ruin. You.” He glared at me, and I shook my head with a disgusted huff.

“Maybe you should let her decide what makes her happy instead of assuming. Because it sounds to me like you’re not much different than her father.”

Pissed and afraid I’d say something that would provoke him to follow through on his threat, I walked off. Deciding it would be best if I didn’t stick around, I left the building. The entire way home, I fumed.

When I got there, I was boiling.

Deciding to work off some of my frustration, I went straight to my gym and worked out until I was dripping sweat and could barely move. Chest heaving, I stared at myself in the mirror.

Then I went to Isaac’s room and started throwing everything in the boxes they’d brought it in. I disassembled the furniture and dragged it out to the garage. Not satisfied that I could still see it, I threw a tarp over it.

Still the anger surged within me.

If I couldn’t figure out a way to get Simon off my back, I was going to lose Sydney. In a week’s time, it seemed like I was going to lose everything that meant a damn to me. The only thing I had left was hockey, and it seemed a cold fucking bedfellow.

“Arrrrggghhhh!” I yelled as I buried my fist in the sheetrock over the tarp-covered pile. Then I did it again. My fists dripped blood on the concrete floor.

Maybe Simon was right, and Sydney didn’t need my shit.

“What the fuck did that wall ever do to you?” I spun to see my brother standing in the doorway with his arms crossed.

“I don’t wanna fucking talk about it,” I muttered as I shoved past him to go in the kitchen. The water ran red, then pink as I cleaned my hands.

Biding his time, he silently watched me as I ignored him.

“You need something?” I asked without meeting his eyes.

“You might wanna ice that shit if you plan on playing tomorrow night,” he said as he helped himself to a beer from my fridge.

“Yeah.” I did as he said. “You tell the ol’ ladies I said thanks for the use of the stuff. I don’t have a truck or I’d bring it back.”

“I can get it picked up.”

“Good. Can