Delayed Call Read online

  Glancing to Vaughn, she found him looking back with a friendly smile. “Yeah, but it’s passing time.”

  It was. She was passing time with Vaughn Johansson. Talking about her life with him. Was she sick? Did he get her drunk? She didn’t feel drunk. What the hell was in this cup? Looking down at it, she figured what the hell and kept talking. “Anyway, I had a best friend who said she would come sit with Rod while I worked. Like I do now, I traveled with the Kings. I was on a trip when I got a call that he was in the hospital. Apparently, she had left him alone and went out with her boyfriend. When she came home, she found him on the ground, breathing very slowly. He had his first heart attack, and she wasn’t there the way she was supposed to be, or how I was paying her to be.”

  Vaughn looked stricken. “Whoa. That’s not cool.”

  “Yeah, so now you understand why I am crazy about who cares for him. She wasn’t the only one who fucked me over. I had her, a hired nurse, and then a home, all in Orange County, and they all somehow fucked me.”

  “Well, that fucking blows.”

  She scoffed. “More than you know. The nurse was horrible to him. He told me this, and I set up a camera, only to find her beating him in the back. It broke my heart. Then the home I had him in just locked him in a room because he had an outburst. He was hurting because of my mom, for obvious reasons, and they didn’t want to deal with him.”

  “What the fuck?”

  “Right? I would go on trips and have such bad anxiety attacks. Rodney would have to call me every hour. What sucked was he would get attached to these people, and they would let him down. In return, I’d feel like I was letting him down. So I started doing my research on who in the NHL was hiring and the best places for adults with Down syndrome. Nashville was on the list, and then the job with the Assassins came up. When we played y’all two years ago, I set up an interview with Elli Adler, and she hired me on the spot. She helped me find a place for Rodney, and when my contract with the Kings came up for renewal, I told them I couldn’t re-sign. They were bummed but understood. And two days later, Elli had a moving truck in front of my house and sent her plane to bring us here. She even hired a nurse to watch over Rodney as we flew because he’d had another heart attack a few weeks before.” A small smile covered her lips as she met his gaze. “She was my saving grace.”

  “That’s Elli. She’d give you the heels off her feet if need be.”

  Brie laughed as she nodded. “Yup. Good people.”

  “They are. But holy shit, that’s some story.”

  “Yeah, it hasn’t been easy… But things are looking up. Rodney loves NateWay, and I do too. I’m glad you were persistent and didn’t run when I hit you.”

  He laughed. “It didn’t hurt, so no biggie. Plus, he belongs.”

  “He does.”

  A silence fell between them as they both looked up at the clock, sipping on their drinks. As she chewed on her lip, she realized she felt better. Not as alone as she had before. Funny that the reason for that was because of Vaughn. He was the last person she’d ever think would sit with someone in a hospital and drink Jack and Coke. Because he wanted to. “No funny shirt today, I see?”

  She looked down at her black hoodie and smiled before lifting it up, letting her legs fall so he could see the tank underneath which read, “If it weren’t for shopping and pizza, I’d be rich and skinny.”

  With a wide grin, he laughed. “I love pizza.”

  “It’s basically the best food group.”

  “Agreed.” Taking a long pull of his beverage, he looked over at her. “Got a funny shirt for the party tomorrow?”

  She shook her head. “No, I will actually be all glammed up, if you can believe it.”

  “I can.”

  She smiled. “Oh, yeah, you see me at games.”

  “I do. I heard you know the game pretty well. How is that? Living in California and all?”

  She laughed. “I grew up outside of Omaha. My mom met Rodney’s dad when I was four, and he moved us there. He played, and so I lived at the rink. I was obsessed with the sport, and I was good. But when I went to college, I decided to pursue journalism because I didn’t think a girl could get into the NHL.”

  “Baylor Moore proved that wrong.”

  “Sure as hell did. She is probably my favorite person to interview.”

  “What the hell? I am amazing.”

  She shot him a deadpan expression. “Oh, for sure.”

  Grinning, he leaned into her. “I’ll be better.”

  “You will?”

  He paused. “Well, that is, if you can score on me.”

  “What?”

  “I’m gonna get you on the ice, and we’re gonna play.”

  “Please,” she laughed. “I’d kill you.”

  He laughed. Hard. And what a sound it was. So low and rumbly. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I know your weakness. All I gotta do is apply some pressure, and you’ll fold like a napkin.”

  Heat filled his eyes, and it might have been because of the way she said pressure. Shit. Was she flirting with him? Crap! Moving toward her, he dropped his voice an octave. “You, Brie Soledad, are delusional. I would murder you on the ice.”

  Holding his gaze, she leaned against her knee. “Bring it, JoHo.”

  “It’s JoJo.”

  She grinned just as she realized he was really close to her. Like… Really. Close. If she only moved an inch, her lips would be pressed to his. That would not be happening. Or, shit…was it happening?

  “Brie Soledad?”

  “Me! That’s me!” she yelled, standing up, her cup flying out of her hand and landing with a loud thud against the concrete floor. But that wasn’t all that happened. Jack and Coke went flying, all over Vaughn. “Oh, shit. I’m so sorry!”

  Laughing, he shook his head. “It’s fine. Go see what he has to say while I clean this up.”

  Her hands were moving, and she wanted to apologize. But the doctor was looking at her, and she had to make sure Rodney was okay, so she rushed over to him, her eyes wide as she met his gaze. “Hey, Dr. Miller.”

  “Hey, Brie,” he said with a laugh, shaking his head. “So Rodney is out. He’s a little groggy but good. We didn’t put him fully under, just gave him something calm him down, and he did really great with that. I’m hopeful this will work, but he’ll be on constant monitoring for the rest of the week. I transferred those files you asked for, too, to NateWay. We’ll talk more in the morning, okay?”

  “Okay. Can I see him?”

  “Yeah, go ahead.”

  “Thanks,” she said, but before she walked off, she turned to find Vaughn right behind her. “Ah. Crap, you scared me.”

  “Yeah, I was trying to listen like a stalker.”

  She shook her head with a smile. “Yeah, so Rod’s good.”

  “I heard.”

  “Yeah, sorry about the Coke.”

  “It’s fine, mixes well with my cologne.”

  “Eh, I like your cologne the way it is.” Once the words left her mouth, she immediately closed her eyes. “That was not me flirting with you.”

  “Of course not,” he teased, and when she opened her eyes, he was giving her the most sarcastic smirk she had ever seen. Lord, this man was trouble. “So I guess I’ll go.”

  “Did you wanna see him?” she found herself asking, hooking her thumb toward Rod’s room. “I’m sure he’d want to see you.”

  A slow grin started to spread across his face as he began to nod. “I’d really like that. Thanks, Brie.”

  “Yeah, no problem.”

  He walked past her, and as she turned, watching him, his perfect ass in those semitight gym shorts, Brie knew one thing for sure.

  She didn’t hate Vaughn Johansson.

  Not even a little bit.

  Not even kind of.

  Well. Hell.

  “My wife…” Shea Adler said, which made everyone look at him as he gazed across the lavish Assassins’ party to where his wife was stan