Dump and Chase: Nashville Assassins: Next Generation Read online

  I shut the door, and for some reason, I clink my bottle to theirs before taking a long pull of my beer. “You guys fucked up?”

  Shea scoffs loudly. “Elli’s sister kissed me.”

  “I lied for your aunt, and when your mom found out, she lost her shit. That was the second time.”

  “Elli broke up with me for it.”

  “Yeah, Fallon did that too. Twice, mind you. First time was when she found me in her roommate’s bed, drunk, naked, and passed out.”

  “Man, that sucks,” Shea says, and Dad nods.

  “Addiction is a bitch.”

  They tap bottles with each other, and then both of them sit on my couch.

  I watch them for a moment. “So, is this like a pity party?”

  They nod. “Yup,” Shea says, and then he pats the couch between them. “You can come sit.”

  I don’t move, though. “I thought you guys were coming to lecture me and beat me up.”

  Dad laughs as Shea nods. “That’s after we make sure you’re okay.”

  “You’re not mad?”

  “Oh, I’m pissed my daughter is at home crying her ass off. But I know it was a misunderstanding. I know you wouldn’t speak that way about her to others.”

  His words gut me. She’s crying? Over me? Damn it, why won’t she speak to me? “How do you know that?”

  “’Cause I know you. I was hell-bent on keeping her away from you when Elli told me you two were together, but then that wife of mine reminded me of my bad fortune when it came to women trying to take advantage of professional hockey players like us.”

  Dad nods. “They sure as hell do.”

  “Then I remembered all the times you helped my kids with homework and hockey. How you’ve always treated me with respect—minus the last few months when you dated my daughter without telling me.”

  “He didn’t tell us either. They wanted to be sure of each other before they brought us into the mix. Can’t blame them,” Dad adds, and Shea nods. “We’re all a lot to handle.”

  That’s the damn truth. I’ve got my dad and hers on my couch, throwing me a pity party.

  I’m pathetic.

  “You’re right. See, I know you’re a good guy. I’d love to beat the shit out of you for hurting my girl, but I won’t. It won’t help anything.”

  “It’d make you feel better.”

  “And hurt Shelli more.”

  I swallow past the lump in my throat. “She won’t answer my calls.”

  “Nope, she shut off her phone.”

  I look down at my beer and shake my head. “How am I supposed to fix this?”

  They both shrug, and Shea leans forward on his knees. “Give her time to realize she’s partly wrong.”

  I give him a dry look. “That girl is beyond stubborn. That’s gonna be a while, and— Wait. Partly? This is all my fault.”

  “And hers for letting her pride get in the way,” Shea says. I never thought Shea would defend me. I thought he would want to hang me out to dry. “Don’t get me wrong. You’re an asshole for what you said, even if you didn’t mean it. But Shelli is in the wrong by letting it play out like this. It’s obvious it was a mistake.”

  “A mistake you gotta make sure you never make again—if you want her back,” Dad says, and I give him a look.

  “Of course I want her back. But shit, I never lost her. We’re just in limbo right now, but if she answers the fucking phone, we’ll be fine.”

  They both nod. “Let me know how that goes.” Dad smirks.

  “Yeah, because I tried to talk to Elli for about two months, wore her engagement ring around my neck, and she didn’t give a damn.” Shea grins at me. “You forget, I’m with the older, wiser, and more stubborn version of Shelli.”

  Dad leans on his legs, and then he points to me. “Do you love her?”

  My mouth goes dry under their scrutiny. I look down at my bottle and slowly nod. “But she wouldn’t listen to that now.”

  “Nope, not even kinda,” Shea says.

  “She’d probably laugh in your face,” Dad says with a nod. “So you gotta talk to her in another way.”

  “You’re the second person to say that to me, and I don’t know what that means,” I say, exasperated. “I just want to make this better. I hate being here without her.”

  Shea looks around and nods. “I’m gonna ignore the fact that my daughter’s bra is hanging off your barstool.”

  Dad laughs, and I look at them longingly. I just want her here.

  Shea meets my gaze. “Why do you think she got so upset?”

  “Because I embarrassed her. I said the one thing she was worried about. And I can’t seem to get my head out of my ass and scream in her face that I love her more than I love life itself.”

  Okay, so apparently I can tell my dad and her dad that I love her, but when it comes to actually telling the person it matters to, the words won’t come out. I’m a real piece of work.

  Dad nods. “What do you want to do?”

  “I want to make her listen to me. I don’t want to wait. I don’t want to spend another second without her.”

  “You’re gonna have to accept that you will. For at least a little bit, dude,” Shea says. “But then there will be a perfect moment, and that’s when you need to score.”

  I blink, completely confused. “Huh?”

  “Jesus, he really does take after you,” Shea teases, and Dad laughs.

  “The gala, Aiden,” Dad says simply.

  “The gala?”

  Dad shakes his head with a sigh. “Maybe he does take after me.”

  They both laugh, yet I’m completely in the dark.

  I guess that’s where I belong.

  Alone.

  But that doesn’t sit right with me.

  I want her back.

  I need her back.

  I’m going to get her back.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  SHELLI

  “I’M NOT one to say you’re overreacting, but I think you are.”

  I roll my eyes as I climb up the stairs of Mordor—also known as the StairMaster in the Assassins’ gym. My mom has called me in for another meeting. I’m sure it’s to make sure everything is good for the gala tomorrow, but I don’t want to go. I don’t want to do anything, really. I’m so upset with Aiden, I honestly don’t know how to function. He’s called nonstop, but I have absolutely nothing to say to him. I can’t believe he said what he did. How dare he? If he didn’t mean it, then why say it? I want to wring his damn neck and tell him he’s an idiot, but I also want to hug him. It’s really complicated up here in my head.

  I glance back at where Amelia is lying on the weight bench with a package of Sour Patch Kids. It’s her craving right now. “I don’t think I’m overreacting at all.”

  “You are,” she says simply. “Believe me, I don’t want to defend Aiden since I’ve never figured out what you see in him, but he didn’t mean it, Shell. You know he didn’t.”

  “I feel like he might have.”

  She drops a piece of candy into her mouth. “Why?”

  “He doesn’t say things without thinking them through. Believe me, I know. If he did, he would have said he loved me a long time ago. But the fact that he has kept that in check makes me believe his words are true.”

  “That’s dumb,” she says, shaking her head. “He was trying to keep everyone from knowing about y’all. He wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

  “I agree that he wasn’t, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t do it.”

  “Shelli, come on.”

  “Come on, what?”

  “I think you need to talk to him.”

  “I’d rather not. He’s too charming. He’ll get me to let it go, and then I’ll be back with him when, really, I probably never should have gotten with him.”

  I feel her gaze on me. “You don’t have to be so tough with me,” she accuses, and I shrug.

  “It’s true.”

  “I don’t believe you. I think you know it’s al