Sinful Secrets (Savannah Sharks Hockey and Mafia #2)

Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

SAVANNAH

I hop up on the bathroom counter next to the first aid supplies. Spencer nudges my legs open to get a closer look at my neck.

He gently peels off the first butterfly bandage, causing me to wince in pain. “Ow.”

With his thumb and forefinger, he turns my head his way. “Did I hurt you? Is it your cut? Where is the pain?”

I shake my head and chuckle. Tilting my head down, I place a kiss on his thumb. “It’s where the bandage pulled my skin. You didn’t hurt me, but I love you care enough to ask.”

“Of course I care. I love you, Savannah, and I’ll try my damndest to keep you safe.” He runs his finger along my throat, just under the cut.

A ball of emotion lodges itself in the back of my throat. Unable to speak, I whisper, “I know you do, and I hope you know I love you, too.”

He leans toward me, pressing his lips to the edge of mine. “I still love hearing you say it, though.”

Our conversation stops as he pulls off the rest of the butterfly bandages before applying a layer of antibiotic ointment.

“You’re down to needing just two of them. Your cut is healing pretty well for only being two days old. I think by this weekend you won’t even need any bandages.”

“That will be nice. I can’t wait to get back to normal.”

He grabs a small rectangular bandage and covers the two butterfly bandages.

Spencer laughs as he throws the old bandages and trash away. “When are we ever normal?”

“Hey! I’m normal, but you might have a point. You couldn’t be normal even if you tried.”

He stalks back to me. “You like that I’m not the typical boring man with a nine-to-five desk job. You like that I’m unpredictable and dangerous with equally unpredictable and dangerous friends.”

I press my finger to his lips to cut him off. “No, I don’t like that about you. I love that about you. Although, I don’t like that you travel so much and I can’t come along.”

I stick out my lower lip and fake a pout. The excessive amount of travel has to be one of the worst perks of dating a professional hockey player.

He frowns. “I hate it too, especially with all the drama that’s been going on. I know I’m going to worry about you being here alone.”

“I won’t be alone. I’ll have Francesca here to keep my company.”

He glances away for a few moments before helping me off the counter. “Time to get ready.”

He heads into his closet as I head into his bedroom. I’m already dressed and ready, so I lay on his bed and stare at the ceiling.

I know I fucked up by going on the undercover mission with Francesca, but it turned out to be successful and beneficial.

The Marinos learned that their temporary truce with the Rossis was a big fat lie. The Rossis never wanted to work with Arturo and his men to uncover the identities of the Emerald City Reapers.

They wanted to work with the Reapers to screw over Arturo.

It’s even worse because the main person behind the cargo stealing stunt was Arturo’s wife, Elizabeth.

After Francesca shot her mom, Spencer told me to get her out of there. I drove Rhett’s truck back here, where we waited and waited to hear from them.

Spencer, Rhett, and Joey finally showed up over thirty minutes later, bruised and sweaty, as if they went ten rounds in the ring.

Rhett and Spencer were worried about us. Joey was pissed that Francesca had shot and killed their mother.

It took almost half an hour of yelling and screaming to get the guys to tell us what happened after we left.

Arturo and Joey were on the other side of the port calling in extra men to help with back up and cargo retrieval.

Arturo, Joey, and their men moved the pallets of product off the flatbed truck to their own vans and left before any cops arrived.

Rhett was found by Spencer tied up and knocked out in a shipping container with a dead Rossi man beside him.

Of course, he was pissed that he missed out on the action, but he was glad Francesca was safe and away from the crime scene.

Spencer enters the bedroom and lays his suit on the mattress next to me. “Tired?”

“No, well, sort of, but I was just thinking.”

Spencer kept me up late last night. Well, this morning, but that’s not what’s on my mind.

He narrows his eyes and stares at me. “Thinking about what?”

“About how I fucked up going to the party with Francesca. How the entire ordeal happened at the port. How Francesca shot and killed her mother. How her mother betrayed them time and time again.”

He places his hand on mine. “I know it’s a lot to deal with, and their relationship is pretty dysfunctional and unstable, but I assure you, this isn’t normal in our world.”

I turn my hand over and link my fingers with his. “Hey, if anyone knows about unstable and dysfunctional relationships, it’s me. My parents were less than stellar, and Connor wasn’t the ideal boyfriend, but I made it through those situations and found something better.”

“I am far from being an ideal boyfriend. I put you in dangerous situations and leave you vulnerable. You get hurt when you are around me.”

He sighs and glances at our joined hands.

“You see things that no woman should ever have to see, and I don’t mean that in a sexist way. You’re too pure and good for this world, but I’m a selfish asshole that wants you by my side.”

I sit up and pull him toward me. “Don’t say that. You are the best boyfriend I have ever had. I feel incredibly safe and protected when I’m with you. I feel valued, appreciated, and loved. And that’s all thanks to you. You are more incredible than you realize.”

His cheeks turn a light pink, causing my heart to swell.

When was the last time someone told him they appreciated him? When was the last time he felt loved?

Do I say it often enough?

Spencer takes a step back and pulls his t-shirt over his head before pushing his lounge shorts down. I stare at him with my mouth slightly agape as he changes into his favorite navy blue game day suit.

“I think we need to go suit shopping.” I blurt out.

He spins around, surprised. “Why?”

“Because you wear the same two to three suits all the time. I think you should mix it up and get something more fitted.”

He looks down at his suit. “More fitted than this?”

I picture him in a well-fitted suit and lick my lips. “Oh yeah. Custom tailored to your body.”

He smirks. “You just want to ogle me, but guess what? Other women will be staring, too.”

Shrugging, I say, “Let them. I’m the one that gets you at the end of the night.”

He growls and stalks over to me, pinning me against his mattress. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Savannah Whitlock.”

I bat my eyelashes at him. “And what game would that be?”

My chest rises and falls with my heavy breathing. Truth be told, I love the dangerous side to him.

The darker, unhinged side. The side that pushes me to my sexual limits and leaves me craving more.

He leans down, pushing his face into the crook of my neck. Inhaling, he groans and says, “I’ve never missed a game unless I was injured, but you’re tempting me to miss tonight’s game.”

I swallow loudly, feeling pleasure shoot straight to my core.

“I want to tie you up and have my wicked way with you, Savannah. I want you begging for more as you scream my name. I want to commit every inch of you to memory.”

His warm breath tickles my neck. My nipples pebble, demanding his unwavering attention.

I clamp my eyes shut and suppress a moan before whispering, “Okay.”

Shaking my head, I add, “Later, after the game. I can’t let you miss a game, and I can’t miss a game.”

He stands up, pulling me with him. “Tonight, after the game, you’re mine.”

I kiss the stubble on his jaw. “Something to look forward to.”

We head to the arena and go our separate ways. I head to the team shop and buy a silk scarf with the team’s logo on it to hide my bandage. Sure, it might not be part of the uniform, but I’m sure Avery will understand.

At least I hope she does.

I lightly tie it around my neck before heading down to the ice girl’s locker room.

As soon as Avery sees me, she pulls me to the side. “Tell me it isn’t true.”

“Uh, what? I need more than that if I am going to answer.”

She glances around the locker room. “Elizabeth Marino is alive. My dad got called in to run security at the Marino residence. He didn’t come home all day yesterday. When he finally got home today, he told me she faked her death, and he was being appointed head of security.”

I blow out my breath. “Since you already know some of it, I’ll fill in the gaps.”

Pulling her into the office, I shut the door and take a seat.

“The guy that was killed and dumped after the last home game was Lorenzo. He was Arturo’s head of security.”

She smacks her hand on the desk before grabbing a small bag of original potato chips. “Um, back up. What the hell are you talking about?”

“You seriously didn’t know?”

She shakes her head. “I haven’t heard about a body being dumped.”

“After the last game, I was waiting outside for Spencer and a truck dumped a body. It was Lorenzo. He was beaten and tortured before being killed and dumped.”

I shake those memories away.

“Well, fast forward a little. When the guys were at the last away game, I went on an undercover mission with Francesca and we found out that somebody was planning on stealing a cargo shipment from Arturo.”

“Shut up! Are they suicidal? No one crosses Arturo Marino, and to steal an entire ship? That’s a death wish.”

“It was two nights ago. The same night Arturo called your dad in, by the way. We met at the port to see who was stealing the shipment, and it was Elizabeth Marino.”

“Oh my God. So it’s true? She’s alive.”

I hold up my hand and shake my head.

“She had back up with her and shit got crazy. There were many people shooting at one another. A man snuck up on me and ended up cutting my throat. That’s why I have this on. It’s concealing my bandage.”

I move the scarf to show her the small bandage.

“I told you this lifestyle was dangerous.”

“I know, but Spencer took care of the man.”

She leans closer and whispers, “He killed him?”

I nod, not wanting to speak the words out loud. “Anyway, Francesca and her mom got into a heated argument. They slung insults at one another and things ended with me bringing Francesca back to Spencer’s apartment.”

Avery’s eyes widen as she puts the ending of my story together. “So Elizabeth?”

“Back to how things were before her miraculous resurrection.”

“Wow,” she murmurs as she tries to process everything.

“So yeah, that’s why I’m wearing a scarf.”

“And probably why there are double the security guys around the arena.”

A knock sounds on the door to the office, stopping our conversation.

Christy cracks the door open and pops her head inside. “Hey, some girls were wondering where you wanted them tonight?”

Avery stands and makes her way to the door. “I think I left my clipboard in the arena. I’ll be right back.”

She jogs out of the locker room, leaving me alone with Christy. She gives me a friendly smile. “I love your scarf, Savannah.”

“Thank you. I just bought it at the shop.” I head over to my locker and put on my thick socks and skates.

“The one upstairs?”

“Yeah. They still have a bunch if you want to run up there and get you one.”

Her face lights up like a child on Christmas morning. “Oh, I’m totally doing that.”

She runs out of the locker room.

At least with two of us wearing a silk scarf with the team’s logo on it, we will look like we coordinated this.

Someone knocks on the locker room door. Several other women glance around with a questioning expression on their faces.

Who would knock on our locker room door?

The door cracks open and Spencer’s voice calls out, “Is everyone dressed?”

I hastily make my way over to the door. “Is everything okay?” I pull the door open wider, checking to see if he’s alright.

He’s fully dressed in his uniform, and his hair is sweaty.

Did I miss the entire warmups?

“I just wanted to give you this and to say I love you and can’t wait for tonight.”

He pulls out a bouquet of assorted flowers from behind his back. Large pink and red roses are mixed with bright orange lilies, and small purple and green flowers are mixed into the bouquet.

I take the flowers from him, smelling their sweet fragrance. “These are so beautiful. Thank you.”

He leans down and kisses me in front of everyone. Several gasps come from the locker room as his arm wraps around my waist and pulls me closer to him.

For a few moments, I lose myself in this kiss. I forget we are both at work. I forget we have an audience. I close my eyes and just enjoy this kiss as if we are alone in his apartment.

Someone clears their throat behind Spencer. I pull away and look over his shoulder to see an amused Avery.

“It’s almost game time, Reed.” she says with a smile.

My face blushes as she pushes past us and gives me a grin.

“Have a good game.” I say as Spencer takes a few steps back.

“Cheer for me.” He gives me a wink before heading down the hallway.

I carry my flowers inside and place them on the desk in the office before finding Avery.

“Where do you want me tonight?”

She looks down at her clipboard and says, “You are going to be on the ice during intermissions, and during the game, you will be in the same corner you were in at the last game with Christy. Feel free to switch out of your skates during the game.”

“That sounds great. Thank you.”

Everyone makes their way to their assigned places. Christy nudges me with her arm. “I’m so happy to take the ice with you again. We have a lot to talk about tonight, starting with who you were kissing.”

“Spencer?”

“Yes, Spencer Reed. Alternate captain, left winger, and number seventeen for the Savannah Sharks.”

I chuckle as I change out of my skates and into my sneakers. I follow Christy to our corner and grab my sign.

The crowd cheers as the players take the ice for the National Anthem.

Movement to my right catches my eye. Two security men move to stand closer to the glass in the Zamboni tunnel.

I guess Avery was right. Arturo Marino has the arena heavily monitored and guarded.