Bodychecking (18 page)

Cedric nodded slowly, recognizing the truth behind her words. He’d never been abused. More neglected and belittled.

“Do you think I’m stronger after the attack?”

“Not yet. But you will be.” Of that he had no doubt. Bella had been the strongest woman he’d ever met, and she would be again. No one kept her down for long.

Staring out the window at the grove of cedars surrounding the edge of Coop’s property, Bella seemed deep in thought. Finally, she spoke. “He killed a woman.” Her voice was hard and angry, despite the little waver at the end.

Cedric whipped around on his barstool so fast he almost fell off. “What the fuck?”

She nodded, averting her eyes for a moment before meeting his shocked gaze with a surprisingly steady one of her own.

Cedric frowned and leaned forward, placing his big hands on her shoulders. “You want to fill me in?”

She did, every detail she knew.

“So did the detectives ever contact you about it?” From what she said, it was possible. This woman had been murdered in the same area within weeks of Bella’s attack, and she was the same physical type as Bella, and she was a waitress in the same bar Bella had been in the night of her attack. Too many similarities for it to be a coincidence.

“They never called me.” Bella sighed. “The news reported they didn’t have any leads for the murder. The few cameras in the area were grainy or nonfunctional. Obviously, there were no witnesses.”

Cedric blew out a breath. “You’re not going to play detective, are you?”

She shook her head. “I’m not that stupid.”

“What do you want to do?” he asked.

“I want to nail that fucker.” She stared at him with intensity and conviction in those big green eyes, and he couldn’t deny her anything.

“As soon as I get done with morning skate, I’ll pick you up, and we’ll go to the police station. They need to hear what you have to say.”

“Thank you.”

His number-one priority would be keeping Bella safe. Number two would be restoring her self-confidence. Nothing else mattered much above and beyond those two goals. He’d do anything for her, and she needed to learn they were good together in and out of bed because Cedric was in this relationship for the long haul. Last night proved that. Things had changed, and he wondered if she’d felt the change too.

As planned on Monday, Cedric escorted Bella to the police station. They’d waited three hours to meet with one of the detectives on the case. Finally, a woman in a wrinkled blouse, blood-shot eyes, and dirty-blonde hair led them to a couple chairs next to her small desk.

“I’m Detective Larson. I understand you believe you have information for me on the Carla Stark case.” She sighed wearily, and Cedric wondered when she’d last gotten a good night’s sleep. Judging by the state of her clothes, she hadn’t gotten one the night before.

“Yes.” Bella nodded and cleared her throat. Cedric held her cold, clammy hand, feeling helpless and impotent.

The detective leaned forward, hands clasped in front of her on her messy desk. She glanced at her watch impatiently. Most likely assuming this would be one more dead end in what was probably an entire slew of dead ends.

“I was attacked a couple months ago in that same area. In fact, I’d been in O’Reilly’s that evening. My attacker was frightened away by a homeless man before he finished what he started.”

The detective sat up straighter, suddenly all ears. “Go on. Did you file a police report?”

Bella nodded. “He didn’t rape me if that’s what you’re thinking. Just beat me up, but I think he would’ve, and he did one weird thing.”

“What was that?” The detective was definitely intrigued, yet appeared to be trying hard not to get her hopes up.

Bella looked down and visibly shuddered. Cedric squeezed her hand. Drawing a deep breath, she met the detective’s gaze. “He carved an S on my breast so I’d remember him and called himself Snake.”

“Holy fuck.” Detective Larson sat back and shook her head as if to clear it. “Would you recognize this man if you saw him?”

“It was dark, and he had his face covered, but if I saw his eyes, I’d know him. I’d never forget those eyes.”

The detective waved another detective over, and they took Bella into an interview room. Cedric insisted on going with her.

It was the beginning of a long afternoon.

* * * *

Bella gripped Cedric’s hand so tightly she wondered why it didn’t turn blue.

He stopped outside O’Reilly’s and wrapped his arms around her, while their friends and family stood back, trying to be inconspicuous and in the process appearing even more conspicuous. Down the street, Detective Larson loitered at the street corner with her partner, Detective Banks, pretending to be outside for a smoke.

“You don’t have to do this, Bella.” Cedric didn’t like this shit, not one bit, but Bella was determined to go through with it. Nothing should happen. The police had them covered, but still—

Bella waved at their group to go into O’Reilly’s. Izzy hesitated, a worried frown marring her pretty face, but Coop grabbed her hand and whispered something to her, making her smile. Avery leaned into Isaac, who wore his best badass expression. Emma and Tanner weren’t present, as Tanner had flown Emma to Hawaii to lick his wounds after the football season had ended.

Cedric held her face in his hands, his gaze searching hers. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Bella stared at the door of the pub, regretting bringing along reinforcements. They were acting too suspicious. If Snake was anywhere in the vicinity, he’d probably fled by now. After a long pause, she leaned into Cedric. “I have to do this. It’s not a matter of choice.
I have to do this
. I can’t let him hurt anyone else.”

He nodded, even though he looked reluctant. “Let’s go back to my place and rock to our own beat.” He cocked a brow, and she managed to laugh.

“Later, Smooth.” She leaned into him and kissed his lips.

“Later might be too long.”

Bella sobered. “Cedric, please, they’re counting on me.” She glanced at the detectives. “She’s counting on me.”

“Detective Larson?” he asked, his brow furrowed with confusion.

“No, her.” Bella lowered her voice and glanced around. “Carla. His other victim.”

“Bells.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. Cedric nodded solemnly and looked toward the entrance. “Ready?”

“Yes,” she said with more courage than she felt. “Let’s go.” Even so, she hung back and let him lead the way. He wrapped a protective arm around her, and they stepped into the bar.

* * * *

Cedric and Bella along with the detectives, and too many other people, if you asked Bella, staked out O’Reilly’s for three nights in a row. By the third night, patrons and staff watched them warily, making it obvious Bella and her backups had a lot to learn about working undercover. They’d obviously aroused everyone’s suspicions. Especially considering the playboys of the group, Rush and Brick, were watching the male patrons so intently that they’d been propositioned by several gay men.

Brick, who didn’t have a homophobic bone in his body, made several new friends, bought them all drinks, and hung out with them as he continued to conspicuously watch the crowd.

The weekend came and went with no sign of Snake. The detectives had other leads to pursue but swore they’d try again.

On Tuesday, Cedric played a home game. Bella had promised she’d attend, even though he offered her an out. She’d tolerated three nights at O’Reilly’s, she’d deal with one night in a secure owner’s box watching a certain smoking-hot Swedish hockey player.

Flanked by Izzy and Avery, she walked into the ice arena via a back door. They’d parked in VIP parking and been able to avoid the majority of the crowd as they made their way up the private elevator to Ethan’s box.

Ethan and Lauren, the majority owners of the team, greeted them enthusiastically, as did Brad Reynolds, the VP of Marketing and a minority owner. Brad and Bella had hooked up on occasion, but Brad was such a player, similar to what Cedric had once been, he didn’t seem to think anything of it. His casual attitude dissipated any discomfort Bella might’ve felt. That, and the fact that he was hanging out with an anonymous gorgeous blonde decked out in a Sockeyes jersey.

Bella forgot the woman’s name as soon as they were introduced, and she felt nothing when she looked at Brad. As gorgeous as he was, he’d never been anything but a booty call, not like her favorite hockey player. Cedric was supposed to have been a booty call too, yet she couldn’t get him out of her mind after that first time, and their one-night stand became several until she’d lost count. Bella continued to sleep with random guys to prove she could, but each one meant less and less to her, while Cedric the Great wet her panties with one smoldering glance from his azure-blue eyes.

Bella sat in one of the plush seats and accepted the glass of wine Avery gave her. She leaned back and sipped, tamping down a sudden wave of unexpected panic. She would not have a panic attack here. She was perfectly safe and any feelings of fear were completely irrational. My God, she’d spent three nights hanging out in a crowded bar. This should not bother her.

“Are you okay?” Izzy watched her closely, an odd expression on her face. Obviously, Bella wasn’t concealing her emotions as well as she thought she was.

Bella swallowed and nodded, concentrating on Cedric. His graceful body glided across the ice in slow, lazy circles that spiraled in until he was almost spinning. After which he skated along the boards, directly behind Cooper and Ice, pacing them as they warmed up their legs. Bella started smiling, her panic drifting away. Watching Cedric skate in person beat watching him on TV any day.

When the first puck dropped, Cedric stole the puck from a Kings forward, spinning and slapping it to Coop, who skated toward the net, faked, and passed to Drew. He shot toward the net, only to have it blocked. The skaters raced to the other end of the arena.

And the game was on.

Ice was a powerful skater, while Cooper was speedy, but Cedric skated with a ruthless grace, making it look easy and fooling the opposition into thinking he was slow. Cedric was anything but slow. Forwards Cooper, Drew Delacorte, and Cedric were one of the fastest first lines in hockey. When you added defensemen Isaac and Matt LaRue, they were a formidable team.

Bella leapt to her feet as Cedric took a pass from Coop and hit it into the net with such pinpoint accuracy, he looked as if he had superpowers. But then, he did. At least in bed. She couldn’t stop smiling as her dirty mind conjured up dirty scenarios. All of which made her cheer all the louder. The sex was more incredible than usual after a win.

The suite full of people were on their feet cheering. Ethan did fist bumps all around, his grin wide and triumphant, even though they were only a few minutes into the first period.

Bella understood the pride in Ethan’s eyes. A long-time hockey fan, he’d turned his family’s multimillion-dollar financial portfolio into a multibillion-dollar one by the time he was thirty. After that, he pursued his life-long dream of bringing the NHL to his hometown of Seattle. Two years ago he purchased the then Gainesville Giants and moved them to the Emerald City. They’d done all right last year, but Ethan had even higher hopes this year. Together with his staff and coaches, he’d quickly established the Sockeyes as a progressive organization striving to bring out the best in its players by embracing their differences rather than forcing them to conform.

Lauren was part of their success as deputy director of player personnel; she studied advanced statistics, which made Bella’s head reel and her eyes blur. Math had never been her strong suit.

They sat back down as a group, but everyone remained on the edge of their seats, watching the action. Bella glanced around, now smiling; she loved the energy around this team as they fought for a playoff spot.

The Sockeyes won, thanks to Cedric and Cooper. After the final seconds ticked off the clock, Bella realized she’d watched the last two periods thinking only of the team and Cedric.

She high-fived herself for climbing over one more obstacle.

Cedric was the best natural medicine a girl had for what ailed her.

* * * *

Bella gripped the phone so tightly, it should’ve shattered as she listened to Sensei Lee. He spoke in his calm, lyrical manner, making logical arguments for a situation that had no logic.

“Bella, we need you. Your replacement broke his leg skiing. Everyone else is down with the flu. I cannot cancel another class. I have an obligation to our students, and we canceled last week’s classes already.”

Sensei Lee had called to ask her to come back to teach a self-defense class at her old dojo. The class was the same one she’d previously taught, with many of the same students. She hadn’t had any contact with them since the attack, even though a few of them had reached out to her, wondering when she’d return.

Cedric had left this morning for another road trip, and Bella sorely needed a distraction.

She tried to work on her novel featuring a sexy Swedish hockey star and a damaged, struggling former bad girl, but the words wouldn’t come. After her triumph at the game last night and some sexy times afterward with Cedric, she was restless, anxious to stretch her comfort zone and push herself to the next level of healing. Teaching this class would definitely fall into the next level.

Since she was all about recovery and building strength, she agreed to teach the Tuesday/Thursday night class—temporarily.

Loading Rumble in her little car, Bella drove to the dojo that evening. She arrived a couple minutes after start time to reduce small talk and avoid probing questions.

As soon as she walked into the large room, she was greeted warmly by students grateful to see her. Bored with the entire ordeal and missing his evening nap, Rumble found a mat in a corner of the room, claimed it as his, and proceeded to snore and grumble in his sleep.

Bella fended off their questions and started class immediately by asking about their progress since she’d last seen them, which was shockingly minimal. If anything, they’d backslid, which pissed her off. Even worse, two of her long-time regulars had dropped the class.