Las Vegas Sidewinders: Dominic (25 page)

“Dom has never been in
relationship before,” Toli said. “Maybe Dom needs chance to explain.”

“Maybe,” she sighed.

There was a knock on the
door and Dr. Riser stuck her head in. “Hey, Molly.”

“Hi.” Molly glanced over at
her.

“Oh, my.” Dr. Riser looked
between them curiously, noticing how red Molly’s eyes were and the wet spot on
Toli’s shirt. “Crying isn’t good for you.”

“Dr. Riser, do we have
doctor-patient confidentiality?”

“Well, yes, I suppose we do
since you’ve called me in to consult. But please call me Mack—everyone does.”

“Does that include your
brother, Mack?”

Mack hesitated. “Of course
it does. What’s going on?”

“I’m all over the news and I
need to keep my life as private as I can.”

“That goes without saying.”

“I need to know how much
you’re going to charge me to take care of my face, and I need to make sure you
don’t send Dom any bills.”

Mack blinked, unsure what
was going on, but now that Drake had brought her into this situation, she
couldn’t just walk away. “I wasn’t planning to charge you anything,” she said
finally. “There are some operating room fees and the cost of an
anesthesiologist, but I took your case as a favor to my brother.”

“If you’d rather not handle
this—”

“Wait, Molly, I need to
understand what’s happening.”

“Dom and I are no longer
together, and I don’t have any money until my lawyer gets me my share from my
divorce. I need to know if you’ll accept a letter from my lawyer saying that
you’ll be paid after I get my divorce settlement.”

“Molly—” Toli started to
interrupt but Molly held up her hand to silence him.

“What happened?” Mack looked
concerned.

“It doesn’t matter,” Molly
said softly. “What matters is me getting on with my life.” She looked at Toli.
“I need a favor, Toli.”

“You are being rash,” he
said just as softly.

“Will you lend me a few
thousand dollars? I’ll pay you back as soon as I get my money. In the meantime,
I need something to live on.”

“Toli will
give
you
the money, but this is not—”

“I only want a loan. I’ve
been a burden to people long enough, and it’s time for me to start taking care
of myself. But I have to get my face fixed.”

Toli and Mack exchanged
glances but didn’t say anything.

“You told me we would always
be friends,” Molly whispered harshly. “Was that a lie like everything Dom told
me?’

“No!” Toli looked like she’d
slapped him. “This is not fair!”

“Then will you loan me the
money so I can get away from this nightmare and try to get better without the
media calling me a whore every day?”

Toli opened his mouth but
then closed it again, swallowing. “Molly, you know Toli will do anything for
you.”

“Thank you.” She looked back
at Mack. “Can you arrange to get me released from here? Is there someplace
cheap I can stay in Chicago while I heal enough for you to do the surgery?”

“Are you sure this is what
you want?” Mack asked, frowning.

“I have to get out of here,
as soon as possible,” Molly said firmly. “I know people tend to blame the
victims in abuse situations, but I didn’t think it would wind up on the news
like some kind of celebrity scandal! I never dreamed Dom would pick his career
over me either. I thought I’d finally found the family I’d never had—instead,
I’m nothing but a whore and there’s a whole hockey team of heroes who saved
Sergei. I think I’ve had about as much as I can handle.”

Toli shook his head. “Molly,
you are overreacting.”

“Are you going to help me or
not?” she demanded.

“Toli has already said yes.”

“Mack?” She turned to the
doctor. “It’s up to you. Are you willing to help me knowing that you can’t tell
your brother anything?”

“Drake doesn’t have any
access to my patients,” Mack said. “If this is what you feel you need, I’m here
to help.”

“Thank you.” Molly looked
around. “How long do you think before I can get out of here?”

“I think you need at least
one more day before you can travel,” Mack said. “And even then, you’re going to
be miserable on a plane.”

“Toli will drive you,” he
said automatically.

“You have a game in L.A.
tomorrow night,” Molly said, shaking her head. She turned to Mack. “Can’t you
give me good enough drugs to get me through the flight?”

“I guess so,” Mack nodded
slowly.

“Then what do we need to
do?”

“Molly, this has been a
terrible ordeal for you, and I’m sure Dom said or did something really stupid,
but are you sure this is what you want?”

Molly lowered her eyes,
knowing she was being difficult, but her pride was pretty much all she had
left. “I’m sorry,” she said after a moment. “I know I’m being bitchy, but I
pretty much lost everything today, and I’m hanging on by a thread right now.”

“Oh, Molly.” Toli looked at
her sadly.

“Toli, I’m counting on you
not to tell anyone.”

“This is mistake, Molly.”

“Toli.” She met his gaze
without flinching.

He muttered in Russian even
as he nodded at her.

She squeezed his hand.
“Thank you.”

Molly wasn’t sure how she
got through the next day. Suze arrived bright and early, ready to spend the day
with her, but Molly feigned nausea and pretended to sleep most of the day. Dom
came after practice, but she’d refused to talk to him, much to everyone’s
confusion. She’d asked Suze to tell everyone that she wasn’t up for company,
and Suze had done it reluctantly. However, after watching her warily all day
Suze sensed something was wrong.

“Are you going to tell me
what’s going on with you and Dom?” she finally demanded.

“I’d rather not put you in
the middle,” Molly said softly.

“I thought we were friends?”

“Me, too,” Molly turned away
sadly.

“What’s that supposed to
mean?” Suze looked hurt.

“I’m sorry, I’m not mad at
you. Dom and I had a fight and I’m just not up to talking about it. I cried all
night, which is making my face hurt.”

“Don’t you trust me?” Suze
asked.

“I do, and you’re the best
friend I’ve ever had,” Molly said, meeting her gaze. “But I need a little space
from everything to do with the Sidewinders. It’s really hurtful to hear
strangers on television insinuate you got what you deserved when your husband
beat you, and then listen to them wax poetic about the brave hockey players who
saved a teammate. Nothing about the woman bleeding on the floor—just the poor
schmuck who was kidnapped by accident.” She blinked away a fresh round of
tears.

“Oh, Honey.” Suze sat beside
her and hugged her tightly. “You know that’s not what we think, right?”

“I know it’s not what
you
think,” she whispered back.

Suze stared at her. “What
did Dom say to you?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Molly
shook her head. “Please, if you’re really
my
friend, let me handle this
the way I need to for my own sanity?”

“Dom did something dumb,
didn’t he?” Suze narrowed her eyes.

Molly nodded. “And I can’t
even explain how much it hurts.”

“Why didn’t you talk to him
when he was here?”

“Don’t you see? He’s still
fighting his own demons—I can’t expect him to put my needs before his. And
frankly, that’s what I need. I need someone who can put me first. Dom can’t
right now and nothing anyone says to him is going to change that.”

Suze hugged her as tightly
as she dared. “What can I do?”

Molly just shook her head as
she hugged her back.

If Dom thought Toli had been
acting a little strange during practice, he knew it for sure on the flight to
L.A. Toli sat on the opposite end of the plane, and when they landed he
immediately exited and sat with Marco on the bus. During dinner, Toli sat with
the other Russian player, Vladimir Kolnikov, and they seemed immersed in
conversation, which was a first. Dom wondered if Molly had told him that they’d
argued, and he figured Toli was being protective of her. He’d known Toli would
take her side if they ever fought, but he hadn’t expected this much hostility
from him.

Shaking it off, he focused
on the game and was gratified that not only were they able to beat the Kings
again, he scored another goal. Afterwards, he sat in the locker room listening
as the media worked the room. Mostly, he just wanted to keep a low profile for
a while, but he couldn’t help but look up when he heard Molly’s name.

“And what about Molly
McCarran,” the reporter was asking Toli. “Will you continue to see her?”

“She’s my
friend
,”
Toli said sharply. “Of course I will continue to see her! This is
ridiculous—perhaps the questions should be about her health, or how she’s
handling the emotional part of being kidnapped and beaten unconscious. Molly
was a victim in case everyone has forgotten.” It was never good when Toli
started speaking perfect English.

“Don’t you think you would
have been angry if your wife of more than 20 years left you and started dating
a professional hockey player?” The reporter didn’t seem to notice that the
locker room had gone silent.

“If my wife of more than
twenty years left me for another man, I would wonder what I did to drive her
away,” Toli retorted. He held up a hand. “This interview is over.” He stalked
out of the locker room and back towards the showers.

Dom watched Toli walk away
in a huff and got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Toli and Molly
were close, and he’d just put a journalist in his place in front of a room full
of reporters. Either something was very wrong, or Toli was in a really bad
mood. Thinking that Molly would know what was up, he’d tried to call her, but
it went straight to voicemail and he wondered how long she was going to
continue to give him the silent treatment. He’d been hoping that a few days
apart would give them both time to come to terms with everything that had
happened, but she seemed to be avoiding him. She’d all but refused to talk to
him when he’d visited her at the hospital yesterday, and she didn’t answer the
many times he’d tried to call today.

Frustrated, he sent her a
text.

I know you’re mad at me, but
can’t we please talk? I’m worried. Xoxo

He turned off his phone as
the plane took off and closed his eyes. Tomorrow, he would try to make things
right. He’d had a long conversation with his publicist this afternoon before
the game, and she’d been sure she could turn this situation into something
positive for both him and Molly. She already had a reporter in mind that would
do an interview with Molly so she could tell her side of the story, and she
hadn’t seemed worried when Dom had told her he wanted to come clean about their
relationship. Toli had taken the heat long enough and he needed Molly to know
he wasn’t embarrassed to let the world know that he loved her. He’d just needed
a few days to let the media storm die down. Now he was beginning to wonder if
giving her space was the best idea.

The flight got in to Las
Vegas after midnight, and he’d gone straight home to get some sleep. He got up
at eight and after a quick shower, he headed to the hospital. He had to be at
practice at eleven, but that gave him about an hour with her and he wanted to
clear the air. He hadn’t realized how much he would miss her in just two days,
and it occurred to him that maybe she was starting to believe everything they’d
been saying in the news. Celebrity gossip could be brutal, but he’d been sure
that she would ignore it. She knew he wasn’t paying attention to any of that,
didn’t she?

His walked a little faster
as he got into the hospital, wondering if he’d handled the whole situation
wrong. Molly wasn’t like other women, and that was part of why he loved her. She
was special, naïve about so much of the world, with a gentle heart that had
been hurt too many times already. He wanted to make sure she was okay, and he
stepped into her room anxious to see her. Instead, he looked at a neatly made
bed that didn’t show any signs that anyone had ever been there. Confused, he
stepped outside and headed for the nurse’s station.

“Hi.” He looked at the nurse
on duty. “Can you tell me where Molly McCarran is? Room 227?”

The nurse raised her
eyebrows. “She checked out early this morning, before I got on shift.”

“Checked out?” he asked
blankly. “Do you know where she went?”

“I’m sorry. She was gone
when I got here at seven.”

“Is Dr. Patel here?” he
asked abruptly.

“I can page her.” The nurse
made a phone call and Dom paced impatiently.

Finally, he saw Dr. Patel
coming down the hall. He hurried over to her. “Dr. Patel—did you release
Molly?”

“I did.” She looked up at
him, her eyes inscrutable.

“Why?”

“She wanted to leave.”

“But you said she needed at
least a week so you could watch her—her kidneys and all that?”

“Sometimes a broken heart is
more deadly than a broken body,” she said.

Dom frowned at her. “I don’t
know what that means.”

“Perhaps that is why Molly
left without telling you.”

Dom stared at her for a
moment and then turned and ran out to his car.

On the way to practice, he
called Suze.

“Where is she?” he asked as
soon as she answered.

The silence on the other end
told him this was much worse than he’d anticipated. Molly wasn’t just upset in
general; she was upset with
him
.

“Come on, Suze, I can’t fix
this if I can’t find her.”

“She wouldn’t tell me
because she knew you would get me to tell you.” Her voice sounded tired.

“So she just disappeared,
and you knew?”

“Yup.”

“Dammit, Suze, why didn’t
you call and warn me?” he yelled, slamming his fist on the steering wheel.

“Do
not
yell at me,”
she said icily. “I’m not the one who fucked up here.”

“What did I do?” he cried.
“I was just trying to give her some time to rest and get through the worst of
this. I told her I would make a public statement about us if she wanted me to.”

“The fact that you needed to
know if she
wanted
you to is kind of the problem.”

He let out a string of
curses. “Suze, please—I love her. I fucked up, but I didn’t mean to! Please,
give me a clue to where she is.”

“I swear, Dom, she wouldn’t
tell me.” She paused. “But I’m sure there’s someone who knows.”

Dom paused, frowning
slightly. “Toli,” he said after a moment. “Toli knows.” He disconnected and hit
the gas. This damn car had better get him to the arena in short order.

He was early and most of the
guys weren’t there yet when he stalked into the dressing room. Karl was the
only one there, stretching, and he nodded in greeting.

“Have you seen Toli?” Dom
asked him.

“Not yet.” He glanced up.
“Everything okay?”

“Molly’s gone.”

“Gone?” Karl stood up,
frowning. “What do you mean?”

“I did something stupid, we
had a fight and she left early this morning,” he sighed. He threw his bag into
his locker and glanced at his phone for what seemed like the thousandth time.

“Not answering your calls?”
Karl asked knowingly.

“Nope.”

“Well, whatever it is, you
need to fix it,” Drake said, coming around the corner. “Cause my sister left
while we were in L.A. too.”

Dom turned. “You think Molly
is with her?”

“I don’t know, but she
hasn’t answered my calls either, just sent me a text that she had a patient
emergency and would be in surgery today.”

“Toli knows,” Dom bristled.
“I’m positive of that.”

“You think he’s going to
tell you if she asked him not to?” Drake started getting undressed.

“Fuck.” Dom pulled off his
t-shirt and started pulling on his gear. He knew he’d never been good at
relationships, but he hadn’t expected this kind of drama from Molly. He thought
she would tell him if she was upset. If she’d been angry with the way he was
handling things, why hadn’t she just said so? Of course, actions spoke louder
than words, and her actions had spoken volumes; he’d just ignored them.

By the time Toli walked in,
half the team was there and Dom was pacing like a caged animal. He was angry
with himself, angry with Molly and really pissed off at Toli. He was positive
Toli knew where Molly was, and equally sure that he wasn’t going to tell him,
which got his blood boiling before he even spoke to him.

“Where is she?” he demanded
as Toli walked through the door. Cody was right behind him and both of them
stopped as Dom folded his arms across his chest, blocking the way.

“Get out of the way,” Toli
said in perfect English, his blue eyes glittering.

“The fuck I will.” Dom
glared back. “This isn’t a game, Toli—she’s got serious physical injuries and
she’s emotionally fragile to boot. I need to know where she is.”

“She doesn’t
want
you
to know where she is,” Toli didn’t budge, despite Cody’s prodding from behind.

“Guys, we don’t need to do
this here or now,” Cody said, finally pushing his way past Toli into the room.

“Yeah, we do.” Dom pointed a
finger at Toli. “You were just waiting for the opportunity to pounce, weren’t
you? You couldn’t wait for us to have a fight so you could swoop in and be the
knight in shining armor. Well, guess what, buddy—like it or not, she’s
my
girl.”

“If she’s
your
girl,”
Toli said evenly, “then why the hell was I the one on national TV defending
her? Why was I the one she called when the man she loves broke her heart? Why
was a team rookie the guy who got hauled away in handcuffs for something you
did? Where the hell have
you
been through this?”

“I was right here!” Dom
yelled, moving closer to Toli until they were face to face. “I asked her what
she wanted me to do and she said she was fine! I didn’t ask Zakk to take the
blame for me either—he offered!”