The Enforcer (23 page)

“Yeah, that’d be perfect. See you then, Lace.”

“Bye, Jody.”

Ugh, she was not looking forward to this.

The morning dragged on for Lacey. She had plenty of work to do but she was a tad nervous and just wanted to get her conversation with Jody out of the way. He had told her he was working on his temper, but she knew he wouldn’t have it under control overnight.

The clock finally told her it was time to leave for lunch. Gathering her purse, she walked out to her car. It only took a minute or two to get there, and she smiled at the sight of Jody waiting for her. His hair was still damp from his shower, and he smelled heavenly. No cologne, just man and soap. Maybe a little fabric softener, too.

Jody took in Lacey’s black, high-waisted slacks and her silky, deep purple blouse. The high waist on her pants made her legs look a mile long, and her long, dark hair looked as silky as her blouse. He couldn’t wait to feel her hair draped around him.
Jesus, stop,
Jody thought. He honestly couldn’t help where his thoughts went when she was around.

Lacey walked right up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Looking up at him with a smile, she rested her chin on his chest and said, “Hi.”

Jody ran his thumb under her bottom lip and gave her a gentle kiss. “Hi back.” He stuck his face in her hair and inhaled. “Oranges?”

He seemed to make a game out of guessing what soap she used. “Yup. Orange sage. Citrus with a little spice.” Ready to get her news out of the way, she let go of him and got into her car. “Let’s go.”

Jody got in and asked her what she wanted to talk about. “Let’s wait until we’re seated at the restaurant, okay? How was practice?”

“Fine. Same old thing. Keith had us working on passing and deflecting pucks into the net mostly.” He went on to tell her about some of the drills they did. It was another hard practice. But getting to see Lacey afterward made all thoughts of that go away.

An empty spot opened up just as they were pulling into the parking lot, and Lacey zipped her car into it. Jody got out and went around to her side to help her out of the car. He was always thoughtful like that.

The restaurant was mostly full, and Lacey was relieved. People gave Jody looks as the hostess took them to a table. They looked like they knew he was somebody, but weren’t sure whom exactly.

Drinks were ordered, and the waitress left them again to give them time to look over the menu. “I’m just having the bread and salad. I imagine you’re going to get a week’s worth of food to refuel after that practice, huh? You guys sure can eat.”

Jody chuckled. “Yeah, we do eat a lot during the season. Why are you only getting salad? You’re not one of those girls.” One of the things Jody liked about Lacey was that she ate real food, which gave her lush curves.

“Actually, I happen to love salad. And believe me, my salad is plenty fattening. I like to add blue cheese and bacon. Does that make you feel better? And I’ll eat bread, too. That stuff is covered in butter.” And she wouldn’t have just one plate of salad either. Jody was right about that. She may skip a meal here and there, but she ate like a real human being.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t even have said that. You should eat whatever you want to. So, what did you want to talk to me about? I have to admit, I’m burning with curiosity.” The waitress appeared with their drinks. A glass of chardonnay for Jody to go with his pasta, and Lacey had ordered a diet soda. She ordered her salad, and Jody ordered soup, salad and fettuccini alfredo with shrimp and chicken. As the waitress left, Lacey’s nerves went on alert.

Shit. Here we go.
“Okay, here’s the thing. I’ve been getting a lot of hang-ups on my cell phone. I went to the store to get a new number, and while I was there, that number called again. I answered it for the last time, and it was Steven.” Lacey stopped and looked at him. He just stared at her with a weird look on his face. “What are you doing?” she asked him.

“Hold on,” he said gruffly. After a little more silence he said, “Twenty.”

“Twenty?”

“I’ve started counting to twenty when something bothers me before I say a word. It’s a thing I’m trying. Ten wasn’t long enough.” Lacey held back a smile at that one. “Okay, so Steven called. What did you say to him?” He was eerily calm.

“I told him to stop calling me.” Oh, Lacey really didn’t want to tell him the rest.

“I’m thinking there’s more to this story, Lace. Out with it … please.”

At that moment she was mesmerized by the water circles her glass was making. Maybe they should just talk about the dynamics of condensation instead. Or maybe she should just rip off this proverbial band-aid. Reality is usually not as bad as what the mind thinks it’s going to be. “Well, he said that he couldn’t compose without me. I’m his muse or some BS like that. They want him to compose an entire original piece in two months. So he’s coming here. On Saturday.”

Jody’s wine glass shattered. He squeezed the stem right off the rest of the glass, cutting his hand. That was definitely not a good sign. “Oh my God, Jody. Are you okay?”

The cut wasn’t bad, and he just dabbed at it with his napkin. “Uh, huh. Still here with ya. Give me a minute.”
One, two, three, mother fucking four, five, gonna kill the son of a bitch six, seven, he touches her again and dies eight, fuck it.
Trying his best for a calm tone, Jody growled out, “Why would you tell me this here?”

So far, so good
,
Lacey thought. A little broken glass, a drop of blood, but no big scene. “Well, I thought being in public might help you control your anger. And honestly, it looks like it’s working.”
Sort of.
Lacey’s smiled died as she saw the look in his eyes.

“You are not to be anywhere near him.”

“Excuse me? Are you listening to me? I don’t
want
to be anywhere near him! Jody, we’re not going to do this here. Trust me, I don’t want any part of Steven coming here. Zoe and I discussed it, and since he actually did threaten me this time, we’re going to go to the police and see what I should do.” Oh good God, she didn’t mean to tell him about the threatening part yet.
Fuck.

Jody’s voice rose to what Lacey considered an unacceptable level. “He threatened you? Lace, you have to tell me these things immediately. What if he had come early? I’ll take care of him.”

Lacey’s voice rose a bit, too. “Oh no you won’t. The police will tell me what to do. And besides that, it is not your job to protect me.”

Lacey didn’t think Jody even heard what she said. “What was his threat?” His voice was dangerously calm again.

Lacey knew he was trying, and he was genuinely concerned for her, but she wasn’t going to go on now. She could tell he was at his limit, and it pissed her off that he couldn’t just control himself to talk about what she could do about the situation. “You know what? Let’s finish lunch, and I’ll tell you the rest when we get back to work. That way you can take it out on the friggin’ dumpster or something!”

Jody grabbed her wrist. “You’ll tell me now, Lace. I need to know what the threat is so that I can protect you.” His grip was like a vice. She knew she’d have a bruise. Her skin was like a peach.

It didn’t scare her that he was gripping her so hard, but he needed to be aware that he was hurting her. Lacey tried to shake her arm free, but he squeezed harder. “Ouch. Jody you’re hurting me.” He looked down like he didn’t even realize he was holding her.

“Jesus, Lace, I’m sorry.” He let go like a hot iron had scalded him. “Please, tell me what he threatened you with.”

“No. Seriously. I’m hungry, and I don’t want to argue. I’ll tell you when we don’t have such a large audience.” She was seriously hoping that she was just overreacting. She
was
worried, but could Steven have changed enough to want to hurt her? She just didn’t see it. She was pretty sure, anyway.

Lunch was not a pleasant affair after that, and Lacey was pleased as punch when they left. She would tell him about the rest of the phone call the same way she would pull off a band- aid. Quick and painless. Well, hopefully it would be painless.

As soon as they got in the car, Jody started in on her. “Okay Lace, I’m not going to wait one more minute. Tell me what that asshole said to you.”

“Jesus Jody, let it go for another five minutes. It’s not that big of a deal; I’m sure he didn’t even mean it.” Jody was not happy. He was pouting as if he were a child, sitting there with his arms crossed.

Back in the parking lot at the rink, Lacey knew she had run out of time. Jody just about growled at her to tell him the rest of it. Now. “Well, he said that if he couldn’t have me then he’d make sure no one else could either, or something to that effect. That’s what made Zoe and me think that maybe I should go talk to the police. I don’t know if that’s enough to get a restraining order against him. Honestly, if he really is a threat, I’m not sure a restraining order would help anyway.”

“You’re going to move in with me until I take care of him. End of discussion.” Jody got out of the car, walked over to her side, opened her door and stood there with his arms still crossed.

“Nice try, tall, big and scary, but I don’t take orders from you. Or anyone else.” She tried not losing her cool because she knew he meant well, but she was having none of this controlling behavior.

“Fine. I’ll move in with you.” Jody would camp out on her freaking doorstep if he had to.

“Nice. And what will you do with Izzy? You know she can’t stay at Zoe’s. I’ll be fine Jody. I’ll go talk to the cops and see what they say. Don’t make me sorry I told you.” Lacey got out of the car and walked past him toward her building. She was slightly miffed, but still, all in all, she thought Jody handled it better than she believed he would. Of course he could still totally lose it. Time would tell. As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she heard a couple of loud bangs and looked back to see Jody standing next to the dumpster, rubbing his hand.
Well,
she thought,
he held it in as long as he could.

Lacey called Zoe when she got back to the office, and they made plans for dinner. Pizza was on the menu, Lacey was the delivery girl, and the deck was their destination. Girl time was what she needed, and girl time was what she’d have.

Kids were out playing street hockey in the alley behind the house when Lacey pulled into the garage. Street hockey seemed to be the game of choice around their neighborhood. Maybe because the Scorpions hockey team was so close? Whatever the reason, it was nice to see kids outside playing rather than inside attached to all types of electronics.

Seeing bunches of kids playing made Lacey think about what Jody had told her. It pulled at her heartstrings. Lacey had never felt that she absolutely had to have children, even though she and Steven had talked about having a family. Knowing that Jody couldn’t have them made her think that maybe she wanted them more than she thought she did. Was it just because that decision was taken away from him, and would be from her, too, if they had a future together? What a crazy thought! She certainly shouldn’t be thinking about marriage and children with Jody, but there it was.

The door opened as Lacey started up the stairs. “Thank God you’re home. I’m famished.” Lacey laughed. What else was new? Zoe was always hungry. “And I’m dying to know how it went with Jody. Come on, I’ve got the plates and napkins ready.” Zoe grabbed the pizza box from her and headed out to the deck.