Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Spencer
It was the ass crack of the morning when our plane landed. Then again, did three a.m. even count as being part of the morning? It was more like the middle of the night. Sadly, nights like this were part of being a professional hockey player.
At least we were on a plane and not a bus. Those long bus rides were the absolute worst.
Carter was sound asleep, and Elle, our flight attendant, seemed indecisive about whether she should be the one to wake him up.
Sleeping on the plane was always encouraged, and for the longer flights, it wasn't unusual for guys to take an Ambien or some other sleep medication to help with the recovery.
Although, most people woke up when we started the descent.
While Carter was bound to jump, he wasn't going to be someone who took a swing at anyone. As I stood up, I said, "I got it, Elle."
She smiled and went back to tidying up the empty seats in front of me.
I shook Carter's shoulder. A cat couldn't jump higher or wilder than him, and after he gasped, he looked at me. "What?"
Trying to keep things light, I said, "The aliens landed, and they're asking for their leader."
That got a good chuckle from the fellas still on the plane while Carter just stared. He must have been deep in sleep for him to be dumbfounded. Then the comment finally registered and said, "Screw you."
I stepped aside and gave him the ushering arms, "Lead the way, mon capitaine."
He snorted, but he grabbed his black bookbag and headed off the flight.
Then I got a call, which was unusual since anyone who was awake was within shouting distance. That meant this would be some sort of an emergency situation. I just hoped that Natalie was safe. God, I couldn't bear anything happening to her.
I dug out my phone and was slightly more relieved to see it was Eric. "What's up, little man?"
"I think he might kill my mom."
Shit.
"Are you safe, and have you called the police?"
"I'm in the closet, but I haven't called them."
I weighed the options. I couldn't do nothing, but it was risky as all hell.
"All right. I need you to call them and, if you can, get the hell out of the house. I'm coming to get you and your mom."
"Okay, Mr. Spencer. I'm scared."
"I know, but it will be okay."
At least, I hoped it would be.
I wanted to get to him as quickly as possible. Thankfully, all the bags were lined up and easy to grab. Now, all I had to do was avoid the team-created traffic jam. At least it wouldn't take too long to get out, and some of the guys would be carpooling.
There was the constant chirp of cars unlocking except for one: Carter's.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," he cursed. "Spence, can you drop me off?"
"Sure. But I have something I need to do first."
He looked at me but just threw his shit into my SUV. As we hopped into the car, he looked back, and asked, "Why do you still have a car seat?"
"’Cause I'm a lazy fuck, but it works out since we need to go get Eric."
Everything went deadly silent, and I realized Carter didn't like my plan. "What the fuck are you playing at? You're going there now?"
Yup. He hated the idea.
"He called me, and things are bad. He's scared. I can't leave him behind. Just like you couldn't leave me behind when shit got real."
"And it created a giant ass legal storm for my parents."
Which was what we'd been so careful not to do until now. But I was willing to risk it by taking him. If only for tonight in order to protect him. It was about Eric and Annette's safety tonight.
"I know, and I'm willing to risk it."
Carter shook his head, but he knew nothing was stopping me right now. My mind was made up. I was going to save this kid from his nightmare.
We drove in silence to the neighborhood.
I pulled up to the house, and the police and ambulance were already there.
Thankfully, two police officers were trying to restrain Luke and push him into a vehicle, but he was screaming like a lunatic. "You were sleeping with him again, weren't you? You dirty whore."
We weren't even out of the cars just yet, and he switched his insults, "Oh look, more of your hockey hook-ups are here to play hero!"
Holy shit, this guy was on a tear with his deal about hockey players right now.
As much as I wanted to rip into Luke for slapping Natalie a couple weeks ago, I knew I couldn't touch him. He was already restrained by the police, and if I touched him, I would only undo everything we'd worked on for weeks.
Instead, I focused on looking for the two people who mattered most and trying to stay out of the way of the police since the last thing we needed was to get arrested or kicked off the scene.
That's when a gurney was pushed out of the house by a couple paramedics and a police officer. Annette had been beaten to hell, and you could barely recognize her face.
"Christ." Carter's word choice was perfect in that moment. I wasn't sure if it was a prayer asking for some divine intervention, a curse word, or all of the above.
That's when Eric dashed out of the house and leapt into my arms. "Mr. Spencer. You came."
"Yeah. I told you I was on my way." I held the kid up in a tight hug. While I had no clue what was going to happen with Annette, I knew one thing. She would have been dead if Eric didn't call me and the police. "You did good."
Much to my surprise, Annette tried to say something. It was too hard to make out from our distance, but God, I hoped it was telling the officers that we were okay to be with her son.
Almost immediately, the police officer went to talk to one of his colleagues who oversaw putting Luke into the police car. I just held Eric, hoping that we would be allowed to leave with him.
As he saw his mom going in the ambulance, he buried his head into my neck. He said, "I want to go with Mom."
"I know, bud, but she needs a lot of medical care. But after we get some rest, we'll go and see her since I know you don't want to sit in the waiting room doing nothing."
I didn't tell the kid how afraid I was that they wouldn't let me take him home.
Right when I was about to go up to the police officer to see if it would be okay, the officer talking with Annette closer, and there was that slight moment of recognition of either Carter or me, if not both of us. He asked, "Mr. Suzuki?"
I adjusted my grip slightly so I could extend my hand. "That's me. Nice to meet you."
"So, upon speaking with Annette and the officers, we were wondering if you could care for Eric until we get things sorted out."
"Of course." I smiled since that was such a relief. I was convinced it would be so much harder to take Eric with me since it seemed like the Carmichaels weren’t allowed to take away from the violence.
I was just glad that Luke was getting arrested for the evening.
Everything could change in the next twenty-four hours, but at least he wasn't worried for a little bit. "What hospital is she being taken to?"
"Mount Saint Joseph’s."
Oh, thank goodness. It was one of the best in the area, and the Legacy often did charity at that hospital. That was a relief to know that she was going to be in good hands.
I was ready to put Eric in the car. I would worry about getting him some new things soon since I knew it was an active crime scene, and they wouldn't likely let him go back inside.
Besides, Annette's body was a wreck. There had to be tons of blood splatter and just broken things about if she was that beat up.
"Mr. Suzuki, we will still need to take a statement from the boy. We can do it in the car if he's up to it."
I looked at Eric, and he nodded. So the four of us headed to the car, and we heard about the horrors from the evening.