Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
JACKO
As the morning breaks and the light begins to filter into the lounge, every part of my body aches.
My muscles are tense from being on high alert all night.
Maya finally fell asleep on me about four this morning, after I managed to convince her it was just a faulty alarm again.
But something’s niggling at me and I can’t put my finger on it.
Everything feels too normal. The kettle hums on the counter. Maya’s moving around the kitchen with mechanical calm, slicing strawberries for Lila’s porridge like the night hadn’t induced mass panic.
I watch them from the kitchen table, mug warm in my hands, eyes gritty from sleep I never really got. The baby monitor crackled to life twice overnight, and both times I was on the verge of grabbing both of them and getting the hell out of there.
Lila sits on her booster seat at the table, swinging her legs and chewing thoughtfully. She doesn’t say much at first, just hums along to the silly morning jingle on the radio.
“More strawberries, Mummy?” she asks, voice syrupy and small.
Maya nods and slides more into her bowl. “Eat up quick, baby. We’re on the clock this morning. Nursery starts in thirty and Mummy’s got a mountain of croissants to roll.”
I manage a crooked smile. “And I’ve got an angry coach waiting if I’m late. Again.”
“You won’t be,” Maya says, like if she says it with enough certainty, it’ll be true.
Lila munches a strawberry, then looks up at me with serious eyes. “Bear?”
“Yeah, Jellybean?”
“Do you think my daddy set the alarm off?”
The question knocks the breath from my chest.
Maya freezes halfway through packing Lila’s bag, her back going ramrod straight. I meet her eyes over Lila’s head, and I see the flicker of fear she’s trying to keep buried under calm.
I clear my throat. “I don’t know, Jellybean. I didn’t see anything when I checked, there wasn’t anyone outside or in corridors. Could’ve been the wind, or a cat, or a branch.”
She frowns. “But what if it was him? What if he found us?”
My jaw tightens. I reach across the table, my hand warm around her small wrist. “Then he’d have to get through me first. And that’s not going to happen. You’re safe. You and Mummy.”
She stares at me a beat too long, then nods and returns to her porridge like it never happened. Maya exhales slowly and gives me a barely-there nod of thanks.
By the time we’re all out the door, we’re late.
The nursery drop-off is brisk. Lila hugs me tight, whispers, “You’re my favourite bear,” and then bounds into the room like nothing happened. Maya watches her with glassy eyes until the door swings shut. It’s the first time I’ve dropped Lila off.
“Would it be okay with you if I added you to Lila’s safe contact list? It just means you won’t get questioned if you come pick her up or…”
My heart twists with something akin to love. “Absolutely, where do I sign?”
Maya smiles and heads over to speak to a member of staff.
Once the paperwork’s signed and they’ve taken my mugshot we’re all set, and I grasp Maya’s hand and lead her back out to the truck.
We don’t talk much on the drive to the bakery.
Maya’s staring out the window, arms wrapped tight around herself. She’s gone into defence mode.
“You alright?” I ask gently.
She nods, too fast. “Just tired.”
I want to say more, want to ask if she believes it was just a false alarm, if she’s thought about going to the police again, if she needs me to stay close today, but I don’t push.
Instead, I park outside the bakery and turn to her.
“I can move some stuff around this week. Come by during lunch. Sit out front. Keep an eye.”
Her lips twitch into a tiny smile. “You’d bring the bear to the bakery?”
“Always.”
She squeezes my hand. “Thanks, Owen.”
I watch her walk inside before driving off, the bakery door swinging shut behind her. The street looks normal, safe. But I check the mirrors five times before turning out.
By the time I get to the rink, I’m fifteen minutes late. Coach gives me a look like he’s ready to gut me, but says nothing. I mutter an apology, throw on my kit, and jog out onto the ice.
I skate like I’ve got something to burn. Because maybe I do. There’s only so much you can do to protect the people you love. But I’ll do every damn bit of it. Even if it means being late. Even if it means never sleeping easy again.
Because Maya and Lila are mine now.
And no one, no shadow, no man, no ghost from the past, is going to take that from me.
I’ve just peeled off my pads when I hear it. “Jackson. Office.” Coach Bentley’s voice cuts across the locker room like a blade.
A few of the guys glance up, Dylan arches a brow, Ollie winces like oof, good luck mate, but I don’t look at any of them. Just toss my towel over my shoulder and head down the corridor, heart already thudding.
The office door clicks shut behind me and the air feels ten degrees colder. Coach leans against his desk, arms folded, expression unreadable in that way he does when he’s not shouting, worse, maybe.
He waits.
I wait.
The silence stretches so long it makes the walls feel smaller.
Then he says, “Fifteen minutes late, Jackson.” His tone’s even, but I know it. That’s not calm. That’s coiled.
I shift on my feet. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“Not like you,” he says simply. “You’re reliable. Quiet. Early. So, what’s going on?”
I swallow, jaw tight. “Just a rough morning.”
“Yeah?” He steps around the desk, face still blank. “Funny, rough mornings usually don’t make a man skate like he’s ready to kill something.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. Don’t want to say it. Don’t want to throw Maya’s name into this, not in a place full of spreadsheets and power plays.
But Coach Bentley doesn’t blink or move, he just waits.
“There was… an incident,” I say finally. “Early this morning. My girl’s house alarm went off. Again.”
His eyebrows lift a millimetre. “Second time in what…two weeks?”
“Yeah.”
“Police involved?”
I shake my head. “She wouldn’t call them. Thought it might be another fault.”
“What about you?” he repeats, slow. “You don’t look like a man who thought it was nothing. You look like a man who hasn’t slept.”
I don’t say anything. I Can’t. Because he’s right. It wasn’t nothing.
My gut’s been turning since I got to Maya’s flat at half two this morning. Something about how fast Maya went quiet. How Lila asked that question without flinching.
Coach watches me like he’s reading a scouting report. “This about that woman from the bakery, her kid?”
I meet his eyes. “Yeah.”
“You protecting them?”
“Trying.”
He nods once. Then again, slower. Paces a few steps.
Runs a hand over his stubble like it helps him think.
“Look, I’m not asking for your business, Jacko.
But whatever this is? It’s bleeding into your game.
Into the room. You’ve got rookies looking at you like you’re about to snap a stick over someone’s head. ”
I blink. “I didn’t realise,”
“That’s the thing. You didn’t.” He pauses, lets it land. “You’ve earned a lot of rope here. More than most. But if something’s going on, really going on, you need to handle it. Clean. Smart. Or it’ll bite you, and them, and maybe the team too.”
My fingers curl at my sides. “I’m handling it.”
“Are you?” His voice isn’t unkind, but it cuts deep. “Because from where I’m standing, you look like a man who knows something’s wrong but doesn’t have proof. And that’s a dangerous place to live.”
He’s right again. I hate that he’s right. I’m running on instinct. Fear. Fury.
And not a scrap of evidence.
Coach sighs and moves back behind the desk. “You want to miss practice again, you text. Don’t make me chase you. Clear?”
“Clear.”
“And Jackson?”
I stop with my hand on the door.
“If this thing turns real,” he says quietly, “don’t be proud. Come to me. I’ve seen what this league does to players who try to carry everything on their own.”
I nod once and leave before he can say anything else. Because I know myself.
And I know if something is coming, if this wasn’t just a glitch or a windblown branch or a fucking cat, then I won’t just carry it. I’ll burn it down before I let it touch them. They’re mine now.
And I’m not letting anyone take them back.
The locker room’s gone still. Skates off. Jerseys hung. Voices faded.
I sit on the bench in my base layer, elbows on knees, staring at the scuffed floor between my feet. My body’s cooled but my blood’s still running hot.
Behind me, a locker door slams. I glance up to find Ollie lingering by his stall, hair wet, shirt half on, that classic shit-eating grin dialled down to something gentler. He tilts his head. “You alright, mate?”
“Fine,” I say. Too fast. Too flat.
Ollie snorts. “Yeah, that’s convincing.”
I drag a hand over my face. “Just tired.”
He doesn’t buy it. Of course he doesn’t. Ollie sees more than people give him credit for. He might be younger than me but he’s a good mate.
He takes a seat across from me, arms resting on his thighs. “You know I’ve got cousins, right? One of ’em’s in security. Runs a legit business. Alarm systems, CCTVs, panic buttons. That sort of thing.”
That makes me sit up straighter. “You serious?”
“Deadly.” He eyes me. “You want me to give him a ring? He owes me a favour.”
I nod before he’s even finished speaking. “Yeah. I want him to look at Maya’s system. Today, if he can.”
“Thought you might say that.”
He grabs his phone from his bag and scrolls, muttering under his breath as he dials. While it rings, he says to me, “He’s fast. Works quiet. Doesn’t ask questions he doesn’t need answered.”
The call connects. “Hey, Daz. Need a rush job for a mate. Residential alarm check. Possible tamper. Can you do today?” A pause. “Yeah. I’ll text you the address. You’re a legend.”
He hangs up and looks at me. “He’ll be there by four.”
I exhale, relief hitting me like a wave. “Thanks, mate.”
Ollie shrugs like it’s no big deal, but he gives me a look. One of those rare, serious ones. “Just keep your head. You go off the rails, you’re no good to her or the kid.”
“I know.” And I do. Doesn’t mean I’m not close.
I grab my phone and step into the hallway outside the room, pressing Maya’s name. She answers on the third ring, her voice soft.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah,” I say. “You at the bakery?”
“Just finishing up.”
“Good. I’ve got someone coming by the flat. Security guy. Trusted. He’s going to check the alarm system, maybe upgrade it.”
There’s a beat of silence. “You didn’t have to…”
“I did.” Because I can’t do nothing. Because last night’s fear is still sitting in my bones like rot.
“I want you to feel safe, Maya. You and Lila. This guy’s discreet. Knows what he’s doing.”
She exhales. “Okay. Thank you, Owen.”
“I’ll meet him there. You don’t have to stay if you’re not comfortable.”
“No, I want to. I want to know what he finds.”
“Okay, well I’m just getting changed and then I’ll pick you up. We can go together and then when he’s finished how about I take you and Lila out for pizza?”
“Lila would love that, thank you.”
We hang up and I take one last breath in the empty corridor before heading out.
Ollie claps me on the back as I pass. “Go get your girls secured, Jacko.”
I nod, jaw tight. Because I will. Because I have to.
No more maybes. No more waiting for something to go wrong. I’m done playing defence.