Chapter 39
MADDOX
In my seven-year career in the NHL, I’ve been to the final round of the playoffs twice.
The first time came during my second season with the Warriors when we lost in game six against Carolina.
The second time was two years ago, and while we lost again, we played our asses off and pushed Florida to game seven.
Today, we have our final practice before I get my third chance at the cup tomorrow. And third time’s the charm, right?
The first two times I was in this spot, I thought I had something to prove. Like if the team failed, that meant I failed. There was a near-suffocating pressure on me back then, and I’m relieved to know that whatever was causing that pressure is long gone.
Now I’m hungry. Goddamn starving to hold that beautiful silver cup in my hands and give it a sloppy kiss.
The sun has risen already, and I’m too scared to look at my phone to see how little time I have left with Braxton this morning.
The past couple of days have been something out of a movie, and even though Braxton’s mattress is a far cry from the one in the penthouse, I’ve been here for the past two nights, a sore back and happy everything else.
A soft sound slips from Braxton’s mouth as she stretches her leg over both of mine before flopping to her back. A smile curls my lips as I drop my gaze to her sleepy eyes as they blink at me. She yawns and pulls the heavy reddish-pink blanket up to her chin.
“How long have you been awake?” she asks, voice scratchy with sleep.
“Not long. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. I’m too ramped up to sleep.”
“I’m excited to see you play tomorrow. I’m flying with your family, right? I think that’s what your mom said on the phone yesterday.”
I roll to my side and stroke my knuckle over her cheek. “That’s right. I fly out tonight, and your flight is tomorrow morning.”
“Are you going to be able to last a night all by yourself?” she teases.
“Probably not.”
She giggles, turning her head to kiss my knuckle. “One game, and then we’re back home.”
“Hopefully with a win.”
“Definitely a win. The Warriors look amazing,” she says proudly, chin jutting up.
I pinch it and bring her in for a quick kiss, knowing how much she dislikes kissing too much before brushing her teeth. When I pull away, I bump her nose with mine.
“Thanks, baby girl.” I roll to my other side and grab my phone from the nightstand as she does the same. We fall back to the bed at the same time, but Braxton is a whole lot tenser than she was a second ago.
“Something’s wrong,” she blurts out, fingers tapping quickly on her phone screen.
I turn off the do-not-disturb mode on my own and stiffen at the surge of messages and missed calls that fills the screen. Bits and pieces of each message is all I catch before Dougie’s calling.
Answering instantly, I put my phone to my ear. “What happened?” I ask, skipping a hello.
“You need to get to the arena. Now. Bring Braxton with you,” he orders. There’s a nervous wobble in his voice that I have never ever heard before.
My eyes fly to Braxton as she jumps out of bed and hastily gets dressed. Her phone is against her ear, but her words are muttered, quiet.
“Don’t blindside me, Dougie. Tell me what’s going on, and we’ll head there right now,” I say.
“I need you to bring everything you have about the break-in with Braxton’s car and any proof you have that she’s filed a police report. The car window has been repaired, right? Drive it here.”
“Slow down, man. Yes, it has—we got it repaired the next day—but what does her car have anything to do with needing to be at the arena? You’re freaking me out right now.”
There’s a shuffle, and then my dad’s voice replaces Dougie’s.
“Hey, Dox. I need you to listen to me right now and not lose your cool once I’ve finished speaking.
You’re with Braxton right now, right? Your mom is on the phone with her right now, but you can’t freak out and scare her any more than she most likely already is. ”
I gulp, nodding, even though he can’t see me. “Okay,” I breathe.
“Have you spoken about the fake relationship agreement recently? Maybe in her car sometime after it was broken into?”
“Uh . . . maybe? We’ve talked about it lots, Dad. Recently and not so recently.”
“Okay. Well, there was another article written on Sports Weekly this morning, and there’s a recording of Braxton talking about the agreement, confirming that it was fake and in turn breaking her NDA.
They’re claiming they recorded a conversation with her after she requested to give an interview with them.
It’s been picked up on bigger platforms since it was posted and is circulating all over social media now.
The VW are pissed, Dox. Really, really pissed.
Alexander wants you both in his office as soon as possible. ”
A cold flush slips from my head to my toes. Panic digs into my gut.
“What do you mean there’s a recording of her?”
Dad blows out a heavy exhale. “Dougie and I think there’s a bug in her car. We have to look to be sure.”
“There is one. She wouldn’t have met with a news outlet,” I state harshly.
“We know, son.”
“She was hurt. She was pushed and hit her head when they planted that bug. She could have—”
“Maddox. Calm down.”
“Calm down?” I bark, shoving myself out of bed, fists curled at my sides as I stride out of the room, too scared to look at Braxton on my way out.
“Who posted the article? Tell me the name of this guy so I can teach him not to fuck with my family. I wonder how he would like getting shoved onto the concrete.”
“Rose Carpenter.”
I freeze.
“Fuck!” I shout, squeezing my eyes shut. That fucking snake. “What are they saying about my girl, Dad? Why is Mom on the phone with her?”
“She’s just telling her exactly what I’m telling you because we knew you would be too upset to do it. It will be okay. We’ll get this figured out,” he attempts to reassure me.
“Alexander needs to watch his mouth around her. The minute he tries to pin this on her, I’m done.”
“We’re going to be with you to make sure that doesn’t happen, and then we’ll figure everything else out together.”
“The cops said it was just an attempted carjacking. That she interrupted the guy and he pushed her to get away. They pulled the security footage from the clinic, but the guy wore a mask. Nothing came from it. It won’t prove anything to Alex.”
“Worth a shot. A broken NDA is serious. We need anything that could help take the heat off of her. As far as your contract goes . . .”
“You don’t think there will be one. Yeah, I figured as much.”
“Dox,” Braxton calls. I whip my head around to see her standing a couple of feet away, eyes brimming with tears.
“We’ll be there as soon as we can,” I mutter, lifting my arm and ushering her toward me.
She rushes over and burrows her face in my naked chest as I wrap my arm around her and rub her back.
“I love you, Maddox. It’ll be okay,” Dad says.
I steal some of his confidence for myself, filling my depleted tank. “I love you too, Dad. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
We hang up, and the next second, I’m pulling Braxton closer, dropping my chin to her head. She smells like me mixed with her shampoo, and I sniff her like a fucking dog, trying to calm myself.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“This isn’t your fault.”
“It’s my voice out there. It was my car that was broken into. Hell, it was most likely my dad that orchestrated this entire thing.”
“The actions of that man are not on you, and the actions of a low-life who broke into your car and hurt you sure as shit aren’t either. I don’t blame you for this, and I don’t want you to blame yourself for it either.”
“This was supposed to fix everything.”
Frustrated that she doesn’t understand how deeply I care for her, I rest my hands on her arms and move her away from my chest, staring down at her with my heart on my sleeve.
“This agreement might not have fixed my career, but it fixed the most important thing to me. You’re here, baby.
You’re in my arms and in my fucking life, just like you should have always been.
My greatest mistake in life is letting you run from me, and I would give up my career in a heartbeat if it meant that I don’t ever have to lose you again.
Fuck the VW, and fuck this Rose woman. I can’t live without you again. I won’t.”
“I won’t stand between you and your future, Maddox. I did that once, and while you’ve forgiven me for it, I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself. I regret a lot of things from my past, but my greatest mistake is letting my own selfish wants almost ruin your future.
“It killed me to leave you. But look at what happened after. You’re a four-time Art Ross trophy winner and are about to play in the Stanley Cup finals for the third time in seven years.
I don’t know if those things would have happened if I had stayed, but I do know that we’re on the cusp of reliving our past, and I refuse to be an obstacle you have to overcome again. ”
I shake my head, cupping her cheeks. “No. You’re not doing this again. I’m not letting you back out. We’re going to wipe away these tears and go to the arena and deal with this together. Nobody is sacrificing anything this time. Do you understand me?”
She drops her eyes, tears leaking from the corners. I brush them away with my thumbs.
“This is not the same as last time. I’m not a lost cause without Vancouver. It isn’t Vancouver or nothing. I just need you to put your faith in me here, Curly. Please, let me take care of this,” I beg.
“Can you promise that you aren’t going to resent me for this?”
My answer is instant. There isn’t an ounce of hesitation or doubt in my mind. I’ve never been surer of anything besides my complete devotion to her.
“I promise.”
Her eyes search mine for a long, silent piece of time. Nerves fill my chest.
“Okay.” She breathes in and out slowly. “Okay. You should get dressed before we leave.”
I furrow my brows and tilt her face up when she continues to stare at the ground. “Hey. I love you, Braxton. This is a forever-type thing. Got it?”
She nods, trying to smile, but it’s weak. Completely unconvincing.
“I know. I’m just . . . I’m trying to get a grasp on this situation.
I didn’t think my dad would go this far to get what he wants.
I was hurt, Dox. I was actually physically hurt because of this.
Yeah, he might not have thought the guy would end up shoving me, but he did. What am I supposed to do here?”
“We talk to everyone and go from there. Once we have all of the details, we can make a plan. I’ll be here for you no matter what you choose to do, okay?”
Her shoulders deflate as she moves back into my arms. “Okay, Dox. I trust you.”
I hold her tight, letting her trust in me sink into my mind.
As much as I wish I could fix this with pretty words and promises, I have to prove to her that we can get through this.
That starts with getting this sorted out before anything else can fall into our laps.
I just hope I’m ready for the consequences of whatever choice I’m going to have to make.