AllFreeNovel
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Owen Knox, who’s backed by two of his teammates.
I lean down and whisper to Nikki, “Take Chloe to the table. I’ll be there in a minute.”
She then whispers to Chloe, who walks away without her. My brow furrows, and she simply shakes her head.
“Who is this beautiful lady, Costello? Care to introduce us?” Knox smirks.
I spot Kos and Brett standing up and making their way over to us.
“No, I don’t think I will,” I snap, and he smiles.
“Dirty play tonight, having Jensen fight for you,” Knox spits out.
Laughing, I tuck Nikki further behind me. “You’re the idiot who threw down your gloves with our biggest defender. Did you want to get your ass kicked or what?”
Kos and Brett emerge from the crowd and join me, tucking Nikki between them. I doubt the Wild players would go after her, but I’m not taking that chance, and I’m thankful they aren’t either.
“Say one more thing, Costello,” Knox snarls.
“Did you have something in mind? Or just anything in general?” I mock him.
And he swings. I catch his fist and throw his punch to the side. Something he doesn’t know about End Zone is that they have a zero-tolerance fighting policy. Another thing he doesn’t know is that we’ve become pretty good friends with the bouncers and staff here.
The bouncers, TJ and Jackson, are over to us in a heartbeat. They grab the Wild players and throw them out of the bar, quite literally.
Turning around, I check in with Nikki. “You okay?”
She nods and smiles. “I was ready.”
Chuckling, I ask, “What do you mean, you were ready? They weren’t going to get near you.”
She lifts her hand out of her purse and shows me the can of pepper spray she is death-gripping and quickly stows it away again.
I laugh and grab her free hand. “Come on, killer. It’s almost time for you to leave.”
We find our seat at the table. She sits in the same seat she did the night before—my lap. But this time, she behaves and doesn’t wiggle a thousand times.
She and Chloe each finish their drink, opting out of a second one, and by the time Kos and Laura are done talking about Jack’s increasingly impressive hockey skills, it’s time for them to leave.
Chloe’s phone lights up on the table.
“It’s Bill. He’s outside,” she mumbles to Nikki.
“Come on. I’ll walk you out.” I kiss the back of her head.
Hand in hand, we walk with heavy steps to the door. A man in a black car waves at them, and Chloe waves back. That must be Bill.
They push the door open, and I follow them out, feeling my stomach twist. Chloe gets in the backseat and leaves the door open for Nikki.
She spins and looks up at me. “Can you visit soon?”
Nodding, I tell her, “We have a couple of off days coming up. I will then, but after that, it’s pretty strict for the next couple of months.”
She sighs, “Okay. I—” She pauses, stopping herself. “I am going to miss you.”
I lean down and kiss her forehead, breathing in the sweet smell of Nikki. “I’m going to miss you too, Little Dove.”
Pulling my phone out, I open my camera. “Come here.”
