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“Officer Wilson, Officer Samuels,” I say by way of greeting.
They each give me a tight smile. “Mr. Cain,” Office Wilson says with a nod. “We need to take you down to the station. You’re being charged with assault,” he adds regretfully. He clearly doesn’t want to be doing this.
I nod in understanding and make my way off the ice, with Officer Wilson following me into the locker room.
We come out moments later to find Coach, red in the face, drilling Officer Samuels on what the hell is going on. “Sir, you need to stand down,” she warns.
“Coach,” I say interrupting. “It’s okay. I’ll come by when I’m done with this and explain what’s going on.”
His lips tighten as he studies me, trying to work out what kind of trouble I’ve gotten myself into before glancing at Tank, who has his mouth zipped shut. Coach should know better than that. There’s no way Tank is going to talk. “This needs to stay quiet,” he demands, glancing from the officers to all the players.
“I’ll be back, Coach,” I promise as I follow the officers out the door. They discreetly usher me into their vehicle, knowing the kind of bad press something like this could do, and I mildly wonder how Dani would approach this from a PR angle. Although whatever it is, I know she would do it excellently.
They drive me to the station, and I’m surprised to find Dani still here. She’s in the middle of picking up her things to leave when she sees me being ushered in, and her brows pinch together. “What’s going on?” she asks, her eyes wide.
“It’s okay, babe. Brett is pressing assault charges,” I explain.
Her face drops instantly. “What? Are you serious? After everything he’s done?”
“Don’t worry,” I calm her. “It won’t stick, and if it does, we can fight it.”
She nods in understanding, but the worry doesn’t leave her face as she clutches her things to her chest and takes a seat once again. “Don’t wait around, babe. This could take a while and you’ve been here all day,” I say. “I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Okay,” she says with a frown, allowing Sophie to drag her out the door.
“You two seem to be getting dealt a shitty hand at the moment,” Office Samuels says discreetly.
“Tell me about it,” I agree.
She takes me to the back room to explain the charges against me. However, between the charges pressed against Brett, the restraining order, and both mine and Dani’s statements, it’s more than likely the charges against me will be dropped.
After signing a few papers, I’m out of there an hour later and making my way back to the ice rink. I find Coach Harris anxiously waiting for me in his office, and I sit down in the chair opposite his desk.
He looks up at me, and for the first time since I’ve met the man, there’s a mix of emotions swimming in his eyes. “Out of all the guys, you’re not the one I’d expect to be having trouble with the law,” he comments.
“I know, Coach,” I tell him, regretfully. “I’m being charged with assault.”
“What?” he snarls. “How stupid can you be? An assault charge is enough to throw away your whole future. The NHL won’t even consider someone with a criminal record,” he growls, pushing out of his chair and pacing his office. “You have two minutes to explain how the fuck you got in this situation.”
I do exactly that, giving him the full rundown of what happened last night and a brief history of Dani’s past where Brett is involved.
“Fuck,” he whispers, his face falling as hears more of the story, making it clear how much he has come to care for the girls. “How’s she doing?”
“Alright,” I tell him. “She’s putting on a brave face, but I know she’s hurting.”
He nods in understanding and moves around the front of his desk to take a seat directly in front of me. “Look, I can’t condone violence,” he says, leaning forward and placing a hand on my shoulder. “But had I been in your position, I would have done the same thing. Possibly worse. I think you handled yourself remarkably well,” he commends.
“Thanks, Coach,” I say, feeling uncomfortable accepting any sort of praise in this situation.
“Now, what have you been told about the charges?” he asks, getting back on track.
I explain everything the cops told me and let him know the likelihood of the charges being dropped. He seems wary but still accepts that this is the best possible outcome in such a shitty situation.
Coach sends me on my way, and I stop by the locker room to collect all my gear before making my way out to the parking lot. The second I’m settled in my SUV, I pull out my phone and bring up Dani’s number.
