Legend (Arizona Vengeance #3)(44)

“Well, I’m still as single as they come and I’ll gladly take all the lap dances you fellas don’t want,” Dax says and waves a hundred-dollar bill at the woman who has been dancing in front of him. He crooks his finger and she walks down the stage stairs.

When the stripper reaches us, she points to a chair for Dax to take rather than the stool he’s been sitting on at the edge of the stage. It sits up just a little too high for a good lap dance.

Dax grins and gladly obliges.

Erik and I watch and sip our beers while the woman straddles Dax’s thighs and gyrates all over him. Her top comes off and Dax doesn’t give two fucks about the no-touching rule that is pretty standard in most clubs. His hands go to her huge tits and he squeezes them while he grins up at her. She must like it because she starts rubbing her barely covered pussy on his crotch.

Dax startles a moment and then leans to the side, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He looks at the screen and gives a cheesy grin as he answers it. “Lance…dude, too bad you’re in New York because you are missing the best baby shower in the world. I’ve got a half-naked woman in my lap.”

I’m guessing it’s Lance Miles who is Dax’s best friend from the New York Vipers, although they knew each other long before they became NHL players. They played youth hockey together so they practically grew up together.

    The smile on Dax’s face dies, his expression confused and worried at the same time. He bolts up from the chair, nearly tossing the stripper to the ground. Erik lunges forward a bit and catches her under her arms.

“Hey,” she snaps at Dax but he’s already pivoted and headed out of the club with the phone pressed tight to his ear.

Erik releases the stripper and looks at me. I shrug and stand from the stool. I could tell something’s wrong so I follow the path that Dax just took with Erik on my heels.

We leave the private room right into the main body of the strip club and I see Dax across the way, shouldering past people to the exit.

When we push through the doors that lead out into the parking lot, I look left but Erik’s tugging on my shirt, so I look right. Dax is leaning up against the building with the phone still pressed to his ear and his head hanging down.

I hesitate to go nearer because by his body language, it looks like this is a private conversation. However, the hunch of his shoulders and the fact he raises a hand to wipe a tear away from his eye has my feet moving.

Dax raises his head, looks directly at me, and gives a slight shake of his head. His eyes are filled with overwhelming sorrow and I know someone is dead. Perhaps one of his parents. His dad has a heart condition.

It would make sense as Lance practically grew up in the Monahan household, so he definitely could be delivering bad news about one of Dax’s family members.

    “I need you to hang tough,” Dax says softly into the phone. “I’m going home now and going to book the first flight I can get on to New York.”

Hang tough?

New York?

Dax’s parents are in Michigan.

He slowly lowers the phone and straightens from the wall. His eyes well up with tears and his voice is so shaky, I can barely understand him.

“Lance is dead,” he manages to say, and he looks like he might crumble.

“What?” I exclaim as I take a giant step forward to take ahold of his arm. Erik comes closer as well.

“That was his sister,” he whispers.

Regan.

I know of her because I played for the Vipers for a season. Lance helped to raise after their parents died in an automobile accident.

“Jesus,” I murmur, glancing at Erik for a moment. “What happened?”

“Murdered,” Dax mutters as he shakes his head. Like he can’t believe it. “I don’t know the details but it was a mugging and he was shot.”

“Fuck,” I hiss between my teeth, my stomach rolling with nausea.

“I need to get to New York. Regan is completely lost,” Dax says as he pulls away from my hold and starts staggering into the parking lot. He’s been drinking quite a bit but I think part of the staggering is grief.

Erik and I hurry to catch him. I step in front of Dax, holding my palms out. “You can’t drive. You’ve had too much to drink. I’m borderline on how much I’ve had to drink so here’s what we’re going to do…I’m going to call us an Uber and I’m going to ride home with you. You can pack while I make your flight reservation.”

    Dax just nods dumbly, and then easily lets me lead him back to the sidewalk that borders the building. I pull my phone out and as I’m pulling up the Uber app, I look at Erik. “Let everyone inside know what’s going on. And can you call Christian?”

Dax was going to miss some games and the best person to notify would be the general manager.

“Sure thing,” Erik says and then lays a hand on Dax’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, man. Let me know what I can do.”

Dax manages a half smile. “Thanks.”



* * *



—

I accompany Dax to his place which is actually a townhome in Scottsdale. I offer the Uber driver fifty dollars to wait for us.

Dax is quiet and reserved, but I engage him as best I can. He refreshes me on more details of Lance’s sister, Regan. Lance was only twenty-one and halfway through his fourth season in the NHL when he took over guardianship of his sister, who was fourteen at the time. Because Dax and Lance grew up together, Regan was as much a little sister to Dax as his own younger sister, Willow.