Rushing the Goal (Assassins #8)(149)

“What if, by some crazy chance, he gets her?”

“Then we will fight for her back, but I highly doubt that I will happen.”

“It scares me,” she whispered and he nodded, kissing her head.

“Don’t be, I got you.”

She let out a long breath, fisting his shirt as she looked up at him, her chin touching his. “Sometimes, it's hard to find words to tell you how much you mean to me. Most of the time, I don't say anything at all because I don’t share the way you like to,” she said and he smiled, getting lost in her eyes. “But I hope you know that having you and Angie is what I live for.”

His lips curved even more as he dropped his mouth to hers. “I know exactly how you feel.”

Her eyes shone with love as she cupped his face. “Merry Christmas, Benji.”

“Merry Christmas, my love,” he said before pressing his lips to hers.

“Benji! Come on, let’s play! You said you’d be my goalie,” Angie whined and then she stomped her foot. “Ugh! All you do is kiss.”

Grinning against each other’s lips, they pulled apart as his heart burst in his chest. “I’m being beckoned.”

“I know.”

“But I love you.”

“I love you more, birthday boy.”

And what a feeling that was.





Court day.

Benji had been waiting for this day for weeks. He was ready to get it over with. Shut Rick up and get what Lucy had been wanting, what Angie needed. As he watched Angie kick her legs back and forth in the chair she was sitting in between Lucy and her grandpa, Benji’s stomach was a mess. He was surprised how, even though he was ready for this, he was nervous. Probably because Lucy was so anxious. While she looked beautiful in a modest dress that came to her knees with black tights, her hair up in a nice bun, he didn’t miss the way she had bitten her nails almost to the quick. Or how she kept moving her fingers together, lacing them, unlacing them, and then sitting on them. She was freaking out, and it was killing him not to be able to touch her.

Angie, though, she was just watching. Taking in everything about the room and the judge and drawing. No cares in the world. Like her mother, she looked adorable in a yellow dress that really made her his little ray of sunshine. Her hair was down, straight along her shoulders. She glanced back at him, and he smiled. She grinned before she mouthed, “This is boring.”

Nodding his head, he pressed his finger to his lips, and she turned back around as the judge spoke. “Counsel, this court date was set to alter the parenting plan for Angela Hart, parents, Lucy Sinclair and Rick Hart?”

Lucy’s dad stood, clearing his throat. “Yes, sir. Ms. Sinclair would like to change and add a few things to the plan.”

“That being?”

“The biggest issue we are having now is that Angela does not want to go to her father’s anymore. For the past two months, on Mr. Hart’s weekends, he has physically forced her to go to his house. We would like to add to the plan that if she doesn’t want to go, she doesn’t have to. She is at an age where her wishes should be taken into consideration.”

It was downright disgusting is what it was. It had taken everything out of Benji not to rip Rick apart the last time. He was mad the whole weekend and actually said sorry to some of the guys he knocked into on the ice. It was painful, and he hated seeing Angie being put through that.

The judge nodded as he looked up at Angie. He was a big man with a heavy beard and thick bifocals. “Angela, you don’t want to go to your father’s. Why is that?”

Mark looked down at Angie, and she looked from him to the judge. “He’s mean,” she said in a very small voice.

“Mean, how?”

“He is always yelling at me, telling me I’m a bad kid, that my sister is better. He’s really mean about my mom and Benji—”

“Who’s Benji?”

“Benjamin Paxton, Ms. Sinclair’s significant other,” Mark said then, glancing up at the judge.

The judge nodded. “Has he laid a hand on you, Angela?”

Angie looked down and Benji’s heart stopped. She looked so pained as Lucy’s gaze shot to her, her eyes full of concern before Angie nodded. “Sometimes.”

Red-hot rage.

Lucy drew in a sharp intake of breath as she looked down, shaking her head. Angie hadn’t told them that. Why hadn’t she told them? Glancing over at Rick, who was watching them with narrowed eyes, Benji wanted to get up and beat him stupid. He completely understood Angie needing her butt spanked when she misbehaved. Lucy had had to do it before and it sucked and killed him a bit inside, but he doubted that Rick had reason to discipline her. Why? He had her for two days every other weekend. She shouldn’t even have time to be bad if he was loving her the whole time.

“Why?”

She shrugged. “He said I was bad.”

“Were you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Okay,” the judge said, writing some things down. “Other changes.”

“If we cannot get Article One changed about the visitation, then we would like to add that Mr. Hart has to allow communication between Angela and her mother—”

The judge looked up at Mark. “What do you mean?”