Taking Shots (Assassins, #1)(172)

“Is that why she brought her stuff over?”

“She said she didn’t want to give it to goodwill.”

“Okay, so she brings it over here, knowing I’ll see it?”

“I don’t know what she was thinking Shea; she just wanted Ryan to have your things.”

Shea was getting more pissed by the minute, “Pack it all up, Ryan can’t have it.”

“Shea! That’s not right.”

“No, I want her stuff because I’ve had enough. She is gonna listen to me. I don’t want anyone else but her. I’m not over her, and she’s gonna know it,” he said as he stood, slamming the chair against the table.

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“Home? I thought you were gonna go talk to her!” Grace said, following him from the kitchen to the door.

“I need to get my speech out right; I’ll get her tomorrow before the game. I know she’ll be there, from what Harper said she has been sitting with Bryan all this time.”

“Oh,” Grace said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek, “So you’re going to do this in front of your boss?”

Shea nodded, “If I have too, but she will know tomorrow that I love her and I haven’t given up on us.”





Shea felt good the next morning. He worked out with Jakob, went to have lunch before going home for a nap, all with the confidence that by the end of the night not only would he be going to the Stanley Cup Finals, but he would have Elli back in his life. For good. He was done with all this nonsense, hell he was done with it two months ago, but she wasn’t getting away anymore. He would tell her everything he felt, then he would kiss her. He knew that when their lips met everything would be okay. She would feel all the love he had been holding onto just for her. He just knew it.

The whole truck ride to the arena, he was ready, even after parking the car and going in the back way to the locker room. He was ready. When he enter the locker room, some of the team were getting ready, one being Phillip Anderson. Shea and Phillip had always butted heads, especially after him hitting on Elli when they were in Tampa, but being in the mood he was, he smiled at Phillip, and when Phillip looked behind him, Shea guessed to see if anyone else was there, he said, “Ready for tonight, Anderson?”

“Yeah Adler, you?”

“Always ready,” Shea said confidently as he walked towards his locker, throwing off his clothes. As he dressed he kept telling himself that Elli wasn’t over him, and that she missed him. That had to mean she still loved him. It took forever for her to say she loved him, so he knew that she wasn’t over it. She couldn’t be. After being fully dressed, he stood putting on his shoes. Members of the team were starting to fill up the locker room and Shea smiled and nodded towards each of them as he left the locker room heading for the elevator that took him up to the company boxes.

Shea walked with all the confidence in the world as he made him way to Bryan Fisher’s box, but when he got closer, he became nervous, jerky even with every step. He saw the door to the box, and took a deep breath, before walking in unannounced. What he didn’t expect was to have fourteen pairs of eyes gawking at him. Shea was expecting just Elli and Bryan, not the whole family. Shea took a deep breath, swallowing loudly as he moved from each face, trying to find Elli.

But she wasn’t there.

“Adler, everything okay?”

Disappointment raked through Shea’s body. Where was she?

“Yeah, um, is Elli here?” Shea found himself asking even though he knew the answer.

“No and if she was, you wouldn’t be seeing her. What in God’s name are you doing here anyways?” Olivia sneered, “You are not welcome anywhere near my family.”

“Livi, please,” Michael said, moving in front of her, “Shea, son, she isn’t here.”

Which meant Shea wouldn’t be able to see her till the end of the game, if he could even find her. Last time he went to her house, she wouldn’t even answer the door.

Shea nodded slowly, “Well, thank you, you guys enjoy the game.”

Shea turned, going for towards the door when he met eyes with Victoria. Anger filled him as he stared her down, but she wouldn’t look him in the eyes. “You have a lot of gall sitting up here, Victoria.”

“Don’t you talk to her!” Olivia yelled as Victoria looked up at him.

“Do you know what I’ve been through? Do you know how much I ache for her and she won’t even speak to me? You did this to me, and because of that, I will always hate you.”

Victoria had tears well up in her eyes as she looked up at him; she started shaking her head, her mouth trying to form words.

“Leave my daughter alone!” Olivia dug her nails into Shea’s jersey pulling him back, he turned looking down at the Elli’s mother, and held back the rage that was filling him as she screamed up at him, “You are a low life, nothing but a piece of crap! You would never deserve my daughter and the fact that y’all aren’t together is not my baby’s fault, it’s your own! You’re a playboy, the man that sleeps with anything that has legs.”

“Olivia, stop!” Michael said, trying to pull Olivia back, but she kept screaming.

“You are nothing, even if Eleanor was here, what did you expect? For her to take you back? My daughter has more class than that, you thug! Get out of here and never come back.”