Boston Bolts Hockey: Trouble

  BRITTANÉE NICOLE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Trouble © 2024 by Brittanée Nicole

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission to the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

  First Edition October 2024

  Model Cover Design by Sara of Sara’s PA Services

  Trope Cover Design by Sara of Sara’s PA Services

  Illustrated Cover Design by Cindy Ras of cindyras_draws

  Formatting by Sara of Sara PA’s Services

  Editing by Beth at VB Edits

  Contents

  Foreword

  Content Warning

  Track 1

  1. Melina

  2. Declan

  3. Melina

  4. Cade

  Track 2

  5. Declan

  6. Melina

  7. Declan

  Track 3

  8. Cade

  9. Melina

  10. Cade

  11. Melina

  12. Declan

  Track 4

  13. Melina

  Track 5

  14. Declan

  15. Melina

  16. Cade

  Track 6

  17. Declan

  18. Melina

  19. Declan

  20. Melina

  21. Cade

  Track 7

  22. Melina

  23. Declan

  24. Cade

  25. Melina

  26. Declan

  27. Cade

  Track 8

  28. Melina

  29. Cade

  30. Declan

  Track 9

  31. Melina

  32. Cade

  Track 10

  33. Declan

  34. Cade

  35. Melina

  Track 11

  36. Declan

  37. Melina

  38. Declan

  Track 12

  39. Melina

  Track 13

  40. Cade

  41. Melina

  42. Cade

  Track 14

  43. Declan

  44. Melina

  Track 15

  45. Cade

  Track 16

  46. Melina

  Track 17

  47. Cade

  Track 18

  48. Melina

  49. Cade

  Track 19

  50. Declan

  51. Cade

  52. Melina

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Brittanée Nicole

  Dedication

  Sometimes the most empowering thing you can do is…

  Let them.

  Let them judge.

  Let them misunderstand.

  Let them be wrong.

  The only thing you can control is how you live your life, not how others view it.

  Anonymous

  Foreword

  Dear Reader,

  With each book I write, the world I build becomes more connected and complex. While Trouble can absolutely be read as a standalone, you will see some character overlap and since I know many of you enjoy the easter eggs I hide and prefer to read in order, here is a suggested reading order as it comes to this world:

  Revenge Era: Ford Hall and Lake Paige

  Mother Faker: Beckett Langfield and Olivia Maxwell

  Pucking Revenge: Brooks Langfield and Sara Case

  A Major Puck Up: Gavin Langfield and Millie Hall

  Hockey Boy: Aiden Langfield and Lennox Kennedy

  And since this book contains not two but three love interests, you will find the firefighters that Declan works with in A Very Merry Margarita Mix Up and can meet more of the characters from Bristol in the Bristol Bay Series.

  I hope you enjoy this world as much as I enjoy writing it.

  XO,

  Brittanée

  Content Warning

  THIS BOOK CONTAINS ADULT THEMES THAT MAY BE TRIGGERING FOR SOME INCLUDING DISCUSSIONS OF SEXAUL ASSAULT/ABUSE, ON PAGE VIOLENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE.

  Track 1

  LOSE YOU TO LOVE ME

  CHAPTER 1

  Melina

  Worst Human Alive: You really can’t do anything right, can you? The first track was due to the label last week. Now you’ve up and disappeared for the holidays? What the hell are you thinking?

  Worst Human Alive: You can’t really believe you can hide from me.

  Worst Human Alive: You’re breaking your mother’s heart. It’s CHRISTMAS.

  Worst Human Alive: Please, baby. I’m sorry. I promise things will be different. But you need to tell me where you are. Come home. We can fix this.

  I stare at the new round of texts in an almost steady stream that hasn’t stopped over the last two weeks. They’ve been coming in at regular intervals since I ran out of my apartment, leaving behind everything I owned, foolishly believing that I could just break up with him, and this would all end.

  Worst Human Alive: I’m your fucking agent. I’m legally entitled to know where you are.

  A scoff full of rage bursts from me. The heat in my lungs makes me want to roar at the insanity of this situation.

  He is my agent. He’s also the person I loved for nearly a decade. My brother’s best friend. The man my mother considers a second son. And my abuser.

  God, why did it take me so long to figure out who he really was?

  The tougher question is: If he hadn’t done what he did the last time I saw him, would I have ever left? I don’t want to even think about my answer. It’ll only show how truly weak I am.

  Melina Rodriguez: International Pop star. Three-time Grammy winner. Coward.

  I power my phone off so that I don’t have to be taunted by his constant musings tonight. Should I block him? Probably. But that will only make him more desperate. More dangerous. He’s already more unhinged now that he doesn’t know where I am.

  I shake my head. “I shouldn’t be here.” Pushing my chair back from the counter, I clasp my hands in front of me and prepare to tell my best friend that I’m going to find a hotel in a city where no one will find me and lie low there.

  “Of course you should be,” Lake replies with a flip of her hand. As if she can magically change my mind.

  Normally, she could. Lake gets her way with just about everyone. To the rest of the world, she’s Lake Paige, the greatest female musician of our time. People are too enamored with my beautiful bestie to tell her no.

  But to me, she’s the girl who stayed up late after our shifts at the Bluebird to write music together. Who dreamed about sold-out bar shows while we ate ice cream on our worn brown couch in our tiny apartment in Nashville. The woman who made me her opening act when she headlined her first tour, where we sang to sold-out stadiums.

  She’s my ride or die. My soul sister. And yet, even now, I’m lying by omission. Because I haven’t told her just how bad things are with the man I’ll continue to call the Worst Human Alive.

  Swamped by a wave of guilt, I open my mouth to tell her the truth. But I snap it shut again at the sound of creaking floorboards in the other room. We spin at the tap of footsteps at the entry to the kitchen and find her husband Ford Hall—who also happens to own the label I owe music too—holding their five-month-old son Nash against his chest. “You ready to go?”

  “Yes,” Lake says.

  At the same time, I mutter, “I think I should leave.”

  My best friend turns her blue eyes on me, mouth turned down in a frown. “You aren’t leaving.”

  Her husband shifts a squirming Nash in his arms and studies me. I’ve known Ford for years. I signed with him before Lake did, in fact. In a strange turn of events, when she did sign with Hall records, she went on to date his son Paul. Oddly, the father and son could not be any more different. While Paul was an unmotivated man child who didn’t believe in fidelity—though he’s come around recently, I’ve heard—Ford Hall is one of the most devoted people I’ve ever met. That extends to his clients and his wife.

  Which is good. If not, I’d have to hurt him. Even if he is like a dad to me. Kind of weird considering my best friend now calls him Daddy, but it’s fun to tease her about it.

  “I agree with Lake.”

  I snort, even as my heart sinks. “Of course you do.”

  Lake bites her famous red lips and smiles.

  Shit. It’s pointless to argue with the two of them. Ford will do whatever makes Lake happy. Happy wife, happy life and all that jazz.

  “It’s the holidays. You should be with family for the holidays,” Lake starts, stepping up beside me and squeezing my hand.

  Just the thought of my family has me taking a step back.

  Ford is on my other side now, gently cupping my elbow. “And you’re family. Right Nash?” he adds in that higher tone people only reserve for babies.

  “Of course he’s right,” Lake replies in a similar tone as she pulls me into a hug.

  “Oh my gosh, you’re squeezing me so tight I can hardly breathe,” I whine, though I snuggle into my best friend’s chest.

  With a chuckle, Ford presses a kiss to my forehead, then steps back. “We’ll always be here for you, Mel. I know you don’t want to stay here⁠�
�”

  I shake my head. While Lake doesn’t know the extent of what’s going on, I couldn’t hide it as easily from Ford. Since the Worst Human Alive is my agent, I had to inform Ford that I’d fired him, so he found out pretty quickly that things had gone south. If only the jerk would listen to a word I said and accept that he’s been relieved of his position.

  “I appreciate you reaching out to your friend. Staying at his house will be just fine.”

  “I really wish you’d just stay here.” Lake pushes her bottom lip out in a dramatic pout.

  “Nah, I heard my roomie is a hottie,” I say with a shake of my head, trying to lighten the mood. I’ve always been the wiseass of the two of us. The tease. The girl with a smile. I refuse to allow my ex to steal that too.

  Ford snorts. “Who told you that?”

  I point to Lake, who merely shrugs. “What? Obviously, I like older men.”

  Her husband, who is the definition of a silver fox, pulls her into his side and nuzzles her neck. “You’re going to pay for calling me old, Red.”

  She winks at me, then turns a haughty eye at him, mindlessly grasping Nash’s wrist gently when he tugs on her hair. “Who said I was talking about you? I was referring to our fire chief, broody Declan Everhart.”

  Just the sound of his name stirs a sensation to life inside me. Maybe it’s the promise of a new beginning, or the thrill of letting go. All I know is that, in this moment, I decide I’m not going to live in the past anymore.

  “Okay, family,” I tease. “Tell me more about this chief.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Declan

  Beckett: We’ll be there within the hour. Is everything set for Melina to stay with you?

  I nod at the text and flip my phone over on the bar top.

  “You realize the person who’s texting you can’t see your nod, right?” my best friend Cade says from the stool beside me.

  With a grunt, I study the menu.

  “Why bother looking?” he teases. “We both know you’ll order the same thing you always get.”

  My phone vibrates, so I turn it over. Naturally, it’s my pain-in-the-ass brother-in-law again.

  Beckett: She’s coming to the event with Ford and Lake, but her stuff will be in the car. Can you have one of the guys grab it and bring it into the station?

  With another nod, I set it face down again.

  “Seriously, Dec, they can’t see your response. Why the fuck can’t you just reply when people text?”

  I arch a brow, amused that this bothers him so much.

  I’m saved from having to respond when Hailey, the bartender who also happens to own the place, turns her attention to us, ready for our order. “Hey, Chief, how are you?”

  “Good.” I glance around the bar, taking in the crowd. The place is filling up quickly. This is my favorite hangout, but only after the summer rush. I can’t stand crowds, and not many people other than the locals are interested in sitting around a small-town bar on the water in the middle of winter.

  Clearly, I underestimated how many people the event today would bring into our town.

  Stupid mistake.

  “You have enough staff working to handle the crowd? Fire code⁠—”

  Cade places his hand on my arm, the contact stealing the words from my mouth. “What he means is that we’re here if you need help. Not that he’ll shut you down if you’re unprepared.”

  I pull away, ignoring the niggle of guilt that hits me when he grimaces. “I was getting to that. Do you want me to call Shawn?”

  Shawn works for me at the station, and he’s engaged to Hailey’s twin sister. A twin she didn’t know existed until not too long ago. But that’s a story for a different day.

  Hailey’s responding smile is bright. She likes the crowd just as much as I hate it. I suppose that makes sense. Where I see bar fights, people being trampled, and fire hazards, she sees dollar signs.

  “We’re all set. Amelia is working tonight, and Nate and Jack will be here to help after the festivities.” She turns her warm gaze on Cade, her voice going sugary sweet. “We really appreciate the Bolts doing this. It’s going to help the town out more than you know.”

  Cade leans his forearms on the bar and slides his barstool in closer. The wood dragging against the floor is almost as grating as his shameless flirting. With a bat of his eyes, he smiles, allowing the dimple on his left cheek to pop. The one on his right cheek only appears when he’s laughing. When he’s truly happy. It’s never aimed in my direction, because I don’t make people laugh.

  “The guys are happy to do it.” He winks. “Got them out of practice this weekend.” Cade is the goalie coach for the Boston Bolts hockey team. The hockey team that is, unfortunately, owned by my pain-in-the-ass brother-in-law’s family. I honestly can’t get away from the man. Beckett seems to be everywhere I turn.

  Scowling, I nudge him with my elbow. “Can we order? I need to get downtown shortly.”

  Hailey straightens. “Of course, Chief. The regular?”

  Cade snorts. “Bacon cheeseburger, medium rare, with onion rings and fries.”

  Hailey’s eyes dance, and a smile creeps up her face. “Exactly. You forgot the Coke, though.”

  Tutting, Cade shakes his head. “If I ate like that, I’d be huge.” He lifts the hem of his shirt, flashing his washboard abs, then offers her another flirtatious wink. “I’ll take the salmon, steamed, with brown rice and broccoli. And a vodka tonic on the rocks with a lime.”

  With a nod, she disappears to put in our order.

  My phone buzzes again. I turn it over, this time pulling it closer to read it.

  Liv: You know Beckett hates it when you don’t respond. He’s been going on about it for the last fifteen minutes. Please promise me you’ll try to have a personality when we get there. And text him back!

  I get a perverse joy out of knowing I’ve annoyed Beckett Langfield. He’s like a forty-year-old toddler. A billionaire who’s always meddling in the lives of the people around him. He married my sister in Vegas two years ago, and while I assumed he’d taken advantage of her and I thought I’d have to kill him, my sister is happy, and he’s turned out to be an amazing stepfather to my nieces and nephew. That’s all that matters to me.

  Me: Tell him to park at the station. Tell Ford to do the same. I’ll have the guys put Melina’s stuff in my office. Of course I’m set for her to stay. I told you she could. Excited to see you and the kids.

  “Holy fuck, he texts,” Cade deadpans.

  I glare at him as I put the phone down again.

  “You never reply to my texts,” he prods, ducking down and turning my way.

  Jaw clenched, I tamp down my annoyance. “I don’t like to text. You know this.”

  “So who’s the chick who finally got you to reply?” he asks, waggling his brows. He’s such an idiot.

  “Liv.”

  He grins. “The hot younger sister.”

  “I’m not even going to growl at you for that one. I’ll just relay your comment to Beckett.”

  “Don’t you fucking dare. The man is a psychopath when it comes to his wife, and I like my job.”

  “I’d be more concerned about your eyes than your job. If he thinks you looked at his wife in any sort of way, he’ll gouge them out.”

  Cade barks out a laugh. “It’s hilarious how Liv married a man just like her brother.”

  My jaw locks.

  He nudges his elbow against mine. “Come on, if you won’t reply to my texts, the least you can do is smile at my jokes.”

  “Why are you so obsessed with how I communicate?”

  He leans back, hand to his chin, assessing me. “It’d make it easier for us to catch up. We barely talk unless I come to Bristol.”

  Hailey sets our drinks in front of us, and Cade immediately sips his, staring at her ass as she walks away.

  “Don’t,” I warn.

  He doesn’t take his eyes off her. “Why?”

  “She proposes to everyone who sits down at the bar.”