Chapter 23

The bakery was small, with the glass display taking up more of the space than the few tables scattered along the floor-to-ceiling windows, but Dominik found himself and Sahara a seat in the corner that had just been vacated. While she went to the counter to talk to the elderly couple that ran the place, he quickly tossed out the napkins left on the table and picked up the empty coffee mugs.

“Oh, you don’t need to do that, sir.” The tiny Italian woman hurried over, fussing at him, a rag clenched in her small, age-spotted hands. “I’ll give it a quick wipe. Give me those and sit!”

“Gina, don’t yell at the customers!” her husband called out, laughing.

Gina took the mugs in one hand, scrubbing the table with the other. “He’s not a customer; this is Sahara’s young man.” She looked him over, then gave a sharp nod. “I approve. You’re a good-looking boy and you have kind eyes.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Dominik caught Sahara whispering “Sorry” and shook his head. From what she’d told him, these people cared about her very much. He might not have impressed her mother, but maybe he’d get an actual chance to make a good impression here. “Sahara’s told me all about your bakery. Everything looks and smells delicious.”

The old woman preened. “Doesn’t it? I make the pastries, but my husband bakes the bread, the cookies, and the muffins Sahara loves so much. What are you in the mood for, Mr. Mason?”

“Please, call me Dominik.” The aroma of freshly baked bread made his mouth water, but he was too old to start indulging in empty calories. “With the game tonight, I need protein. The breakfast sandwich Sahara brought me the other day was amazing.” He grinned at Sahara as she joined them.

“From the looks of you, one is not enough. I’ll fix you two. With my special home fries.” She patted his shoulder as he pulled out Sahara’s chair. “Would you like some coffee? I know Sahara enjoys hers, but I haven’t fed many hockey players. My son used to play rugby, and he would only drink orange juice or those disgusting blue drinks. Sometimes raw eggs, but I refuse to serve that here.”

“Coffee is fine. I’ll take mine black.” He turned to Sahara once Gina headed back behind the counter. She was watching him, her brow furrowed slightly. “What is it?”

“You usually take two creams in your coffee.”

She’d been paying attention. He grinned. “Yes, but not typically on a game day. I try to avoid any kind of dairy. A little cheese in the sandwich will be fine, but for some reason, my stomach does not appreciate certain foods if I’m going to be pushing my body to the limit.”

“That’s good to know. I won’t forget.” She inhaled slowly and lowered her voice. “I’m a little surprised Gina brought up her son. He died a few years back—he was part of a recovery unit in the Marines.”

Dominik swallowed hard, thinking about Josh. His brother had just finished his fourth tour and he’d likely be heading back any day now. Hoping Josh might take a break or retire was pointless. After the third tour, even their mother had stopped begging him to give it up and just let her pride take over. Josh had avoided any serious relationships because his focus was entirely on the next mission, and he’d felt guilty enough leaving home when Cam was still young. If Josh ever had kids…?

Cam had once told Dominik their older brother had mentioned getting a vasectomy when he’d been drunk. Which wasn’t all that surprising.

Their mother would be crushed if she found out, but so long as their sisters never found out, it would be Josh’s secret.

Sahara touched the back of Dominik’s hand. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up. You’re worried about Josh, aren’t you?”

He shook his head and turned his hand to hold hers. “No, actually, I was thinking about kids.”

“Is your biological clock ticking?” She grinned when he arched a brow at her. “We already have three—wait, I take that back. Two. Heath isn’t a kid.”

“He is, but we’ll do just fine with them. I’m relieved that my mother has enough grandchildren to keep her happy.”

He almost wanted to take the words back, considering too late that Sahara might think he never wanted children of his own. Whether or not it was early in the relationship for family planning, some women may consider that a deal-breaker.

Instead, Sahara cocked her head, nodding slowly. “She’s proud of all her kids. I can see her wanting more little ones to cuddle, but seeing all her children living good lives seems to be the most important thing.”

“Did she say anything about Cam?”

“Just that she thinks he’s doing well working for the team. She didn’t seem worried, but you could tell she had been.”

“I still am.” Dominik chuckled when Sahara frowned at the table like she was racking her brain for some way to make him feel better. “Hey, it’s fine. Josh and I always worry about Cam. It’s our job.”

Conversation halted as breakfast was served, then continued on to more pleasant topics. Sahara told him about the Ice Girls’ routine for the next game and how she and Akira had been working with the choreographer on a new song. He discussed his concerns about his manager and his thoughts on finding a replacement over the summer.

They were halfway through their meal before Sahara’s phone went off. She blushed as she pulled it out. “Sorry, I didn’t bother turning it off because not many people have my new number. Do you mind if I check if it’s important?”

“Not at all.” Dominik took out his own phone, which he hadn’t turned off either. Despite their jokes about leaving their phones at home, it wasn’t really practical. Neither of them was the type to have their phones constantly in their faces, so the issue was more about being understanding when a call or text did come in.

But by the expression on Sahara’s face as she read the text, he was going to wish he’d told her to wait.

“It’s Pischlar. He said it’s important, and he wants to know if he can come meet us.”

The “us” told Dominik this could be serious. Pischlar and Sahara were still friends; the man had a good reputation of keeping boundaries with his past lovers, but he had a carefree attitude that sometimes rubbed their teammates the wrong way. If given the choice, Pischlar would likely give Sahara some space to avoid causing friction between her and Dominik.

Dominik needed to hear what Pischlar had to say. He nodded at Sahara. “Tell him to come here. If he hasn’t eaten yet, we’ll make sure he does.”

She let out a breath of relief and texted a reply.

No more than five minutes later, Pischlar came into the bakery. He glanced around, then came right to their table.

“I won’t stay long.” He reached into the stylish jean jacket he was wearing. Over nothing but jeans. He pulled out a thick envelope. “I’m so fucking sorry for—”

“Please sit.” Gina dragged over a chair and smiled at Pischlar. “Oh, those holes in your ears must have hurt. Are you hungry? If you’re Sahara’s friend, I’ll feed you well.” She tilted her head to one side as Pischlar blinked at her. “You’re one of those hockey players, aren’t you? I’ll feed you like I did Sahara’s man.”

Pischlar’s cheeks reddened. He looked at Dominik. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not. Sit. I’ll feel better if I see you eat. You’re a wreck lately, man.” Dominik leaned back in his chair as Pischlar sat and laid the envelope on the table. “How are things going? Have you apologized to Richter?”

“Yeah.” Pischlar rubbed a fresh bruise on his cheek with a wry smile. “Bower was there and he flipped out. I think that helped with negotiations. Richter said being punched more than once means there’s no need to put me on the market. If the shit I pulled gets out, they won’t get a fucking cent for me. My agent is happy. He about lost his mind when I said I might need to explore my options. Coming out the way I did hasn’t made me very popular.”

“I’ll bet.” Damn it, Pisch was a mess. And Dominik wasn’t sure how to help him. Sahara had been one of many women the man had played with at the club, but there was only one person who could make Pischlar straighten up his act. But unless White returned Pischlar’s feelings, there was no point in hoping he’d be of any use.

Sahara leaned across the table, hesitating to touch his hands until Dominik nodded to let her know it was okay. “What happened? Is White okay?”

“I wouldn’t have bothered you about White.” Pischlar stared down at his hands, then turned one to hold Sahara’s. “The envelope will tell you everything. I think you should let Dominik look at it first.”

Sahara drew away from Pischlar and hugged herself.

Dominik frowned. “Just tell us, Pisch.”

Fisting his hands on the table, Pischlar sighed. “The woman who posted those death threats to Sahara on Facebook? Well, she was let out on bail the other day. And she sent me this.” He put his hand over the envelope on the table. “It’s a love letter. And a piece of Sahara’s window seat. The woman confessed to breaking into Sahara’s house and chopping it up with an ax. She writes fan fiction about me and Demyan and got a little obsessed.”

“A little?” Sahara rubbed her hand over her mouth as she went pale. “She was the one who commented on your picture, wasn’t she? She used a different name for the threats, but unless there’s more than one fan going nuts for you…”

“Hey, I’m not claiming the really crazy ones. Those are all Higgins’s.”

“They’re not breaking into Sahara’s house,” Dominik said dryly. “Where is this woman now?”

Pischlar’s brow furrowed as he stared at the envelope. “She’s been admitted for psychiatric care. Her father called my manager, who called me. The man said his daughter’s always had issues, but they’ve been contained until now. Jail time won’t help her. So I hired a lawyer to speak on her behalf. He’s going to ask that she be committed. My manager found a great facility where she’ll get the help she needs.”

“That’s nice of you, but why do all this for a woman who could have hurt Sahara?” Dominik reached out and took Sahara’s hand. “There are other charitable causes you could focus on if you’re feeling giving.”

“Her father’s a huge fan of the team, and he’s been looking after her ever since she lost her husband and her baby in a car crash.” Pischlar scowled at Dominik. “You’re right, she deserved to rot in jail.”

Nice going, Mason. Dominik shook his head. “Shit, I’m sorry, man. I didn’t—”

“Don’t worry about it.” Pischlar sat back as his breakfast was served. “She’s not the problem anyway. Higgins’s lawyers got wind of this and they’re pushing for his case to be thrown out, claiming that Sahara lied about him breaking in and now they have proof. It’s all over the news, but I hoped you’d hear it from me first.”

“Thank you, Pisch.” Rising from his chair, Dominik held out his hand for Sahara. “We should get you back to the hotel where you’ll be safe.”

Sahara stood but hesitated. “Am I allowed to argue with you, Sir?”

Interesting question. If she’d been joking, he’d have said no, but she sounded very serious. “You’re allowed to disagree with me. Why?”

With a bit of mischief in her eyes, she took his hands and pulled him back to his chair. “How did Gina put it?” She gave his hands a little tug. “Sit!”

“Sahara—”

“The danger hasn’t changed and you need to eat. A sub’s job is to take care of her Dom.” She speared a potato with his fork and brought it up to his mouth. “I’m also aware I’ve probably earned a spanking.”

Pischlar chuckled. “If you’re lucky.”

She stuck out her tongue. “You eat too.”

“Careful, pet.” Dominik grabbed her by the hips and sat her on his knee. “But you’re right.”

“So we can stay?” She fed him another potato before he could speak and giggled when he frowned at her. “Sorry.”

“You’re being a brat, but I appreciate the concern. And I suppose this news doesn’t affect us right now.” He hated how stressful things would be when they got back to Dartmouth. Sahara would have to speak to the police again. And the lawyers. She’d have to make sure they had enough evidence to try Higgins on domestic battery and assault. Relive the worst parts of her past again and again.

But there was no point in dwelling on what they’d face together when they got home.

So he wrapped his arms around Sahara’s waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. “You’re very lucky though.”

She glanced back at him, confused.

He grinned, clearing things right up. “You’re definitely getting spanked.”