Rushing the Goal (Assassins #8) Read online

  Assassins Series

  Taking Shots

  Trying to Score

  Empty Net

  Falling for the Backup

  Blue Lines

  Breaking Away

  Laces and Lace

  A Very Merry Hockey Holiday

  Wanting to Forget

  Overtime

  Rushing the Goal

  Bellevue Bullies Series

  Boarded by Love

  Clipped by Love

  Hooked by Love

  Taking Risks

  The Whiskey Prince

  Becoming the Whiskey Princess

  Standalone

  Let it be Me

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  Introduced in Toni Aleo’s Bellevue Bullies Series, it’s the Sinclair brothers’ big sister’s turn to find love in the next installment of the New York Times and USA Today best-selling series, the Assassins.

  Lucy Sinclair was no stranger to pain.

  She grew up with three younger brothers, met a bad boy, got pregnant by him, married him, and then suffered through a nasty divorce from him. Pain. That was pain. To top it off, she even had to go through the heartbreaking divorce of her parents. Through it all, she survived. All she cared about was making sure her daughter was happy and taken care of. Despite an ex-husband hell-bent on ruining her life, she fought to overcome. She’s gotten to the point that she’s okay with being just okay. She never cared about herself because she never had the time. It was Angie and only Angie she focused on, but that all changed when Benji Paxton offered to help her daughter on the ice.

  Benji knew the moment he saw Lucy, he’d never be the same. Especially when she came with the bundle of crazy that was her daughter. His heart wasn’t ready for them. After years spent sobering up and finding who he was without the alcohol, he never forgot he was being punished for not appreciating the love he had when he was younger. Because of his past, he had gotten used to being alone, a recluse, but even he had to admit it was getting old. He was lonely. Hockey wasn’t enough anymore. He wanted a family; he wanted his true love.

  And Lucy and Angie were just that.

  They were just two lost souls.

  Floating through life with no purpose.

  But finding each other gave them direction, a chance at a future.

  And had them both Rushing the Goal to be together.

  This book is for any single mom who wants to give up.

  Your prince is coming.

  Just keep being a great mom. And take care of yourself.

  Lucy Sinclair was no stranger to pain.

  She grew up with three younger brothers. Very rough, tough, hockey-playing brothers and, of course, she had to watch out to make sure none of them killed themselves. Not an easy job, mind you. Especially when she was convinced Jude and Jayden were going to kill each other and Jace was going to get lost in the woods trying to keep up with them. Those three should have done her in a long time ago, but somehow she had survived.

  She also survived the pain of having her heart broken many times growing up. Those teenage boys sure do a number on young girls, and she was a victim plenty. But she did fall in love young…and then she had a baby.

  Enough said.

  She also made it through a nasty marriage that turned into an even nastier divorce. Which now resulted in co-parenting with the King of Dicks, aka Rick, her ex-husband. Again, not easy since Rick was hell-bent on ruining Lucy’s life by using their daughter against her, but she was surviving.

  And to top off the pain train, she also hadn’t had sex in a good long while. Lord knew, she needed a release from a man something serious. So, yes, she knew pain. Embraced it. Only knew that feeling most of the time, well, except when Angie was smiling at her. That brought happiness, but still, she knew pain.

  But as she held the couch, her eyes squeezed tightly shut while her toe throbbed, she was convinced this was the kind of pain that was going to kill her.

  Stubbing her toe.

  Her fucking toe was going to kill her.

  What a way to go.

  “Momma!”

  “Just a minute, sweetheart,” she clenched out as she opened her eyes to glance down at her foot.

  Thankfully, the toe was still there.

  Nail polish chipped to hell, but her toe was still intact.

  She guessed that was good, but then, losing a toe would be her luck. Her week had been shit. She had lost a potential client at her interior design firm because she couldn’t fit them into her schedule fast enough to suit them. She needed to hire someone to help out, but she couldn’t really afford it, or, better yet, didn’t want to let go of that money. But still, she was losing money, so something had to change. She also needed to find a sitter since her baby brother and his wife had moved to Florida after he was drafted by the NHL to the Panthers. She could really use a good thing to happen, but she didn’t see light at the end of the tunnel at that particular moment.

  But then, her toe was still intact.

  Little things.

  When Angie came barreling around the corner, Lucy cringed when her daughter came to a halt inches from her throbbing foot as she held the phone out, shaking it violently at her. “Avery and baby Ashlyn want to see you now!”

  Shaking Lucy’s phone even harder, causing her sister-in-law to laugh while her baby niece cooed sweetly, Angie showed a face full of delight. She loved her aunt and cousin so much and, like Lucy, missed them a lot.

  “Thank you,” Lucy breathed out, taking the phone and looking at her sister-in-law on FaceTime. Then Angie was gone, her long, brown hair flying in the wind she was causing. Kid was a running motor. As Lucy held the phone out, Avery laughed.

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  “I’m pretty sure I almost just died,” Lucy breathed, sitting on the couch and propping her foot up.

  Avery grinned, her eyes bright as Ashlyn moved her fingers along her chin. It still stunned Lucy to see Avery with Ashlyn. Not only were they just two beautiful girls, but seeing Avery with Ashlyn, her being so young at barely nineteen, reminded her of herself when she had Angie. She had only been eighteen, but unlike Avery, who was in a beautiful and loving marriage, Lucy had been lost, scared, and getting knocked around by Rick, the King of Dicks.

  “How?” Avery asked, her turquoise eyes set on Lucy.

  “Stubbed my toe.”

  Avery cringed. “That sucks.”

  “Girl, I seriously thought I was dying a slow death.”

  Giggling, Avery kissed Ashlyn’s palm. “A toe can’t take you out.”

  Lucy scoffed. “The jury’s still out on that.”

  Rolling her eyes, Avery laughed softly. “Anyway, Angie seems good. She’s excited for hockey.”

  Groaning, Lucy let her head fall back. She had completely forgotten about that. “Fuck me.”

  Avery laughed louder. “You forgot.”

  “I did. When does it start?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Ugh,” she moaned. “Curse Jayden for making me do this. He demands it, but he can’t even commit to taking her. Rick already said he won’t take her, which means she’s gonna miss almost half the damn games. Can’t I just bail on it?”

  Avery shook her head. “But she’s excited.”

  She was.

  “Okay, I guess I can get Mom to help since you decided to leave me.”

  Avery’s smile dropped. “Don’t remind me. I hate that we aren’t there anymore. We miss you guys.”

  Lucy smiled. “But
Jace is doing awesome.”

  “He is.” She beamed, doing a little wiggle as Ashlyn tried to type on the computer keyboard. “It’s hard, though, just me and Boogie.”

  “I hear ya,” Lucy agreed. “But at least your man comes home. “

  Avery gave her a small smile of sympathy, and Lucy hated that. She didn’t want anyone to pity her. Yeah, she hadn’t dated in a good long while. Yeah, she had cobwebs growing in her vagina, but, hey, she was busy. Or at least, that’s what she told herself. It was probably because she was a total bitch and didn’t trust anything that had a dick.

  Well, except her brothers. Those guys were good.

  “Momma, I found a sword,” Angie called from down the hall of their small apartment above Lucy’s interior design office. Small wasn’t the right word, really; it was more like tiny. It was one room bigger than a studio apartment and compact. But after her mom moved her boyfriend into the house, there was no way Lucy was still living there. Seeing Coach’s ass once as he banged her mother was one time too many, and it had Lucy hightailing it out of her childhood home.

  She’d get a bigger place soon; she just had to make more money.

  “That’s great, honey,” she called before shaking her head. “I need to find a man. I need to get laid.”

  Avery’s face lit up. This was an ongoing conversation, one that never really went anywhere. “Yes, you do!”

  “Whoa, don’t get excited. I was thinking out loud. Let’s be honest, I don’t want a man.”

  Letting out a long breath, Avery rolled her eyes. “Then find a woman.”

  “Um, no,” she scoffed before shaking her head. “Maybe I can find a one-night stand when Angie goes to Rick’s house this weekend. I need to come or something. I hate life right now.”

  Avery laughed and Lucy grinned. It had been a long time since she’d had a true “girlfriend.” It had always been her and her mom, but when she met Avery, something about her just clicked for them. She was a great girl and Jace loved her something insane. Since Lucy felt kind of responsible for Jace, him being the baby and all, she immediate clung to Avery. She loved her other two sisters-in-law, of course, but she and Avery had a bond.

  One she needed.

  Since she was becoming a hermit.

  Shooting Lucy a bored look, Avery said, “But that means you have to leave the house, put pants on, and turn off Netflix. Let’s be honest, your love affair with Netflix is stronger than your desire to go find someone to lay you.”

  She shrugged. “This is true, but in all fairness, Netflix has never let me down.”

  “It also can’t lay you.”

  “No, but it still satisfies me.”

  “Not in the way you want,” Avery supplied and Lucy shrugged.

  “Shut up, you,” she complained as something hard fell onto her chest.

  “Oh my God! Is that a dildo?” Avery squawked, and when Lucy looked down to her neon yellow dildo, horror filled her from the tip of her head to the bottom of her feet.

  “No, silly! It’s a sword! Come on, Momma, fight me!” Angie demanded, holding Lucy’s sparkly Edward Cullen vibrator.

  “Jesus take the wheel!” Lucy shrieked before snatching the other dildo from her daughter, panic roaring through her system. “Let me call you back,” she yelled before hanging up on Avery and throwing her phone down. “Angie! Stay out of my drawer!”

  Getting up, she rushed down the hall with Angie chasing her. “Why? What is that? Isn’t it a sword?”

  “No! It’s Mommy’s. Please don’t touch it,” she cried, embarrassment consuming her as she went back into her room. “Please go wash your hands and go watch TV or something.”

  “Why? Why can’t I play with your swords?” Angie shot at her, and Lucy closed her eyes.

  Lord, please take me now.

  “’Cause they are Mommy’s toys. Now, go,” she yelled, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them.

  Like Lucy knew she would, Angie glared. “Why can’t I play with your toys? You say sharing is caring. You’re not caring, Momma!”

  At her wits’ end, she spun around and set her rambunctious seven-year-old with a look. Angie’s big green eyes held Lucy’s, her little mouth in a pout, looking every bit like Lucy. Lucy wasn’t sure what Angie got from Rick, but she was thankful her little baby looked nothing like him. God, she hated him. But then, hate wasn’t even a good enough word to describe her feelings toward Rick. She couldn’t even think of a word to express her feelings toward her ex-husband. She did know, though, that if he were on fire, she wouldn’t even piss on him to put out the flames. He may have given her the greatest gift in the world, their daughter, but that was it.

  Everything else was pain.

  Sucking in a breath, she glared as her mom voice came out in full force. “Angela Lynn, I said no. These are mine, and you cannot play with them. Now, go on!”

  “That’s not fair,” she complained. “It’s the perfect sword!”

  “Jesus,” she muttered before shaking her head and throwing the dildos back in her drawer. Reminding herself that she needed to find another place for her toys, she looked back at her daughter. She didn’t even have time to use them, hence, why she was a walking billboard for resting bitch face. Swallowing hard, she bit out, “I said no. Now go find something to do before I take away your iPad.”

  Angie glared. “You’re mean.”

  Lucy glared back. “Oh, really? Mean is not taking you to hockey tomorrow, missy. Remember that.”

  Angie’s brows scrunched together, her eyes deepening in a scowl, every bit as strong-willed as Lucy was. Growing up, Lucy’s mom had said one day she would have a kid just like her. Well, ladies and gentlemen, here was that child: Angela Lynn.

  Thanks, Mom.

  Lucy wanted to smack the look that mirrored her own, but Angie huffed before turning around and stomping out of the room, her ponytail swishing from side to side. When she was out of view, Lucy dropped down onto the bed she shared with her angry daughter and slammed her drawer shut as she shook her head. Man, couldn’t she catch a break?

  Any other day, she’d probably laugh, but not this day. This day, she wanted to quit. Along with the week from hell, Rick had sent a text asking how she felt about exchanging Angie week-to-week instead of him getting her only every other weekend. She knew Angie wouldn’t go for it, and when she told Rick that, he accused her of brainwashing her. Nothing new, dude had shit for brains, but it still bothered her.

  She felt she was being fair when it came to Angie. She kept her daughter’s best interests in mind, and Angie didn’t like it at Rick and his wife, Heidi’s, house. She wanted to be with Lucy, and no matter how hard it was being a single parent, Lucy hated when Angie was gone too. She kind of turned into a recluse. Not leaving the house because she worried so much about her daughter. It just didn’t feel right that Angie didn’t like it there, and that scared her. If he could raise a hand to Lucy, what stopped him from raising one to Angie out of anger?

  It was such a fucking headache, and she wished he would just disappear.

  But she wasn’t that lucky.

  Nope. Instead, she stubbed her toe and her daughter waved her dildos around like they were swords.

  Classic.

  Shaking her head, she fell back onto the bed and squeezed her eyes shut. She had so much work to do but no desire to do it. She wanted to cuddle with Angie and watch a movie. But knowing she had to make money to feed her, clothe her, and one day, give Angie a bigger house, she got up to get to work. Before she could reach the table where all her work stuff waited, her phone rang.

  It was her brother, Jayden.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey,” he said, a car door slamming. “Just making sure Angie will be there tomorrow.”

  She groaned. “I could kill you for this.”

  Jayden laughed. “Oh, hush, you know she’s excited, and it’s gonna be great.”

  “You know she’s gonna miss half the games.”

  He gr
owled. “Seriously? Rick the Dick won’t bring her?”

  “He said no.”

  “Man, I hate him.”

  “Join the club. I’m the awesome president of it,” she said as he let out a long breath.

  “Whatever. Hopefully, Angie will throw a fit and he’ll take her. I mean, her coach is Shea Adler, the old captain of the Assassins. That’s fucking awesome, y’know?”

  She rolled her eyes. She knew she should be impressed by her brother’s statement, and she was, but her toe was still throbbing and the vivid image of her daughter waving her dildos in her face was still in her mind. So, needless to say, she didn’t care that her daughter’s hockey coach would be the amazing Shea Adler or that Rick was a complete dick.

  “Yay.”

  “He’s a legend, Luce.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m in a bad mood.”

  He paused. “Wait, what? You have other moods?”

  “Fuck off,” she whispered as she walked by the couch where Angie was playing on her iPad.

  “I heard that,” Angie called to her, and Lucy let out a long breath. She was really trying not to cuss around Angie, but she was struggling a bit on that.

  “Anyway, make sure she is there early so I can help her get ready.”

  “So, what time?”

  “Four thirty.”

  “Ugh, Jayden! I have a consult at three. You’re killing me,” she moaned, closing her eyes. She knew she could get it done, but man, it was cutting it close. Especially since she had to go get Angie from the day care that was sucking her savings away.

  “I would come get her, but I’ll be rushing with Baylor’s doctor’s appointment.”

  Snapping her mouth shut, she closed her eyes as she covered them with her hand. She had forgotten that Baylor’s appointment was tomorrow. “How’s she doing?”

  “Eh, day-to-day,” Jayden said softly. “They are thinking another surgery.”

  She let out a long breath. Jayden’s wife, Baylor, had been the first woman to draft into the NHL two years ago and she had been doing great. Well, that is, when she actually got to play. She had been hurt more than she got to play, and that was due to the fact that the men in the league didn’t take it easy on her. Not that they should, but still, Baylor was having a hard time with it all. Because of that, Jayden was having a hard time. He was worried about her, as he should be. But he was the new captain of the Assassins, and Lucy worried he wouldn’t be able to keep his position when he was so consumed with concern for Baylor. It sucked, but hopefully, they would figure it out. But even Lucy knew a third surgery to Baylor’s knee wasn’t good.