Page 108 of Dirty Puck

I declined it.

It buzzed again. Then again.

I finally answered.

“Mr. Reece? You’ve been served. You’ll be receiving your documents shortly.”

Dane. Lawsuit over the fight. I gripped the phone until my knuckles popped. Although not unexpected, it still pissed me off. The fucker never had the balls to call the cops on me, but with lawyers involved and the promise of money, he leaned in hard.

When I told Bree, she went pale. “He’s not done. He’s going to try something else.”

“He’s not ruining this,” I said firmly. “Not our family.”

When he’d saidshortly, he meant it. The process server stood next to his SUV in a business casual suit waiting for us when we got home. I had Claudia take Benny inside while Bree and I talked to the man.

It wasn’t good. He wanted fifty-fifty custody. Not because he gave a damn about Benny, but because he thoughthe could get child supportfrom Bree. Greedy, bitter bastard.

Bree was a wreck. I held her on the couch while Benny sat between us in his headphones, watching his tablet. She kept whispering, “He doesn’t know Benny. He never wanted him. What if he makes good on his threat to make Benny disappear?”

I cupped her face, made her look me in the eye. “This is my family, Bree. I’m gonna marry you. And I’m gonna adopt Benny. That prick doesn’t get to touch either of you. Not while I’m breathing.”

She nodded, tears sliding silently down her cheeks.

In the locker room the next day, I sat between Bishop and Jones, rubbing a hand over my face.

“I need help,” I told them. “Legal help. Dane’s trying to get custody, maybe even take Benny from Bree. I want to adopt him.”

Bishop didn’t hesitate. “Whatever you need, man. We’ve got you.”

Jones clapped me on the back. “You’re a DILF now. This team protects its own.”

That made me laugh for the first time in hours.

I called my attorney on the drive home. “Hey, I need a family law referral. The best in the damn country. Because no one touches my family. Not now. Not ever.”

We were home again.

Our real home. Me, Bree, Benny, and Claudia. The way it was meant to be.

And nothing—not Dane, not the headlines, not even the ghosts of the past—was going to take that away from us.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FOUR

BREE

Miss Claudia gave me a hug and a quiet “Go on now, baby. I got him,” before I kissed Benny’s curls and left them at the house.

I’d dressed business-casual, but my palms were a swampy, sweaty mess by the time we reached the attorney’s office. Reece hadn’t let go of my hand since the parking lot. That grip grounded me—like it always did—but the knot in my stomach wouldn’t go away.

We were shown into a small, quiet office with soft-beige walls and a framed diploma behind the lawyer’s desk. She was a woman in her late forties with sharp eyes, a softer voice, and no-nonsense energy. Her name was Lila Morton, and she motioned for us to sit down as soon as she entered.

“I understand you’re facing two issues,” she said, settling into her chair and opening a manila folder. “A civil suit for assault from Mr. Mathers, and now a potential custody claim over your son, Benjamin.”

“Yes,” I said, my voice a little raw. “And to be clear, he’s never met Benny. Not once.”

Lila’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Never?”

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