Anton: A Chicago Blaze Hockey Romance by Brenda Rothert

Author:Brenda Rothert [Rothert, Brenda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silver Sky Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2019-01-28T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Anton

The coffee shop at the end of my block isn’t very busy the morning after Christmas Day. I’m having a strong cup of black coffee as I wait for Mia, and it’s already hitting me hard. I’m tapping my foot on the floor and shifting around in my seat.

Scrolling through my phone was pointless. Nothing—from social media to ESPN—could hold my interest. All I’m thinking about is how much I want this conversation to go well. Martin and Laura are spending the day at my place with Uncle Dix, so all my focus is on Mia.

Adam’s treating her even worse than I thought. When I saw his message to her yesterday about choking her, I wanted to choke him. He’s an inconsiderate asshole; I knew that. But to threaten her that way, to scare her and insult her, is crossing the line.

It makes me wonder what else he’s capable of. I was up late last night, worrying that Adam will find Mia and wondering what he’ll do when he does. Whatever it takes to get her away from him, I’ll do it. Not for myself and my own selfish wants, but for her.

When Mia walks in, I stand up and wait for her to make her way over to the small table for two. She’s wearing a green canvas coat and a matching cream-colored stocking cap and scarf. The color of the hat and scarf accentuate the dark bronze of Mia’s perfect skin. I can’t stop staring at her.

“Hey,” she says, smiling and taking the scarf off as she arrives at the table. “Am I late?”

“No, I was early.”

“Ah.” She pulls off the hat and shakes out her loose, long dark curls. “Are we eating?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

I already ate, but I’m not passing up a chance to share a meal with Mia. I flag down the waitress and she gets Mia a coffee.

“You look tired,” Mia says, frowning.

“Yeah.”

“Did Dix have a bad night?”

I shake my head. “He slept like a baby. I couldn’t sleep because I was worried about you.”

“Oh, Anton. Don’t worry about me. I’m okay.”

A corner of my lip turns up in a half-smile. “No, you’re not. Didn’t we just have this conversation yesterday?”

“It’s nothing that worrying can help, though.”

“I was worried he’d be at your apartment when you guys got back. Or that he’d be drunk and beating down the door in the middle of the night.”

Her eyes darken. “He gets angry when he’s drunk. Me or Anita always lock the deadbolt.”

I shift in my seat, filled with a nervous and helpless energy that’s making it hard to sit still.

“You’ve got to get out of this marriage, Mia.”

“I wish I could find a way.”

“That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you.”

She shakes her head. “I appreciate your offer so much, Anton, truly, but—”

“Just listen, okay?”

She leans on her elbows and hides her pursed lips behind her folded hands, apparently realizing that I won’t let this go.

“I made a call last night to an attorney I know, Kevin Landis.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.