Page 6 of Hooking a Firefly
She stopped breathing for a moment.The beach… Maybe there was something from that vision she should have paid attention to.She didn’t know what, but she’d examine it in depth later.She finally pushed air into her lungs and answered him.“Yes, I can.”She took several more breaths.At least Harrison wouldn’t be there.“I’ll be there soon.”
Ashlyn clicked end on the call and walked out of her office.It wasn’t until she reached her car that she realized her head had stopped hurting.Maybe she had been fighting off the vision and that had caused the headache.Either way, she could think properly and help Lieutenant Netom.
When she reached the beach, she found a parking spot and slid into it.After she killed the engine, she stepped out and walked toward the police barricade.An officer that was familiar with her waved her through.What the hell had happened?She headed toward Lieutenant Netom.He was a tall man with coffee-colored skin and chocolate brown eyes.His hair was shaved close to his head, but there was some gray mixed into the black.He towered over her five-foot three frame by a whole foot.He always made her feel tiny in comparison.When she reached him, she realized what had happened.Blood stained the sand and a man with jet black hair was on a gurney.The paramedics preparing to move him to an ambulance.
“What happened?”
“That is Lincoln Bouchard,” the lieutenant told her.“Forward for the Sparkle City Fireflies,” he said, then let out an exasperated breath.“He was here with his daughter and another player on the team.”
Ashlyn had a bad feeling.There were several players on the hockey team.What was the chance Harrison was the one with Lincoln Bouchard?Instead of asking that question, she made a different inquiry.“He’s clearly injured.What do you know?”
“A fan decided to get a little too up close and personal.”Detective Netom shook his head, anger filling his brown eyes.“There was an altercation, and he stabbed the hockey player several times.He’s lost a lot of blood.The other player was down at the shore and by the time he reached where Lincoln and his daughter were, the fan had grabbed the girl and ran with her.He wasn’t able to stop the man and now the little girl is in the custody of a freak.”
Ashlyn cursed under her breath.She glanced away from Lieutenant Netom and focused on the waves rolling onto the shore.That flashback hit her again, but this time, she was able to push it away.It was then that Harrison came into view.He stood to the left of where she had been looking at the water.His hands were shoved into his shorts pockets and his feet were bare.That wasn’t the only thing that was naked.He had no shirt on, and his tanned skin drew her attention, along with his muscled abs and arms.If she were a weaker woman, she would have started drooling.Instead, she gestured toward him.“Is that the player that was here with him?”
Lieutenant Netom nodded.“Yes.Harrison Thoreau, goalie for the Fireflies.”
She knew that.Ashlyn had followed his career from college to the minor league, and then when he got his first professional hockey contract.He had signed with the Fireflies and had been there ever since.He’d said in an interview he’d retire before accepting a trade to another team.Sparkle City was his home and always would be.He had no desire to leave.Sometimes she wished he would, but the secret part of her heart she kept hidden was glad he was nearby.
“He wasn’t able to offer much to help?”
“I have a brief description.It’s a male, approximately five ten, one hundred eighty pounds, with brown hair.He wasn’t close enough for eye color.He was wearing dark blue shorts and a white shirt.No logos or identifying marks that he could see.”
“So basically nothing.That describes a large part of the population.”She frowned.
“Hence why we need you.”He glanced toward Harrison.“He contacted the girl’s mother.She’s a big name in sports news.This is going to be one hell of a spectacle.”Lieutenant Netom rubbed his temples.“I need you to work your magic.”
Ashlyn nodded and opened her mouth to ask one more question.She didn’t have a chance to ask the woman’s name before a woman with pitch black hair and a curvaceous body flew past her and ran to Harrison.Her dress was a deep scarlet that hugged every single one of her curves and enormous chest.When she threw her arms around Harrison and he pulled her close, Ashlyn’s vision went as red as that dress.She recognized the woman.How could she not?Ashlyn had seen every single one of Harrison’s interviews and Jaylen Williams had been the one to ask the pointed questions in many of them.Ashlyn had hated her for being near Harrison, but the way she clung to him now spoke of a more intimate relationship than the cameras had led her to believe.
