Hockey Mom, page 1
Contents
Introduction
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Copyright © 2018/19, Eve Langlais
Cover Art Razz Dazz Design © 2018
Produced in Canada
Published by Eve Langlais ~ www.EveLanglais.com
eBook ISBN: 978 177 384 088 8
Print ISBN: 978 177 384 089 5
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This is a work of fiction and the characters, events and dialogue found within the story are of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, either living or deceased, is completely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying, file sharing, audio recording, email, photocopying, and printing without permission in writing from the author.
Introduction
As a single mother, and deadly operative, Tanya knows she can’t screw up. So, explain how she ended up in his bed.
A teenage pregnancy left Tanya struggling to survive with a baby. Fast forward years later and she’s established herself as a first-class hacker, working for an elite agency—with benefits.
Life is good, and being a secret agent doesn’t stop her from driving her son to compete in a hockey tournament happening in Quebec.
What’s not so good is finding Cory’s father there. A man everyone thought dead. Who thinks he can rekindle things with a smile.
It will take more than that for Tanya to forgive, especially considering she’s fighting a temptation to kill. How dare Antoine think he can walk back into her life? And how will she explain his reappearance to their son?
It would be easier to shoot him, but she can’t, which means, Bad Boy Inc. operative Devon isn’t allowed to shoot him either. Speaking of, why is Devon at the ski resort anyway? Tanya doesn’t believe for one minute that he’s on holiday, and when he needs her to pretend to be his girlfriend for a top-secret mission, she finds it only too easy to imagine the role becoming real.
But when her son goes missing, this hockey mom has to put aside passion and romance and remember who she is: a killer mom who won’t let anyone hurt her baby.
Prologue
The police report stated that it appeared as if his snowmobile went through the ice. The tracks ended at the edge of a hole that dropped into the chilly, deep lake. It being the end of the freezing winter season, Antoine should have known better than to ride across the cracking ice.
But her boyfriend, like many other boys his age, enjoyed the thrill. After all, Antoine wasn’t even twenty yet. Too young to die.
His death proved a sobering experience.
Devastated, Tanya cried for days. Skipped school, too, and hung out at their place in the woods. Not much of a hangout. An old tree fort abandoned years ago by whoever had built it, but it became their spot. They met there in secret because his parents were strict when it came to girls.
“You can’t come over, my mom will kill me.” As to spending time at her house? Also, not happening. Her parents were assholes. Especially her dad.
The treehouse didn’t have a bed, only a plywood floor, but Antoine got them a blowup air mattress and a blanket. Which worked great during the warm days of summer and the coolness of fall, not so much fun in the winter. Yet Antoine did his best to ensure that she never shivered with cold when she was with him—only pleasure.
Given that they both belonged to the geekiest club in school—the one that got to use the computer lab—they often stayed after the others had gone, locking the classroom door and making love by the glow of a screen.
Why did he have to die? To think, they’d only been months away from graduating and being able to leave this shithole. His words, not hers. The town itself was fine. A little boring and judge-y, but no worse than anywhere else.
“Where will we live?” she’d asked more than once when he told her of his plans.
“I’ll find a place.”
Antoine never doubted for a moment that he’d escape. She didn’t think he ever imagined it would only happen in death, however.
She mourned his loss and became determined to fulfill his dream. To leave this place and never look back. In between going to school, she got a job and began squirreling away all her money. A mere pittance that trickled to nothing the day her boss caught her puking in the back and asked if she was pregnant.
How long had it been since her last period?
Too long as it turned out, and her grief at losing Antoine turned to joy. A part of him lived inside her.
Excited, she announced it to her parents.
Who stared at her. Her mom’s head began to shake. “Why would you go and do that?”
As for her dad… “Are you fucking kidding me? I don’t think so. We were just about to get rid of you. Don’t expect us to start paying for a bastard.”
“What are you saying?” Tanya expected them to freak out when she told them about the pregnancy, maybe even demand an abortion—which she’d refuse. But she assumed—very wrongly—that they’d ultimately support her.
Tanya didn’t expect them to toss her out. That wasn’t supposed to happen. They gave her five minutes to pack her shit.
“Why are you doing this?” she cried as she stuffed clothes into her bag.
“Bad enough I raised your mother’s bastard. I am not raising someone else’s.”
The words stopped her dead. She looked at her father, big and mean, then at her mother beside him. The parent she’d gotten all her looks from. But she’d always wondered about her brain.
It made so much sense now.
Tanya slung the backpack over her shoulder, shaking inside with fear, but only because of the unknown.
As the door slammed shut behind her, part of her was tempted to whip around and pound on the solid wood panel. Maybe kick it a few times.
Instead, she headed for the road, muttering, “You know what, I don’t need you.”
She didn’t need her no-good family. Her father with his quick temper, her mother with the sharp slaps. Even her brother, who thought it was okay to take pics of her in the shower to sell to his buddies.
She could make it on her own. She spent too much of her savings on a bus ticket out of town, but she couldn’t stay here. She also couldn’t afford to rent a room. Not if she wanted to eat.
Hitting a library, she used their internet capability to locate an address for a women’s shelter. The people working there proved kind, if pushy, especially once they found out about her situation. Because, yeah, announcing that you were pregnant got all kinds of tones, whispers, and knowing expressions as they said, “Parents were pro-lifers, eh?”
Their faces when Tanya told them that it was she who wanted to keep the baby? A strange mixture of shock and then condemnation. Because they believed she’d made the wrong choice, they took it upon themselves to subtly pressure her. The number of abortion pamphlets pushed into her hands made her grind her teeth. As her belly swelled, and that option became unavailable, the adoption hints started.
“…a family who can give your child the life they deserve.”
“Think of those poor couples who can’t have a baby of their own.”
None of them understood that Tanya would never abandon the life growing in her belly, the only connection she had left to its father.
When the loneliness got to be too much, she stroked her hand over her swelling abdomen. She might have lost her boyfriend to a freak accident, but a part of him lived on.
Unfortunately, the shelter provided only a temporary respite. Not to mention, the people there were driving her nuts. Tanya chose to move out rather than wonder if they’d go so far as to rip her baby from her when it was born.
While in the shelter, she’d saved up some money, enough for first and last month’s rent. Or a laptop.
The computer won, meaning, she had no place to live, a situation she resolved by squatting in empty homes. Amazing how many people went away on holiday once the weather got cold. So easy to get inside.
It kept her off the streets as she entered the last weeks of her pregnancy. Once the baby came, she’d let the hospital care for her, milking it for as long as she could. Thank you, free Canadian healthcare system.
Except the hospital didn’t keep her very long, the curse of being healthy. By the time she left with her baby boy—perfect in every way—she’d found her next place to squat. Finding empty homes to live in proved easier than expected once you got into the right social network neighborhood groups.
I need someone to pick up my mail while I’m gone.
Dog sitter required while I’m at work.
So many places she could borrow for a few hours here—eating out of their fridge—a few nights there—sleeping in a real bed with the baby snuggled against her side.
It never bothered her that she stole, not when it meant caring
for the baby boy who owned her heart.
Since leaving him with a sitter wasn’t an option, Tanya hacked for extra money. It was the one skill she had that only required a computer and an internet connection.
Holding websites for ransom? That paid a nice chunk. Blackmail over dirty pictures, and even a little bit of online shopping with stolen credit cards. Nothing huge. And never the same place twice.
Still, as careful as she tried to be, it ended up drawing attention. Not with the cops, though. She would have known since she monitored them.
Tanya never even knew they were coming. They just appeared in the condo she’d appropriated—the owner some kind of interior designer out of town on business—guns outstretched, expressions grim, all women.
Which she found intriguing.
The one who appeared in charge of them possessed smooth, ebony skin, high cheekbones, and an appraising gaze. “You’re not what I expected to find.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll pay for the food I ate and leave.”
“How did you get in?” the woman asked.
Clutching her baby boy, terrified and hoping they’d take pity, Tanya hung her head and said, “I picked the lock.”
“No, you didn’t.” The woman holstered her gun and crossed her arms. “You took over the condo’s security system, including the door lock mechanism. You looped the cameras to make it appear as if no one was here.”
“How did you know?”
“You’re in Ontario. Every house has a smart meter, so imagine my surprise when I got a ping saying that my usage was higher than normal.”
“This is your place?” Tanya’s heart sank, and as if sensing her agitation, Cory began to fuss.
“Yes.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
“Given you broke through the best security system available out there?” The woman she’d later know as Marie Cadeaux smiled. “Offer you a job, of course.”
Chapter One
The air was crisp, sharp enough to bite the lungs, and especially knife-like when huffing and puffing for dear life. The muscles in Tanya’s thighs burned as she pushed to keep out of his reach.
Her stride was long, the blade of her skates catching the hard ice and shaving it. Push, glide, lunge. She held her upper body partially hunched, making herself smaller and offering less resistance to the wind.
It didn’t matter. She could hear him getting closer. The schwick of his skates eating up the ice louder and louder.
She put on a burst of speed. Adrenaline coursed, awakening all of her muscles. Faster, she had to go faster. He couldn’t catch her.
Movement at the side caught her attention. She turned to look and…saw her cheeky son sail past, not even breathing hard. Waving and smiling.
The show-off circled back to do laps around Tanya as she slowed. Out of gas, she came to a halt and leaned over, hands on her burning thighs, trying to breathe without dying.
Being in shape from working out inside a gym couldn’t compare to being on skates outside in a cold snap that could literally freeze body parts in minutes. A good Canadian girl, she knew how to dress, but she couldn’t bundle her lungs.
“You did pretty good that time,” her son teased.
Little jerk. He’d even given her a head start. She just about burst with pride at his athletic ability.
“Put me on a treadmill, and I’ll show you who’s slow.” She was better at paced endurance competitions.
“Treadmills are for hamsters,” sassed her son, the comedian.
“And full dishwashers are for mouthy brats.” A rebuke said with a smile.
He would have emptied it no matter what. Cory had always been good about his chores, but she worried about the rest of his teen years. Wasn’t this when the rebellion started? Another parent had mentioned that she’d caught her son with a vape. Some new method of smoking. Gross.
Cory would never do that. Would he? Tanya eyed him as they slowly skated back towards their car and the treat of the day: freshly deep-fried Beavertails!
Nothing like the sight of tourists’ eyes widening with horror when Canucks teased about eating the delicacy. Their clear repugnance never failed to amuse. They honestly thought people meant meat. Ugh. As if.
The real stuff was a fluffy pastry, deep fried to crisp, golden perfection, and then, if going for the original and basic flavor, sprinkled with icing sugar. Or, you could go a little crazier: apple and caramel drizzle, Nutella and banana, even cheesecake was possible.
Cory went for the chocolatiest thing they had on the menu, all the better to get it all over his face and hands. Casting glances at him as they drove from the canal that ran down the middle of Ottawa, Tanya was happy to see the boy still lurking in there. There was time enough later for him to be a man.
Christmas lights twinkled as darkness fell early upon the city, the days now at their shortest. Winter had arrived early this year in Ottawa, bringing with it record cold. The sub-Arctic temperatures were the only reason the canal opened so early. December twenty-seventh, only midway through Cory’s school holidays, and the day before his hockey tournament in Mont Tremblant, Quebec. It wasn’t too far of a drive, but they would be staying overnight.
Tanya had already packed for the trip: snow gear, comfy clothes, warm jammies, extra clothes for Cory—because his packing skills usually involved one extra shirt and a toothbrush—and his snowboarding equipment. The hockey bag was ready to go, and she already had her kit in the back of her SUV under the spare.
Because what hockey mom ever went anywhere without her gleaming Magnum and other toys? Never knew when you’d need some explosives or some rappelling rope.
When Cory went to bed that night, she signed on to her workplace website via a secure terminal. The dancing flower jiggled the moment she plugged the hidden flash drive into the USB. Someone in the Killer Moms office had a sense of humor when it came to hiding technology in plain sight. Immediately upon logging in, her inbox showed three messages.
The first… Schedule recap: Wedding rehearsal on Wednesday. Wedding on Friday. The group chat response: What’s on Thursday? Carla’s pre-wedding jitters bride reply was: Getting drunk.
Tanya grinned. That sounded like Carla. Who would have ever thought she’d get married? Hell, no one ever thought she’d retire, and yet the legend that was Carla—the one with the most kills under her belt and an almost perfect record when it came to mission completion—had already left the Killer Moms agency, KM for short, to work for her newly discovered granddad. Turned out, she had family apart from her son. She’d even fallen for a guy during her discovery of her new grandfather. Most mind-blowing of all? She was happy.
Which, if you knew the grouchy Carla, was a pretty amazing thing. Her wedding would be epic. Since it was happening on a beach during the March school break, it meant that Tanya should think of upgrading her old bathing suit from her mom one-piece to maybe a tankini.
Maybe.
She wasn’t looking to draw attention. Didn’t need a man in her life. She had her son.
Tapping a reply on her keyboard, Tanya sought to reassure the nervous bride-to-be. Can’t wait. This is going to be great.
Sappy, but that was Tanya. She loved the idea of her friends, who’d all suffered hardships, finding a happily ever after.
Perhaps it’s time I thought about dating, too.
The girls had a point when they teased Tanya about not being with a man for over a decade. Actually, it was closer to fifteen years. Heck, Antoine was barely more than a boy when they were in love, and he’d left her with a gift that ensured she’d never forget him.
Rest in peace. Dead so young, her chance at happiness ripped away in a freak snowmobile accident.
But at least he lived on in Cory.
Tanya moved to the next email from Mother, the code name used for her handler with KM. Tell Cory I’ll give him a hundred dollars if he manages a hat trick.
