The Goalie

He stopped a stickup at my bodega, said almost nothing, and disappeared into the night.
I couldn't stop thinking about him.

Two men with a gun and a knife. Eight seconds. Then a stranger put them both on the floor without a word and walked out before I got his name.

I went back to work. Swept up the broken glass. Told myself I'd forget him.

But every night after close, someone walked past my window. Slow. Deliberate. Watching.

Then my best friend dragged me to an underground club in Brooklyn - the kind of place where money and violence share the same air - and I saw him standing against the back wall like he owned it.

Eoin Gallagher. Goaltender for the Reapers. The quietest of five brothers who run an Irish crime empire. A man who barely speaks and sees everything.

He'd been watching me since that night. Following me home. Memorizing my schedule. Making sure nothing touched me.

I should have run.

Instead, I let him stand at my counter every day, buying things he didn't need, listening while I talked. He gave me his name like it cost him something. And when I found out who his family was - what they do - he didn't make excuses. He just said, "I'll be here. When you're ready."

I wasn't supposed to go back.

But his silence felt safer than anyone else's words. And when the violence that follows his name came for me - Eoin Gallagher didn't just protect me.

He dismantled everyone who touched me.

The Goalie is a scorching dark Irish mafia hockey romance with a silent, obsessive hero, a heroine who sees through his stillness, and a love story that starts with violence and ends with devotion. Standalone with a guaranteed happily ever after.

Perfect for readers who love:
• Obsessive stalker heroes who watch from the shadows
• Dark mafia hockey sports romance with real heat
• "Touch her and die" protectors
• Slow burn that detonates
• Brooklyn nights, bruised knuckles, and whiskey bars
• A complete standalone HEA