Page 21 of Blood on Ice

“All right, but you’ve got to keep up your strength. You’ve got practice later.”

He slid a hand across his face and pushed back his hair. “Don’t fucking remind me.”

“I’ll do better than that, I’ll drive you there.”

“No. Stay away from the arena.”

I leaned back in my chair, put my feet up on the desk, and crossed one over the other. He shifted in the chair, looking everywhere but at me.

Finally, he spoke. “I got into some trouble in Vegas. I was stupid. I earned too much money too fast, and I blew it at the fucking casinos. As I’m sure you know, I make a hell of a lot of money. I’m not squandering it anymore. I can make payments, but I need to settle my accounts back there.”

I narrowed my eyes as I studied him. “Who did you borrow from, and why should I believe you’ll pay us when you ran out on them?”

“It doesn’t matter who, and I’ve got things under control here.”

“Then why not use the money you have to send payments to Vegas?” He twisted his hands together and looked down at his feet. “Zeke, how far behind are you?”

“Too far.”

“Are they threatening you?”

He nodded, and the pain in his eyes made my chest tighten. I knew right then that I wasn’t going to let him go, not now, and not after we’d fixed his problem.

10

ZEKE

Ididn’t know why I was telling him all this. It wasn’t like I had to. He wouldn’t really stop me from leaving, would he? How serious was he about customers not walking away once they contacted his family? I’d known he was dangerous from the moment I saw him. What did it say about my fucking luck that he was the kind of dangerous man I needed right now?

He already knew I was desperate. What difference did it make if he got the details? He would give me the money, I was sure of that, but then he’d have even more reason to follow me, and I’d have even more chances to give in to what I wanted.

Don’t do it.

They’re going to come after me. I need to pay them everything.

Vito is a danger to you too.

“How much do you need?” he asked.

I stared at him for a moment, not wanting to admit how bad it was.

“I can’t draw up a loan contract if you don’t tell me how much you need to borrow.”

I took a deep breath and swallowed. His gaze tracked the movement of my throat, and I forgot what I was supposed to say for a moment.

“The amount, Zeke.”

I told him and he gave a loud whistle. “You really did get yourself in trouble.”

“I told you I was stupid, but I’m good for it. I can pay you back.”

“For an amount like this, I’m supposed to get my father’s approval.”

“Oh.” My heart hammered. I was in so fucking deep, even a loan shark wasn’t going to give me what I needed.

“What the fuck were they doing out there loaning you this much?”

“I didn’t get it all at once. I borrowed some and then as if I hadn’t been stupid enough, I got mixed up in some private gambling rings I had no business in. I thought I was a hell of a lot more skilled than I am. I should have stuck to hockey.”

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