Page 30 of Hard Ruck

“And they saw us carry a drunk woman out,” Ice said. “Trust me, this cannot be traced back to us. I’m very good at covering the tracks of myself and other people.”

“He really is,” I said. “He’s had a lifetime of doing it. Covering for himself and me.” On paper, he didn’t even have a speedingticket. Anyone would think he was squeaky clean and innocent as fuck.

“What about Storm?” Frost asked. “What if he never accepts any of this?” In a whisper he added, “What if he hates me? Us?”

“He’ll come around,” Ice assured him. “You should have seen Kennedy when she first found out about all of this. She freaked out. Now, she’s as involved as the rest of us. He clearly cares about both of you. He’ll get past this.”

“What about Dallas? And Atlas? And the rest of the team?” Frost shook his head, trying to get his thoughts in order.

“Dallas and Atlas will find out when the time is right,” I said. “There’s no reason anyone else needs to know. Not for now anyway.”

Frost’s brow dipped in a deep V. “Do the Demons know?” He directed the question to my brother. “You said the Brantley twins own them? Do they know all of this goes on?”

“Most of them,” Ice replied. “The head coach is one of my boss’ other right-hand men. Some of the junior coaches who used to be players as well. They either work for the team, or they work for the Brantley family in some other capacity. If the shit ever hits the fan, you’ll be grateful they do. More than once they’ve come to the rescue.”

“This is fucking wild,” Frost said.

“It really is,” I agreed. I glanced at the door, hoping Storm wasn’t out there doing something he’d regret.

Chapter Twelve

Chelsea

After he finished his coffee,Ice left. Frost nodded off in the armchair. I waited for a while, then stepped outside to see if I could find Storm. He might have gone home, but I sensed he was close.

I headed down to the car park and found him sitting in a dark corner by himself. I almost missed him at first, but he moved, scuffing his feet on the concrete.

“Storm?” I said softly. “Are you okay?”

He grunted. “Nope. I don’t know how you are.”

I sat down beside him so we weren’t quite touching, but close enough to feel his warmth. “I’ve had a lifetime to get used to it. If I just found out, I’d be packing and getting ready to get the hell out of Dusk Bay.”

“Is that what you think I should do?” he asked.

“No,” I said quickly. “You wouldn’t turn tail and run. I know you better than that. Yes, this is strange, and it’s a lot, but is it really the weirdest thing you’ve ever heard?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “My best friend, my… I don’t even know what to call him. He killed a woman and liked it. He wants to do it again. It’s one thing when he was slipping you a roofie, or tying you up and fucking you. What if he decideshe wants you dead? What if he chokes you and can’t stop himself from going too far?”

“Is that what you’re worried about?” I asked gently. “I can take care of myself.”

Ivy should have been able to as well, but now was not the time to mention that.

“Not if you’re drugged,” he argued. “You won’t be able to do anything but lie there and let him kill you. Fucking hell.” He raised his fist as though to punch the concrete wall beside him, but dropped it to his thigh.

“You’d be there to stop him,” I said. “But I know for certain he won’t do that to me. He cares about me. About us. He lost his shit once. He’s not going to do it again. We’ll make sure of that.”

“What if we can’t?” Storm asked. “He might kill me, then you.”

“He won’t,” I assured him. “If you’re so worried, we could always kill him first.” I didn’t mean it, but it got the reaction I expected.

“I’m not killing him,” Storm insisted. “This whole conversation is fucked up. Why are we talking about killing anyone? How could he do something like that? He could have asked for help. We would have dealt with her.”

“How?” I asked, curious how he’d answer in his present frame of mind.

He exhaled, loud and frustrated. “I don’t know. We could have put her in a taxi, or walked her home. Something.”

“She might have come on to you instead,” I said.

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