Page 20 of Rush the Edge

A few of our teammates laugh as they skate toward the bench. I stop flinging pucks down the ice and glance at Malaki. “Alright, I’ll take the bait. Who are you talking about?”

“Her.”

I spin on the ice, and my expression falls.

No.

Maybe if I pretend she doesn’t exist, everyone else will too.

“You know Cindy,” I say. “She organizes all the media shit, like our interviews.”

And other things…like dealing with new hires.

Surely Daisy didn’t actually accept the job of being the team’s mascot.

Then again, I’ve never known Daisy to back down from something. She may throw a fit, or begrudgingly do whatever the task is, but she doesn’t give up easily.

“Uh-oh…” Malaki chimes in through my thoughts.

I do a damn good job at keeping my attention away from Cindy and Daisy. It looked as if she was giving Daisy a tour of the arena, which isn’t a good sign.

Malaki sticks his twig forward and stops me from skating. “Are you hiding something?” He eyes me with a shit-eating grin.

“Since when do I hide shit? You live with me, for fuck’s sake.”

Something I wasn’t keen on, but when I found myself in the hole because of Miles, Malaki was the only one I felt comfortable turning to. He became my roommate and got us caught up on the rent until I could replace all the money I’d loaned to my brother.

Loaned. What a joke.

With a loan, you get paid back. Miles will never pay me back.

Malaki moves his stick out of the way and skates alongside me toward the bench. “Since now. You’re really going to act like you don’t see that foxy little thing walking with Cindy?”

Don’t react. Don’t react. Don’t react.

My grip on the stick tightens, and it takes everything in me not to bare my teeth.

Which is completely insane.

Our only night together as something more than her brother’s best friend and my best friend’s sister was a long time ago. So why am I still so fucked up over it? Why do I still hold such a grudge over what she did to me? The sting of her rejection is as fresh as it was back then, and every time I look at her, all I can remember is laying it out on the line for her to throw it all away.

Irritation runs up my spine with the thought of her making Chicago a home.

I refuse tolet that happen—starting with making sure she doesn’t get involved with any of these fools. The last thing I need is for her to be around even more than she already is.

“I see her,” I finally acknowledge Malaki, but I keep my tone bored.

His eyebrows shoot up to his forehead before he smooths his face. “Ah. You know her…” he notes. “Who is she?”

I glance toward the stands again, and thank fuck, she’s gone.

With a shrug of my shoulder, I turn away. “We grew up together.”

“Oh?” Malaki is full of sarcasm. “Is that so?”

I shoot him a death glare. “Don’t fuck with me.”

His lips twitch, and I take that as my cue to head to the locker room. If I don’t, I fear I’ll accidentally punch him in the face and start a brawl with my own team.

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