Page 124 of Guarded Love

Blaise pulls out his phone and looks at Ari. “Send me that clip and I'll post this after the event. Between my followers and the rest of the team's social media reach, it's guaranteed to go viral."

The color drains completely from Leo's face. He knows what that means. Blaise has thirty thousand followers just on Instagram alone, and that's before you factor in Knox, Levi, Wilder, Asher, and the rest of the Red Wolves’ roster. When they share something, it spreads through the sports community like wildfire.

"You can't be serious,” Leo says.

I can see the fear in his eyes. I refuse to fight the grin that shouldn’t be on my face since I’m still trying to be professional. I’m failing horribly though.

"Dead serious." Blaise's tone doesn't change. "The truth always has a way of making its way out of the darkness and into the light, doesn't it?"

I can see that Leo is trying to find the words to say, but they won’t come out. His camera is still recording, capturing every second of his public humiliation. The irony isn't lost on me. He came here to control the narrative, and instead he's about to become the story.

"This isn't over," he finally manages to say. The barely controlled rage that is boiling to the surface can be heard in every word.

"You're right," I say. "It's not over. Because now everyone gets to see exactly who you are when you can't hide behind carefully edited content and paid moderators."

I turn to face his camera directly, speaking to his audience for the first time. "Hi, Leo's viewers. I'm Willow Sanchez. I'm one of the women he's been calling desperate and attention-seeking on his streams. I want you to know that everything you just witnessed? This is the real Leo that he’s tried to hide from you under the curated branding I’m sure an extensive team pulled together. The things you’ve heard by now about him are all true and that’s only the tip of the iceberg."

Leo fumbles for his phone, probably trying to end the stream, but it's too late. The damage is done, and we all know it.

Blaise steps closer, not to me, but positioning himself where Leo can see him clearly. "You've got about thirty seconds to pack up your equipment and leave before security gets involved."

"Security?" Leo's voice cracks slightly. "You can't just?—"

"Actually, we can." The voice comes from behind us.

Knox emerges from the crowd, in his Red Wolves sweats gear, flanked by Levi, Asher, and Wilder. The expression on his face is the same one I saw just before his fist ended up in Leo’s face after he found out about some of the things he did to me in high school.

"This is a team event, and you're not welcome here."

My heart stops. Knox heard everything. He saw everything. And he's standing with Blaise, not questioning why his best friend just threatened to amplify a video of his sister confronting her ex.

Leo looks between the hockey players surrounding him, then at me, then at his still-recording camera. He's outnumbered and outmaneuvered, and he knows it.

"This is harassment," he tries weakly.

"No," I say, my voice steady as steel. "Harassment is what you did to Lilly and me. This? This is accountability."

Knox takes another step forward. “Pack it up. Now.”

Leo's hands shake as he fumbles with his equipment, mumbling under his breath about lawyers and defamation while the crowd disperses. I stand there for about thirty seconds, watching him move when I feel a gentle touch on my elbow. It’s Blaise.

"Can we talk? Privately?"

I nod, suddenly aware of how many people are still watching us. He guides me toward a quieter corner near the concession stands, away from the crowd and the team. My legs feel unsteady now that the confrontation is over, like all the fight has drained out of me. But damn did it feel good to do what I did.

“Ari sent me the clip and I did post it, but that’s not what I want to discuss. What I want to talk about is how you've been avoiding me," he says once we're alone. It's not an accusation, just a statement of fact.

"I know." I can't meet his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how to?—"

"How to what?" He steps closer to me. "How to let me help you? How to trust that I'd want to be there for you?"

The words hit harder than they should. "It's not that simple."

"Isn't it?" His hand finds my chin, tilting my face up until I have no choice but to look at him. "Willow, I've been going crazy these past few days. Watching you shut down, shut me out. Do you have any idea what that's been doing to me?"

"I was protecting you?—"

"From what? From caring about you? From wanting to be with you through the hard stuff?" His voice drops to barely above a whisper. "Because it's too late for that. I'm already in too deep."

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