Page 203 of Break the Ice
“And we’re fixing this tonight,” she declares. “You can’t give the boys all the firsts, Fin. Some belong to me as your bestie.”
I grin despite myself. “Fine.”
“Fine,” she echoes, linking her arm through mine again as we call Samson over.
For the first time since the guys left, the emptiness in my chest doesn’t feel so heavy.
CHAPTER 62
ELIJAH
Oregon Wolves hockey player Casey Cavanaugh in critical condition following catastrophic motor vehicle collision.
The notification glares back at me while I scan the article. Across the table, the guys are all reading the same thing.
“Fuck,” Matheo mutters, tossing his phone down like it burned him.
“I don’t know him well,” Jayden says, leaning back in his chair, “but he doesn’t seem like the kind of asshole who drives drunk. Right, Eli?”
I drag my thumb across the screen, scrolling slower than necessary. “He’s a good guy.”
Played with him for a season back when I was with The Wolves. We weren’t close, but the locker room has a way of making you see a man’s character whether you mean to or not. Casey—Clover, we called him—was steady. The kind of guy who stood when things got ugly on the ice. First to show up, last to leave.
“Report says suspected DUI,” Auguste mutters beside Dylan.
“Report also says the family wants privacy and discretion,” Dylan replies, his voice flat as he cuts into his steak. “Maybe we should be decent human beings and give them that.”
Matheo opens his mouth like he’s ready to argue, but Jayden elbows him under the table, and whatever silent language exists between those two makes Matheo clamp his jaw shut instead.
“Fine,” he grumbles, stabbing his fork into his plate like it offended him personally.
I keep reading the article, though. Something about it doesn’t sit right. The timing. The tone. None of this sounds like Clover.
The group chat pings across my screen, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Fin
Christina’s taking me to the movies. I’ll call you when I’m home. Okay?
JJ
Don’t forget the Air Tags.
Fin
Purse. Pocket. Keys.
What time does it end?
Fin
9…ish?
JJ
What are you watching?
Fin
