His jaw works, the muscle twitching there like he’s biting back a dozen things at once.
“I’m not saying you’re the bad guy here. It’s just—she’s mysister. You’re my captain. And if this goes sideways, you both get crushed.”
“I won’t let that happen,” I tell him, voice low.
He shakes his head, half-laughing under his breath. “You can’t control that, man.”
He’s right. But I still try.
“I’ll protect her any way I can.”
David studies me for a long moment, the muscle in his jaw ticking. “Protecting her is one thing,” he says finally. “But you can’t fix how it looks if this leaks. She could lose her job, Declan.”
“I know. And last night proved we weren’t careful enough.”
“Then you need to start acting like it.” His tone sharpens, clipped. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around this. You and her? Of all people?”
“Believe me,” I say quietly, “I didn’t see it coming either.”
Something in his face flickers—disbelief giving way to something closer to resignation.
He studies me like he’s trying to reconcile a lifetime of friendship with what he’s seeing now.
“Wow,” he mutters, dragging a hand over his face. “You really care about her.”
“Yeah,” I admit. “I do.”
He exhales, pacing a few steps. “Alright. Then here’s the deal. You keep this quiet. No locker-room whispers, no staff slipups. You keep it quiet until you’re cleared.”
He stops, still uneasy, and looks back at me. “Then you do what you told me you’d do. Stick to your plan. But until then? Don’t give anyone a reason to start talking.”
“Understood.”
He nods, eyes still searching mine like he’s weighing whether to trust me.
“I’m still processing this,” he says finally. “But she’s my sister. If you hurt her…”
“You won’t get the chance. I’d wreck myself before I ever did that to her,” I interrupt.
His mouth twitches, not quite a smile, but something close. “You always were a pain in the ass.”
“And you still put up with me.”
He huffs out a breath, shaking his head. “Go ice that leg before I change my mind about liking you.”
“Noted.”
When he leaves, I exhale and lean back against the wall.
Crisis contained, for now.
Chapter Twenty-Five
CHARLOTTE
The energy in the arena hums like static before a storm.
Round 2, Game 3. Home ice. The kind of night where every heartbeat feels synced to the crowd.
