The thought freezes me in place. Getting on that elevator feels like admitting defeat, as if I’m taking the first step in letting her go. And I don’t know if I can do that. Not again…
The doors start to close, but Bree catches them with her hand. “Please, Wade. It’s important.”
Her imploring blue eyes glitter with fear, which knocks every cell in my body into protective mode. She’s afraid.
Seeing her like this shifts something in me. I push aside my feelings and hustle to her side, silently cursing all this goalie padding for making it damn near impossible to pull her close. So I do the next best thing—I hook my index finger around her dangling hand and close the loop with my thumb, like I’m lassoing a moment I’m not ready to let go of.
Because what if it’s the last one I get with her?
“Whatever you need, Bree-bear.” As much as I want to know what has her so scared, I don’t want her to doubt that I’m here for her, no matter what.
She blows out a breath as if to steady herself. “Promise me you won’t lose your cool, Wade.”
I swivel my head to stare at her. “What’s going on?”
She keeps her eyes on the elevator doors. “Just promise me.”
That’s enough confirmation for me to know I’m right. She knows how I feel about Chase. I just can’t believe she’d go back to the scumbag, especially after how he treated her. Bree’s better than that. Langston must have some kind of hold over her. If that’s the case, then I have a new mission in life—find out what this guy has done to her and make sure he never sets eyes on Bree again.
But until then, I’ll keep my word and do whatever she needs. “Fine. I promise.”
“Good.” The elevator doors open, and she launches out like an opponent making a breakaway with the puck. Except Bree isn’t the enemy—Chase is.
With my skates adding a few inches to my height, I duck my head to walk into Rebecca’s office. She and Zach are sitting on the small sofa, laptops open. Rebecca sets hers aside as Zach closes his and slips it onto the coffee table.
Rebecca gestures to one chair for Bree, then frowns at the other. “Sorry, Wade, we didn’t think you’d be in your gear already.”
“I got here early. No worries. I can stand.”
Arms crossed, Bree holds her tablet against her chest. “I’d rather stand, too.”
She glances at me before facing Rebecca and Zach again. “We might have a problem with one of the goalie sign-ups.”
Zach grabs his laptop again and opens it, consternation masking his features. “I was just checking the list, but I didn’t see anything off.”
“That’s because you don’t know the whole story. Chase Langston is the one I’m concerned about.”
“Langston? But he’s not a goaltender,” I blurt out. Seems like a simple mistake, but that doesn’t stop the heat riding up my neck, making my head break out in a sweat.
Bree dips her chin, then looks up at me. “He recently changed positions.”
The perspiration running down my back feels like ice now. What game is this guy playing, for real?
Rebecca shifts her gaze between us before landing on Bree. “Take your time and tell us everything. Zach and I are here to help.”
The obvious tension Bree’s carrying seems to lessen with Rebecca’s reassurance. Bree launches into some details about her relationship with Langston, how things changed over time, and what led her to quit and ultimately move here. I can tell she’s trying to stay calm, but I know my Bree-bear. I can hear the underlying fear in her voice, so maybe I have it all wrong about her getting back together with him.
“But last month, he sent me this with a threat.” She opens her tablet, then holds it out to Rebecca and Zach. “It’s not me. Lily was able to confirm the photo was altered to look like me. And the player in the picture is Chase. I recognized the piece of a tattoo that was left below his arm.”
Rebecca’s face flushes with anger as she hands over the tablet. “This is unacceptable.”
Zach gets to his feet and starts pacing. “We’ll reject his application.”
“And tell him what?” Bree glances at my outstretched hand, reluctant to give it to me. “Trust me, he’ll twist your words to make it look like he’s the one being slighted.”
I reach for the tablet again. “Bree, show me.”
Tears spring up in her eyes as she whispers, “Remember, you promised.”
