I looked to my right at Alek, who shrugged one bare shoulder, his expression unreadable. I guess I needed to have this conversation eventually.
Slowly, I panned the phone over the bed, catching Eva, who was curled up to my chest, her hand resting over my heart, and then Alek, who had one hand under his head as he scrolled on his phone, bare to his waist, where the covers hit.
Cedric’s mouth opened then closed again. “I’m not going to lecture you,” he said. “Especially not with Coach laying right there.”
My eyes flicked to Alek, who was so studiously ignoring me, I knew he was hanging on every word.
“He resigned,” Eva said in a near whisper. “I don’t think any of us need a lecture on what this relationship could cost us.”
Her hand crept across the covers to squeeze Alek’s. He caught her fingers without looking away from his phone, tangling them together.
Cedric studied me through the phone for long moments then nodded sharply. “We can talk later. I called because apparently, some Russian oligarch is pissed at JedediahCarter and flew directly to DC to lobby against him. They want the FCC to revoke the broadcasting licenses for Carter Industries’ cable channels.”
I sat up straighter, one arm wrapping around Eva to keep her in place. “Do you have any idea why?”
Cedric shrugged. “Jed Carter’s a high roller—too rich for my blood. But he must have done something pretty extraordinary for this lobbying effort. This is a lot of political capital to spend.”
“Do you think that’s why he ,needed the ten million right away?” Eva asked as she worked her way through the implications. “If the broadcasting licenses are at risk, his whole media empire could collapse.”
“Tristan, what the fuck are you getting yourself into?” my brother asked, his voice carrying an edge of concern. “This isn’t—” He cut himself off, shaking his head. “This isn’t why?—”
“I know,” I offered softly, well aware of all the sacrifices he’d made so I could play hockey, including his own dreams. “But we have to stop him before he hurts anyone else.”
Cedric swallowed. “I expect you to tell me what the fuck is going on sometime when you’re not with your girlfriend and your—” he stumbled then grinned despite himself, “and your latest boytoy.”
Alek snorted softly.
“I’ll see if I can get any more information about the dude who’s pissed at Carter,” he said. “Ma says hi, by the way.”
Oh shit.We didn’t keep secrets from our parents. Guess I could expect a call from my mother about my relationship too.
When I hung up, Eva’s peal of laughter lightened thetension. “Tristan and his boytoy,” she giggled, elbowing Alek in his ribs.
To my surprise, he cracked a genuine smile—rare and beautiful—and gathered her closer. “Boytoy,” he murmured, mock-offended.
Eva yawned, and Alek pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Sleep, malyshka.”
She nodded against his chest, already drifting off.
I tightened my arm around her waist and let my eyes fall closed, Alek’s steady breathing on the other side of her lulling me toward sleep.
Cole’s absence pressed on my chest.
Soon, I vowed.
50
COLE
My parents’formal dining room was too quiet. I didn’t know where the fuck my mother was, Delaney sat across from me with perfect posture, and my father headed the table, cutting his steak. He was in a good mood tonight, and that alone was enough to tell me to be cautious.
“I’ve been reviewing some paperwork,” I said. I’d never tried to talk business at a meal with him, usually choosing to sit in silence, sulking because he hated the part of my life I love the most—hockey.
He looked up, fork paused halfway to his mouth, then put the fork down and waited for me to continue.
“Real estate holdings,” I said, “because of that meeting with Benedict Ford’s lawyer.”
My father didn’t say anything. I remembered a lesson from my childhood, that silence was a weapon that could be wielded as effectively as words.
