I’d grown up watching men ruin each other over leverage. Over pride. Over power.
I would not let her become leverage. Not again. Not someone I loved. I’d watched enough men in tailored suits trade people like assets.
Mila wasn’t an asset. She was the only thing in my life that didn’t feel negotiated.
Even if that meant I had to step into rooms I’d spent years pretending didn’t exist.
The memory of Friday night on the beach surged through me. Her forehead against mine. The salt on her mouth.My thumb dragged slowly across my bottom lip, chasing the phantom feel of her.
But more than that—she hadn’t run. Not from Dunn. Not from the scale of what this could become. She’d stayed. She’d chosen me.
I exhaled slowly and refocused on the typing bubble pulsing on my screen.
Mila:Last night scared me.
I read it twice. The words hit harder than Elise’s threat. Scared meant she’d felt it too. The possibility that this could spiral past rumor and into something uglier.
My first instinct was to tell her not to be. My second was to lie. Instead, I typed slower than I wanted to.
Me:It scared me too.
The admission sat there before I could delete it.
I didn’t scare easily. But watching her hold that envelope in the hallway—watching her not flinch—knowing it could cost her everything? That did something to me I hadn’t prepared for.
Me:I can’t lose you. I won’t.
Three dots appeared almost instantly.
Mila:You won’t.
I started to type something else—something that would cross a line neither of us could uncross. The locker room door slammed open, shattering the softness that lingered from our exchange.
Theo strode in first, energy already dialed up to obnoxious. Six-foot-two of restless momentum with hands built for destruction on the ice. Jax followed, quiet and observant, eyes clocking everything without appearing to. Chase trailed behind them, lazy confidence draped over him as naturally as his practice jersey.
They all stopped when they saw me geared up early.
Jax dropped his bag with a thud. “Why do you look ready to commit a felony before sunrise?”
“Because you idiots weren’t where you were supposed to be Friday night.”
Chase snorted, tossing his tape roll onto the bench. “There was no universe where I willingly attended that snoozefest.”
“You were invited.”
“And I declined with enthusiasm.”
Theo leaned against the lockers, arms crossed. “You didn’t specify mandatory.”
I shot him a look. “You shouldn’t need it spelled out.”
Jax laughed, unapologetic. “Avery had zero interest in watching donors congratulate themselves for writing checks. I chose peace.”
“You chose wrong.”
He grinned. “Did I? Because I’m still alive.”
“For now.”
