“Y-you don’t even know me.” My phone vibrates in my hand, signaling a text, but I don’t want to look down at it and risk him taking the opportunity of me being distracted. But I need to call someone or get out of here. Something.
“I thought I did. It should’ve been us, Rae. It was supposed to be us.”
I shake my head. “You didn’t have to do this. You could have just tried to talk to me and ask me out.”
He barks out a laugh. “Right. Would you have said yes?”
No.
“Maybe. You never tried. You jumped right to…whatever this is you’ve been doing.”
Stalking me.
“I wanted you to see there was someone better for you, especially better than GraysonfuckingWheeler.” He spits the name with so much venom I want to defend my best friend, but I know that’ll only make everything worse. “But then I saw you with him.Both of them.”
I swallow roughly, looking around for anything I could possibly use to defend myself if this escalates because with the way he’s talking and acting, I feel like it may.
Also, where the fuck is my security?
My phone vibrates again, and I hold it against myself hoping he can’t hear it go off.
“You’re fucking both of them, but wouldn’t even give me a chance?” He takes several more steps up the stairs, and I prepare to turn and run.
“I-I mean, maybe if you tried to talk to me, I would have?—”
“Bullshit!” he yells. “You wouldn’t have, but guess what? They aren’t here now, are they?”
I try to hide the way I’m hyperventilating. “Wh-where…I have security. They’re right outside.” I try to sound more confident than I am.
He smiles, and it reminds me of some sort of super villain. “No, they’re not.”
“H-how do you know?” I look around, wishing there was a window nearby where I could try and scream or something. Even though that may make things worse.
“You know how powerful money can be, right? You grew upwith plenty and I mean”—he looks from left to right—“you’re not lacking now.”
“You paid them off?” I question, not believing that would be enough for them to look past their job. Unless I’ve beenverywrong about the people I’ve hired.
“Nah, that would’ve been easier. I hired my own guys to switch yours.”
I shake my head because that’s just not possible. None of this makes sense, but he’s here and clearly unstable.
“Asher is going to be here any minute,” I lie, hoping that if I say it, maybe it’ll be true. I would say both him and Grayson will be, but I’m sure he knows Gray is at the arena for the game already.
“No, he’s not.” He smiles. “I have you all to myself.”
“D-did you do something to him?” I panic.
“Not yet.”
I’ve heard enough, and this may be a mistake, but I know my house better than he does. That’s why I spin around and run.
CHAPTER 47
Grayson
Ihate to admit that being down a teammate has made us better, but it really has. Collins got suspended and I don’t think we’ve played better than we are right now. We’re off the ice before the third period, up two points and feeling good about going into the final twenty minutes of the game.
The one distraction I have is that when I look at my phone, I don’t see any texts from Rae. No commentary on the game, no wishing me luck, nothing. While I want to believe it’s because she’s just having a good time up in the suite with everyone, there’s the smallest feeling in the back of my mind that something isn’t right.
