Page 14 of Callous Shot

Enzo shot me a warning look. “It won’t be a disaster, if you play nice. And you’d better play nice.”

“I will,” I muttered.

“Good. Go. Mingle.” His gaze flicked to the corner of the room, and he smirked. “If there are any individuals you specifically have a problem with, take it to the yard. We have an open invitation.”

The yard. The former prison exercise yard right in the centre of Cranham University territory. Ringed by mesh fencing topped with barbed wire, it was used after hours to settle disputes, among other things. As much as the idea of having free rein to pummel a certain hockey forward held its appeal, it was a bad, bad idea for me to go anywhere near that place.

I followed Enzo’s gaze. Tousled red hair and a blindingly white smile appeared in my line of vision, and I gritted my teeth. “I’ll do that,” I ground out. Stalking away from Enzo, I headed to the opposite corner of the room, far away from Daniel Hoyton. Despite Enzo’s instructions to mingle, I knew that if I ended up in Daniel’s vicinity, we were likely to come to blows. It had been bad enough on the ice earlier, but now, adding alcohol into the mix and no refs to pull us apart…it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Still… I scanned the crowds, noticing two of the Kings’ players, Toby Wells and Neo Clayton, over near the makeshift dance floor with women already swarming around them. I changed direction, grabbing the wrist of our D-man, Jasper Campbell, on the way.

“The fuck, Bellingham?”

“We’ve been told to mingle. Wells and Clayton are our best bet.”

Jasper’s face cleared. “Yeah. I guess they’re alright…for Cranham prison dickheads. Best of a bad bunch, anyway.”

I jerked my head in agreement. Wells and Clayton were probably the least aggravating members of the Kings, and as far as I knew, they weren’t criminals.

I needed to stay far away from criminals.

Just as we reached Wells and Clayton, a hand shot out, and then I was yanked back into a body I was beginning to become uncomfortably familiar with. “Not so fast,” a voice hissed in my ear, hot breath hitting my skin. I shuddered with what could only be revulsion, dumping my beer bottle on the windowsill so I had both hands free. Free to strangle this asshole, preferably.

“Get your hands off me, Hoyton, unless you want to lose them.”

He chuckled as I let him manhandle me out of the room and down the corridor. Don’t cause a scene, I repeated to myself, over and over, doing my best to ignore both the curious looks from my fellow students and my rising anger. When he came to a stop in a quieter part of the corridor, he released me, and I immediately spun on him, wrapping my hand around his throat.

“Don’t ever do that again,” I snarled.

His blue eyes sparkled with humour, completely undeterred by the way my thumb was pressing into his pulse point. His heart was pounding just as hard as mine, though. I could feel it.

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing against my palm. “Didn’t see you complaining.”

“The only reason I’m here with you now is because I know how to be a team player.”

“Aren’t you a good little boy?”

“There’s nothing fucking little about me, Hoyton. Unlike you and your disappointing dick.”

His lip curled. “One—there’s nothing little about my dick. Two—why are you thinking about my dick? Want a go on it? Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t swing that way.”

“Fuck you.”

“No, thanks.”

“That wasn’t an invitation.” I leaned in, placing my mouth to his ear. “Stop wasting both our time with your pointless words. What do you want?”

I already knew the answer.

“Operation Foxglove,” he said, his hand coming up to wrap around my wrist. “I want answers, and you’d better let go of my fucking throat before I stab you.”

“You really want to threaten a Bellingham?” I said softly. “Even though you know we have the power to end your family?”

Daniel’s eyes darkened. His mouth was so close to mine that our lips were almost touching. “Yes.”

I tightened my grip on his throat. He swallowed against me again, his hand still wrapped around my wrist. Pressing my body into his, I angled my head away from his mouth, my nose brushing over his cheek as I went for his ear. “My family could end yours,” I rasped. “Just like that.”

“You fucking wish. You’re delusional.” His fingers dug into my skin. With our bodies plastered together, I vaguely registered the steel bar against my hip. My heart pounded at the realisation. It tracked that this asshole got off on violence. All criminals did, probably.