Page 36

I go still. “You’re not supposed to know about that.”

Esme shrugs. “I was at your open training day in August. He went and got you a chair before you’d finished looking around for one.” She smiles. “I’ve been doing this fifteen years, Alycia.”

“Raul and I are just friends,” I tell her. “We’re co-parenting, and we’re getting along great.”

She doesn’t buy it. “But you don’t want more?”

I shake my head. “It’s complicated. I don’t know what I want right now. I’m focusing on my job and the baby. This is too important to rush into anything.”

“Fair enough,” she says. “I won’t pry. But if you ever want to talk, you know where to find me.”

“Thanks,” I say, surprised that I actually believe she’d keep it off the record. “So, what did you have in mind?”

Esme opens her notebook. “Have you talked to Lexa about Declan?”

“Not really,” I admit. “I know she’s not a fan of him either.”

“I don’t want to get in between the two of you, but if we’re to work together, I want to give you my full transparency,” Esme says. “I approached Lexa a couple of months ago to help me with the investigation into Declan. I thought she might have some inside information, but she was reluctant. She wanted to see proof before she would cooperate.”

I feel a twinge of guilt. Our relationship is better, but it clearly hasn’t completely recovered. It’s not only her fault, I’m also keeping secrets from her. Even now. Especially about what happened after the final match of the season.

My hand goes to my neck. There was never a bruise. I checked every morning for a week. Even though Declan didn’t manage to do any damage, I still remember the fear I felt when he attacked me.

“What kind of proof?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

Esme looks at me, her expression serious. “Evidence of his affairs, of course. But also, evidence of something bigger. Something that could implicate the club, the league, even the owner. Alycia, I think Declan has been selling out the team, the fans, and the sport for his own benefit.”

I stare at her. “What do you mean? How?”

Esme sighs. “It’s complicated. But basically, I believe he’s been leaking information to Apex Platinum Holdings, the new owners of the Predators. He’s been feeding them inside info, giving them an edge over the competition. He’s been a mole. A spy. A traitor. Use whatever word you want, it means the same thing.”

I know Declan is a scumbag, but this? This is beyond anything I could imagine.

And then I think about the night he sat on the arm of our couch and told me he’d had a copy of my badge log since December. He’d been watching what I did in my father’s building for four months, and he said it in the same voice you’d use for talking about the weather.

It isn’t beyond imagining at all.

“Why? What’s in it for him?”

Esme shrugs. “Money, power, fame. Who knows? Maybe he’s just a greedy, ambitious bastard who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. Or maybe he’s being blackmailed, threatened. I don’t know yet. But I intend to find out.”

I don’t know what to say, what to feel. I’m shocked and angry. Declan was my husband and I thought I knew him.

Since the spring I’ve been finding out, one piece at a time, that I never did, and every piece is worse than the one before it.

“Okay, what do you have so far?” I ask, leaning as close as a seven-month belly allows.

Esme flips through her notes, then shows me some documents, some emails, some photos. They’re all blurry, redacted, or cryptic, but they’re enough to raise suspicion.

“Where did you get these?” I ask, examining them.

“I can’t reveal my sources, but they’re reliable,” she says. “And I’m working on getting more. But I need your help, Alycia. You’re the key to this story. You were his wife, you worked with him. You know him better than anyone. You can give me the context I need. You can help me expose him.”

This is a huge risk. It could backfire. Hell, it could hurt me, the club, and the league. But it could also change things.

I think about Lexa. If things work out, this would be good for her career and her future.

I think about the other players, the other women, who might have suffered because of him. The dreams he shattered just to get his dick wet. I think about every lie he ever told me.