I’ll confront Penn and make him listen, because it’s not just my life in danger, but his as well.
CHAPTER 3
Penn
I’m fucking pissedas hell as I walk into the airport’s private terminal, my anger amplified by the fact I got no fucking sleep last night. I should be mad at Mila for showing up at my gates, trying to get me to talk to her, but my fury is reserved for the one who gave her my address.
The lobby buzzes with movement, mostly from the Titans arriving to board our private plane. This is where all the private jets are kept and individuals in business attire also mill about, talking on their phones to check the latest stock market points as they wait for their seventy-five-million-dollar Gulfstreams to take them to God knows where.
The Titans are off to Detroit and normally my head would be fully immersed in my future time on the ice, but instead I’m filled with rage from top to bottom.
I stalk through the crowd, my duffel slung over one shoulder, jaw clenched so tight it feels like my molars might crack.
And then I see him.
That fucker North Paquette.
I head straight for him, letting my duffel slide from my shoulder and drop with a thump on the tiled floor. I leave it behind without a second thought, ten paces, five, three, two, one…
North turns to see me just before I give a hard push to his chest. “You motherfucker,” I snarl.
North shuffles two steps backward, but I’m not satisfied with that. I want the bastard on the floor. Before I can move, Raffertyis between us, hands outstretched. He plants one on my chest and I’m tempted to break his wrist, but his words temper me a bit. “You touch him again, and I will lay you out.”
That doesn’t scare me in the slightest, but I don’t have time to waste energy on Rafferty when it’s North I want. I ignore the big man in my face and look past him to North. I see that Atlas, King and Foster have come to his side. I’d have to fight all of them to get one good crack at the man who has become my enemy.
“You gave her my address,” I accuse and then carefully study him for a reaction.
There is none. He knows damn well who I mean—Mila—and he’s not denying it.
North’s tone is cool and aloof. “She might have seen your address in my contacts when I left my phone unlocked on the table. But I didn’t give it to her.”
I suppress an eye roll. “You expect me to believe that?”
That seems to trigger North and he pushes against Rafferty, trying to get closer to me. His gaze darkens, and I hear the extreme frustration in his words. “Why are you so pissed, huh? What’s she to you? Why are you so desperate to keep her away? Why the fuck are you the way you are?”
I’m pissed because I left that part of my life behind.
She’s nothing to me. Not now, anyway.
I’m desperate to keep her away because she brings nothing but bad memories.
And why am I the way I am? Fuck if I know, but it all started a long time ago and Mila Brennan was part of it.
I don’t say any of those things, instead slapping Rafferty’s hand from my chest. “None of your fucking business. Stay out of it.”
“Like hell I will,” North seethes, pointing a damning finger at me. “You’ve been acting weird for months, and now somewoman from your past shows up, and you lose your shit? That’s not normal, Penn.”
“North,” Rafferty warns, but neither of us spare him a glance.
“Let’s lay it all out,” North snaps at me, slightly acidic, and I have to wonder why he’s so feral about all this. This should mean nothing to him, but something’s driving his rage. “The fan who called you a traitor. McLendon going after you in that game. The teddy bear. And now this? McLendon played with you in juniors, didn’t he? Is this about that hazing incident where a teammate died?”
My entire body shakes with fury. “What the fuck did you just say?”
Jesus fucking Christ. He’s putting everything together. No matter how far under the radar I try to fly, North’s like a goddamn Sherlock Holmes, and he’s laying it all out there for everyone to hear. I glance at King, the only person on this team who knows the truth of what happened all those years ago, but he looks shocked to hear North’s allegations. I can only surmise he’s kept my secret and North is throwing spaghetti at the wall, hoping something sticks.
And now I’m dangerously close to losing my shit because the one thing I cannot handle right now is for everyone to know my past.
“You heard me,” North taunts, stepping in closer. “Is this about that kid? Is that why McLendon hates you? Is that why you’re acting like a goddamn hermit?”
