Then I lean over her shoulder, glare at the Eric and say, "I suggest you get away from my girl before I fucking kill you." I’d do it right now if I didn’t think I would have the crashout coach duo on my ass after they pulled me off of him.
Eric looks caught off guard, like it isn’t sketchy as fuck that he just shows up here like we’re all friends after he dipped out. "Whoa, man. I was just seeing how she’s doing with everything that’s been going on. Chill out, why don’t you?"
I tilt my head, smiling like I took anger management lessons from Hayden Lockwood. "She’s uncomfortable. You’re too close. You don’t need to be near her at all. Get the fuck away."
He scurries off, muttering something under his breath, and I look down at Lilac.
She’s smiling, cheeks flushed, eyes wide. I press a gentle kiss to her lips, then her forehead.
"You okay?" She nods, and I wink at her.
I head back down to the ice, but just as I turn in the tunnel to re-join the game and probably have Coach Kav glaring holes into my helmet, the lights go out.
Screams erupt around the arena.
Panic.
The sound of skates scraping against ice turns chaotic, the sharp screech of metal meeting boards, bodies colliding in the dark. Phones flicker on in the stands, but it’s not enough to let any of us see shit.
There’s a piercing scream, and another voice yells that someone’s hurt.
People are pushing, stumbling over bleachers, trying to get out. My chest constricts because all I can think about is getting to Lilac. I leap over the divider and sit down only to take myskates and pads off because I know I have a much better chance at finding her quickly in the dark if I’m not slow as fuck.
If someone’s here for her, if someone touches her..
I’ll kill them right here, right now, in front of all of these people.
This ends now.
LILAC
The lights cut out, and everything disappears.
A scream tears from somewhere nearby, but it doesn’t feel close enough to be mine. I’m feeling that same out-of-body sensation I had when I saw Lexi’s body. My pulse is too loud in my ears. I can’t see. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. I’m frozen in place, every instinct telling me to run, but I literally have nowhere to go.
Then someone grabs my hand, and my body rejects it immediately. I try to yank my hand away.
I instantly, with no room for doubt, know that it’s not Callum.
The hand is too small. Too soft. Definitely male, but not Callum. My brain stalls, my body working on autopilot, trying to twist away from the grip. I yank against it, but the fingers tighten.
"Adam!?" I call out into the dark, my voice trembling. "Is that you? Did you do this? Let go of me!"
The dread that coils in my stomach shifts into something deeper than any fear that has ever consumed me. Something more personal.
It’s my brother. It has to be.
He turned the lights off and waited for the perfect moment when everyone was distracted. He picked a time when Callum would be the most vulnerable, when no one would be able to see to try and help me. It’s the only thing that makes sense, because he desperately wants me to clean up the mess he made.
Panic claws through me as I grab onto anything I can reach to anchor myself. He won’t kill me, because I’m not good to him dead, am I? I dig my heels in, twisting harder, trying to break his skin with my fingernails. Anything to get free. "Let go! Let go of me!"
The hand loosens for just a second, and I rip away from him.
My knees slam into the floor. Pain shoots up my legs as I hit the ground hard, but I don’t stop. I start crawling. Fingers scraping against concrete as I try to feel my way around without getting hurt worse than I already am.
I need Callum.
I don’t care if I have to crawl the length of the arena to find him.
