“If you want to learn the truth about Dakota, you’ll press play,” Dad said.
Part of me wanted to toss the tablet back to Leo and outright refuse whatever twisted narrative my father was trying to weave.
But there was another part of me—the part that was so accustomed to being betrayed and lied to—that couldn’t help but stare at the frozen image of the screen. The way Dakota and that pretty girl looked at each other, like they shared a connection, sparked a jealous curiosity within me, a yearning to uncover the truth—no matter how much it might hurt.
I hesitated, my finger hovering over the play button.
Trust Dakota!one part of me said.He hasn’t given you any reason to doubt him!
But I couldn’t ignore the nagging doubt that clawed at the back of my mind.
I should at least know what he’s like when I’m not around … shouldn’t I? Before I leave my life behind?
With a nervous churning in my stomach, I tapped the play button.
27
Deal
Dakota
Iused to dread the first day of camp, but this year, day one was abreeze.My work with Parker paid off, and I sailed through all the physical assessment tests. What’s more? I did it all with a smug little grin on my face.
Why?
Because now everyone knew it—Ottavia and I were a thing.
The boys were almost afraid to say it out loud, for fear of The Godfather somehow overhearing and bringing his wrath down on them. But whenever one of the guys got me alone, he’d nudge me with his elbow and ask something like,“Dude, is it true?! You and The Godfather’s daughter?”
“Ahh, you know I can’t cop to that,” I’d whisper back with a sparkle in my eye. “But hell yeah, it’s true, bro!”
As far as I was concerned? The battle was already over, and the war won. Sure, that almost guaranteed I’d get traded … but with the way I was going to play this year? I didn’t care. I knew I’d have a spot on any other team in the league.
All Ottavia and I had to do was make it through her senior year of school. Once she got her diploma, she could fly out and join me wherever.
After physical testing concluded, we finally hit the ice. Battle drills were always my absoluteleastfavorite part of practice—that’s where you go head-to-head with a teammate. But thanks to Parker getting my strength and conditioning to a God-tier level, I didn’t even break a sweat in battle drills. I wasflyingall over the ice, knocking dudes down, and stealing pucks like candy from a baby.
“Fuckin’ hell, Dak,” Brett griped after I dumped him in the corner and roofed the puck to win our battle drill. “It’s day one of camp, bud. Take it easy on us, will ya?”
The others chimed in:
“Yeah, stop making us look bad!”
“If he keeps this up, The Godfather is gonna make usalllive like hermits in the summer.”
I chuckled. “A summer of conditioning really ain’t so bad, boys.”
“Yeah … especially when you’re getting all those cardio sessions in on The Godfather’s daughter,” Tank murmured.
The boys choked back laughter, and I held a gloved finger to my lips. “Shhhhhhhhh.”
We ended practice with a scrimmage. Killer threw me over the boards more than anybody else on the team, double-shifting me and playing me on both special teams: penalty kill and power play. Ilovedthe increased responsibility he was giving me out there—and Killer gave me the best compliment a coach can give a player: he kept throwing me back out on the ice for more.
I felt like I still had more in the tank when Killer’s whistle finally pierced through the air.
“Alright, boys! That’s a wrap!” he yelled, his voice echoing through the empty rink. “Hit the showers.”
My teammates let out a collective sigh, and we marched back to the locker room.
