Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
“Like hell you will.”
“Relax, I got this.”
I was going to enjoy taking all my frustrations out on the fool who’d failed to pay us back. The time for threats was over. He needed to feel some pain to realize how serious we were about getting our money back. I was sure he’d blown it all on drugs the moment he’d walked out of our office. Now he was going to have to find a way to pay it back.
Several hours later, I leaned my head against the shower wall as I watched blood run down the drain. Only a little of it was mine. The fucker had gotten in a few hits before I’d restrained him. That had only made it worse for him. A bullet would have been the easiest way to bring him down, but I’d promised Pops I’d be discreet, and honestly, I’d wanted a hand-to-hand fight. I’d fucking needed it. The only other way to get that kind of physical relief was a rough, wild fuck. The only person I wanted to fuck right now was Zeke, so a fight had to do.
I’d brought the guy to a warehouse my family owned in an area where no one asked questions—like what we did there that necessitated drains in the floor or why they were sometimes screams heard coming from the building. I’d left the guy alive, only making him wish he were dead. He’d stumbled off down the street, and I’d started the clean-up process.
I’d sprayed down the floor and the chair I’d cuffed him to, then headed to the luxurious bathroom we’d had added when we bought the place. I let myself indulge in a long, hot shower, wanting to be thoroughly clean and refreshed before tracking down Zeke. I couldn’t let him see me looking all roughed up or covered in some other guy’s blood. That wouldn’t give the right impression.
I slipped into a clean pair of coveralls. They weren’t fashionable, but they were serviceable enough for the drive home. I should have changed before I’d gotten to work on the delinquent client, but I’d been too enthusiastic. I blamed the stress my family put on me.
But now it was time for a reward. I was going to see Zeke and let him see me. I needed to watch his eyes widen and hear his breath catch. I needed to know how aware of me he was.
6
ZEKE
As soon as I skated out onto the ice, I checked the stands, expecting to see my stalker there. He wasn’t watching today. Or maybe he was just running late. He’d probably show up soon.
Fuck. I was acting like I wanted him there. Hopefully, he’d never show up again.
I wasn’t going to look for him again. I was going to focus on my game. I needed to keep my world narrowed to my stick, the puck, and my teammates.
I managed to perform like I actually knew how to play hockey, mostly redeeming myself after our last practice. I kept expecting to feel my stalker’s eyes on me, to know he was there, staring at me intently with that fucking smirk on his face, but when practice wrapped up, he still hadn’t showed.
That funny feeling in my stomach was not disappointment. It absolutely couldn’t be. I’d told him I wanted him to leave me alone. Maybe he’d actually listened.
Johnson caught up to me as the team headed to the locker room. “What are you in such a fucking hurry for?”
I hadn’t even realized I was moving fast, but for once my mind didn’t fail me when I had to think on the fly. “I was hoping Coach wouldn’t catch me. I know he’s still pissed after yesterday.”
Johnson laughed. “Nah, he’s over it. You looked great out there today.”
“Seriously? I was passable. Great would be stretching it.”
He frowned. “Are you always this hard on yourself?”
Was I? “I like to be realistic.”
“Nothing about what we do is realistic. We’re superstars.”
“That’s debatable, and we sure as hell aren’t magic.”
“Are you sure about that? Cause there’s plenty of people up there”—he tilted his chin toward the stands—“who think we are.”
I didn’t think my stalker thought I was magic, but he sure as hell thought he was going to have his way with me. Not that fucking him would be so bad. It would probably be good as hell but dangerous, so fucking dangerous. I had to remember that. I had to keep my focus on the game. I was here to play hockey and save up to pay off my debt.
And then what? Lead a calm, boring life?
“You’re way too serious today,” Johnson said. “Let’s go out after we cool off and get cleaned up.”
“I need to go home and get some rest so I can be fresh for tomorrow’s game.”
“Once we start into the full season schedule, there won’t be many nights when we can afford to get wasted. We should enjoy this now.”