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“Cayden,” I started.
“Have fun on your trip to Black Lake trailer park, Lillian? Uncle Jack had such sweet things to say about you.”
He knew.He knew.Genuine terror gripped me. I scanned the center of the ice. There was nothing there. All of this had just been to get me here, vulnerable. I whirled around and started to run toward the edge of the rink. My feet were sliding madly, and Cayden wove his way closer and closer to me, passing by with small touches that sent me spinning around.Fuck.If he wanted to freak me out, it was working. It was really fucking working.
I fell hard on one knee when he checked me particularly hard as he passed. Pain radiated up my leg as I pushed myself to my hands. My sneakers glided uncontrollably, and I went down again. This time, my hands grazed the ice surface and stung.
“Stop it. Cayden – stop! You’ve made your point.” I tried to sound calm when I was anything but.
He chuckled coldly, the sound skipping to me across through the darkness. “I clearly didn’t make my point, though, did I? You didn’t believe me when I said I wasn’t someone to mess with. You really should have, Lily.”
I slapped a hand down on the ice and attempted to stand again. A shower of ice cascaded across my hand. Cayden had come to a full stop from his great speed, his skates slicing the ice hard, just beside my hand. Any closer and the blade would have touched my skin.
My knee throbbed, and my whole body was sore from falling over repeatedly on the hard surface. I was shaking with cold now. My backpack had fallen off one shoulder, pulling me to the side. I slowly and steadily got to my feet. Cayden made no move to help, simply looming over me in his intimidating black jersey, pads on and all. Blood dripped down from the hole in my leggings to the ice, a quiet drip.
I stood, balling my shaking hands into fists. Finally steady enough on my feet, I brought my eyes to meet Cayden’s. The blue was like a stormy sea, ready to wreck me against rocks at any moment.
“I didn’t believe you, you’re right. I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “But I believe you now.”
My words seemed to take him off guard. His posture softened a fraction, though I could still feel his anger. It swirled around us. I'd never seen him so angry. His fury seemed to burn the air. I had to get the hell out of away from him until a cooler head could prevail.
I edged my bag further onto one shoulder and waited until Cayden shifted his weight on his skates. As soon as he did, I acted. I swung my bag with all my might at his head. He slid to the side, surprised by the sudden move. It didn’t come close to knocking him off his feet, but it distracted him enough for me to turn and run again. This time, my feet managed to keep my balance until the edge of the ice, and I stepped off and sprinted between the seats toward the door at the top of the rink. Cayden had to take his skates off. He couldn’t catch me. He couldn’t.
I burst through the doors leading outside and was hit with pouring rain. The drizzle had turned into a downpour, and it soaked through my T-shirt immediately. My leg hurt, and my nerves felt frazzled as I ran through the puddles of the parking lot. Most of the cars had left already, and there was no one around to ask for help.
“Lillian!”
Cayden’s wild shout sent a sob of fear from my mouth. I turned to see him running toward me, feet bare, the rain glancing off his padded shoulders. I wasn’t looking. I didn’t see the hole until my foot fell right into it. Sharp pain lanced up my leg as I went down. My ankle throbbed. Tears joined the rain on my face as I sat there in a puddle and succumbed to my fate. He was going to catch me. He had been all along. There was no point in running anymore. He was already on me.
“Get up,” his hard voice ground out.
I shook my head, holding my knees to my chest like they could somehow protect me.
“Get up now, Lillian.”
“I can’t.”
His legs were right in front of my eyes. His bare feet shiny and wet. He must have pulled everything off in a bid to lose his skates as quickly as possible.
Then his arms were under mine, and he was lifting me. I gasped when I put weight on my ankle. It wasn’t terribly sore, but it stung. I couldn’t run right now, that was for sure. I was so, so cold, my teeth chattered.
“Look at me.”
My eyes remained stubbornly fixed on the Hellions logo on his jersey. I shook my head.
“Look at me now,” Cayden ground out.
Slowly, my eyes drifted upward. I was so cold I couldn’t feel my lips. I blinked through the rain at Cayden. His stormy eyes were black pits in the rainy dark. He stared hard at me for a moment. I shook uncontrollably now.
He swore under his breath and bent suddenly, hefting me over his shoulder like I was weightless.
“Where a-are w-we going-g?” I asked past my chattering teeth.
The rain continued to soak us through as Cayden carried me back in the direction of the rink.
“No – no, I don’t want to go in there,” I protested weakly. I was freezing, hurt, and scared, but there was also resignation there. Cayden West was determined to have it out, and I was fresh out of energy to escape him.
Besides, there might have been the tiniest part of me that was curious. The tiniest part of me that wondered about this person who had burst into my methodical, orderly, sheltered life, and exploded it from the inside. What was the real story behind all the things I’d heard about him? I couldn’t help but wonder.
