And still do.
“Vanya,” Ben said, then let out a small laugh. “He was here looking for you.”
“Yeah. He walked me out to the parking lot the first night and saw the whole thing. And he was at the game last night when it happened again.”
Ben drummed his fingers on the desk. “So who is this guy? Jilted lover?”
My stomach roiled at the thought of calling Hunter my lover. “More like stalker.”
“I can’t tell if you’re being serious,” Ben said, his voice dropping low.
I groaned. “Fuck, Ben. Can you just check into it for me, please? I need to know how he got past security because he does not work here, he doesn’t have a badge, and I very much doubt he was able to get a pass.”
“If you’re in some kind of trouble?—”
“I can handle it!” I snapped, then forced myself to take another calming breath. “I will beg if you really want me to. Or I can go to security myself. But I’d rather have you do it. So, please.”
“Okay.”
I froze. I was expecting him to keep fighting me. “Yeah?”
“Micah, you’re my friend. Of course I’ll do this. But if you’re in some kind of danger?—”
“I’m not, and I really can handle it.” The wordscurled around my tongue, sharp like the lie it was. “I just need to know if someone is letting him in.”
“Alright,” Ben said softly. “I’ll see what I can find out, and I’ll let you know.” He stopped, then cleared his throat. “You good for the game tonight?”
I rolled my shoulders back and then stretched. “Never fucking better.”
“That’s what I want to hear. Now, get the fuck out of my office and find something else to do.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
MICAH
We lost.Big fucking surprise, though this time, it wasn’t entirely my fault. I wasn’t all the way on my game, but neither was our defense. Or the wingers. The only person working their ass off was Daniel, and he managed to get the three goals we scored, which took the sting out of losing to five.
But it wasn’t great, and I was completely distracted as I ignored everyone in the shower. All I could think about was Ben and the fact that he might know something by now. He disappeared halfway into the first period and didn’t come back until five minutes into the second. And I only knew that because I heard Antoine talking about his mysterious vanishing act when he was undressing.
So I fumbled my way through getting dressed, then grabbed my cane and made my way down the hall to Ben’s office.
The corridors were quiet now that almost everyone had fucked off, and I walked to the rhythmof my beating heart. It was a little fast from nerves, and I couldn’t ignore the shaking in my hands as I touched the braille beside Ben’s door before letting myself inside.
I could hear the haptic feedback of his phone and the quiet voice of Siri only just loud enough to make out through his earbud.
“Am I interrupting?”
“No. Sit.”
I couldn’t read the tone in his voice, which I hated. I found the chair, then plopped down and began to twist my cane between my fingers. “So?” When he said nothing, I fought off the urge to dive across the desk and strangle him. “Dude. I will send you so fucking much weird-ass animated porn if you don’t say something right now. I just heard about something called dick-neck hentai. I will flood your inbox from now until next goddamn Christmas if you don’t give me?—”
“Andrew quit,” he said, cutting me off.
I frowned. Was that supposed to mean something? “Who the fuck is Andrew?”
“The guard at the gate,” Ben said slowly. “He quit without notice last night. Right after he let in a black Cadillac XT5.”
My heart sank to my feet. I had no idea what kind of car that was, but it sounded like something Hunter’s pretentious ass would drive. And then the reality of what he was saying hit me.
