“Anonymously. Every document the PI found. If they decide they want the Cardinals, they can come and fight for it themselves. If they don’t…” he shrugs, the movement unusually light. “Then I’ll drop it and go back to living my life.”
I search his face for the catch, convinced there has to be one.
“And Lennon?” I ask, my voice low and quiet.
“She’ll never know it came from me.
Chapter Sixteen
Dominic
I’ve been antsy for days. Weeks. Fuck, at this point, it’s teetering on months.
Ever since Lennon turned her back on me in the equipment room, I’ve been unable to control my need to claim her. We’ve been sitting on the truth about her identity for weeks now, pretending it isn’t sitting between the three of us every time her name comes up. Pretending Sasha isn’t carrying it around like a loaded gun.
The fucked up part? I don’t want to be the one pulling the damn trigger anymore.
Did I ever want to? Not really.
I keep finding myself watching her instead. Making sure she’s safe in her apartment. Watching from behind my laptop screen for peace of mind. I want nothing more than to protect her in any way I can. To be there for her when this all inevitably comes to a head. Every day that passes only seems to make it worse. Was it fun watching her terrified? Of course it was. Knowing she was helpless and defenseless against us did something to me.
But, in amongst all of that, Sasha still agreed to torment. To allow us to claim her, even if only temporarily.
The skate grinder whines beneath my hands, sending a spray of silver sparks across the rubber floor. Freshly honed steel always looked beautiful under the fluorescent lights. It was easy to forget beauty and danger had always shared the same edge. I run my thumb carefully along the flat of the blade, testing its finish without ever touching the sharpened edge. There are some things you only need to respect once to understand their capacity for destruction.
I don’t hear the sound of the door opening, but I feel the change in the air hinting at my newest visitor. Finishing sharpening the blade in my hand, I put it in the pile before turning and finding both Sasha and Holden. There are equal looks of excitement on their faces.
“What the fuck have you two done?” I ask, almost dreading whatever they are about to tell me, especially if it has something to do with Lennon. She looked far too perfect today out on the ice. It had taken far too much strength that I didn’t know I had actually possessed to walk away and return to some meaningless, time consuming job.
“It’s time that we show the little birdy who exactly it is that she belongs to,” Sasha says, making my eyebrows draw up in surprise.
“I didn’t think that was part of the plan,” I question, having thought his explosion the other week had been a turning point, one that would lead us in another direction.
Sasha just shrugs his shoulder, a strange look on his face. “I might have taken some of what you said into account. The idea of the three of us claiming her, of making her surrender to us just…” he trails off, trying to find the right word to describe how he feels.
“Makes your knot throb?” Holden adds, making both of them laugh.
“That's one way to put it.”
“Okay,” I interject. “How do you expect us to do that?”
Holden lifts himself up onto one of the equipment tables, making himself far too comfortable.
“A little birdy may have told Lennon that you needed to see her once practice was over to get approval for a new piece of equipment.”
My eyebrow raises in surprise, “You expect that to work?”
The moment the words are out of my mouth, a quiet knock sounds at the door.
“I guess we are about to see,” Holden chuckles.
The door to the equipment room opens slowly, Lennon’s body stepping through a moment later. When she spots the three of us, she pauses.
“Oh, sorry. I can come back at another time,” she mutters, looking ready to run.
I shake my head, falling into the role Sasha and Holden had set up for me without my prior knowledge. It’s a good thing I’m not a terrible actor.
“No, that's okay. Now is a perfect time.”
