Page 171 of Top Shelf

“Yeah, yeah, of course. Go see what’s happening.” She returns my gesture with a squeeze of her own. “Call me later to let me know all is okay.”

I pull her in for a quick hug before heading for the tunnel. There’s a lack of purple jerseys hanging about, so I’m guessing most of the guys have gone back to the locker room to commiserate in private.

Picking up my pace, I’m practically running as I hurry up the tunnel.

The knot in my stomach grows tighter with every step.

I don’t know what happened, but I know my boys. I know Lucian. Whatever drove him to throw away the Frozen Four wasn’t small.

By the time I reach the Kings’ locker room, my pulse is hammering. I can hear the noise even in the hall, so I bypass it to go in search of Lucian. I can’t confront Ronan or Silas in a room full of other players, but Lucian will be in a room on his own.

I stick my head in the training room and physio suite, but he’s not there. Eventually, I find him in a conference room. He’s lying on top of the table, his arm over his eyes like he’s trying to block out the world.

Hearing the door, he pushes upright and turns to face me.

He must have already seen the medic cause he’s got a bandage wrapped around his hand. Otherwise, he appears unhurt. Still, the sight of him has me stilling on the threshold.

Gone is the rage from earlier. What’s left in its wake issomehow worse. That broken look I’d caught a glimpse of earlier is even more prominent. He looks like someone scooped out everything inside him and left the shell behind.

“Lucian.”

I simply stand there, unable to tear my eyes away from him.

The door closes with a softsnickbehind me. The noise snaps me out of whatever trance I was in, and in the next second, I’m across the room and wrapping him up in my arms.

His arms instantly fold around me, pulling me close as he buries his face in the crook of my neck. I can feel his breaths, harsh and jagged against my skin.

The day of our communications class, when he fell apart, he was a mess. But this Lucian is…raw. Every layer of protection he keeps wrapped around him has been peeled back, leaving him exposed.

I run my fingers through his hair, pressing kisses to his temple as he takes comfort from me.

“What happened?” I eventually ask, breaking the silence.

I feel his throat work, still, he doesn’t lift his head or look at me.

“I can’t.”

That response punches straight through my chest.

“What do you mean you can’t?”

His hands clench around the fabric of my shirt at my back. Then unclench.

“I can’t,” he says again, voice rough.

Fear begins crawling up my spine.

“You’re scaring me.”

That gets his attention. Immediately, his head snaps up. The pain in his eyes almost undoes me.

Before either of us can say another word, the door opens. Ronan steps inside, Silas on his heels. The second I see their faces, any notion I had that this was some stupid rivalrybetween Lucian and Isaac that got out of hand snuffs out, because they look exactly like Lucian.

A tense silence settles over the room. One filled with unspoken words. The air feels heavy. Thick.Wrong.

Disentangling myself from Lucian, I shift so I can face all three of them.

“Somebody needs to tell me what the hell is going on.”