Page 170 of Power Play

By the time I reached the hotel, my shoulders hurt from gripping the wheel, and the dashboard clock had crossed eleven. I parked beneath the harsh lights, shut off the engine, and stared at the building while the car ticked quietly around me.

I had made it to Chicago.

That was when I finally understood I had no plan beyond getting here.

I didn’t know Ryan’s room number. I didn’t know whether the Frost had booked this hotel under the team’s name or whether the front desk would tell me anything. I didn’t even know whether he was still inside.

The problem nearly broke me.

I lowered my forehead to the steering wheel and let myself feel the fear without obeying it. I had already told my mother no. I had survived the panic afterward. I had driven all this way in the same gray shirt I nearly changed because my own reflection frightened me.

I could walk into a hotel.

My legs trembled when I climbed from the car, but they carried me across the parking lot.

The lobby was bright and crowded enough to make me hesitate inside the doors. Voices bounced from the high ceiling while people moved between the front desk, lounge, and elevators. I stood near the entrance, clutching my purse beneath my arm as I searched for black Frost sweats or Ryan’s backward cap.

Instead, I found a loose cluster of Frost players near the elevators with Briggs, Cade, Rider, and Easton mixed in among them.

Seeing the KFU guys there made immediate sense. They had come to watch Ryan play, and for half a second, the familiarity of their faces made the entire thing feel less insane.

Briggs noticed me first.

His expression changed so quickly that Cade followed his line of sight before I had taken another step.

“Charm?”

I stopped near the edge of the lobby while all four of them looked at me.

Briggs glanced toward the elevators and then back at me. “What the fuck are you doing in Chicago?”

“I need Ryan.”

His eyebrows climbed. Something like understanding moved through his face, and the beginning of a grin disappeared when he looked at me more closely.

“Does he know you’re here?”

“No, he doesn’t.”

Cade made a quiet sound beside him. Easton folded his arms, and Rider stared at me like he was trying to decide whether asking questions would improve or worsen whatever situation I had clearly driven into.

Briggs stepped closer. “Are you okay?”

“I will be if you tell me where Ryan is.”

He was already reaching for his phone when the elevator doors opened behind him.

Ryan walked out carrying a duffel bag.

Every sentence I had rehearsed during the drive disappeared.

He wore black Frost sweats and a hoodie with his cap turned backward, his hair still slightly damp like he had showered after the game. Another bag hung from one shoulder while his phone rested loosely in his hand. He was talking to one of his teammates as they stepped from the elevator.

Then his gaze lifted.

He saw me.

Whatever he had been saying stopped in the middle of the sentence. His entire body locked before his eyes moved once toward the KFU guys and came immediately back to me. The teammate beside him nearly walked into his shoulder before noticing Ryan was no longer moving.