Page 113 of Ice Queen

The last text pops up when my face unlocks it.

Lettie:

We can’t find Kait.

I grab my stick and run out of the room, hair still dripping wet as I step into the hallway. I look to the left, nothing. To the right, nothing.

But then I hear it. “Where have you been, Kaitlyn? I’ve been so worried about you.”

This asshole. I run down the hall, turning at the last second before I hit the cinderblock. He’s got her backed into a corner, but she’s not curled in on herself. She’s standing tall, but I see the shake in her hand from here.

“Get your eyes off her before I remove them from your skull,” I growl, stalking toward him, hand tightening around my stick the closer I get.

CHAPTER 36

Kaitlyn

“Get your eyes off her before I remove them from your skull,” Markus growls.

His imposing form towers over Wyatt, and he comes to stand directly in front of me. Water trails down his back, his hair messy as if he’s just run a towel over it. He takes exactly two deep breaths before he steps back until he’s in line with me.

My heart skips a beat. He’s not fighting this battle for me. He’s in this with me, my partner, just like I asked him to be.

“I hope you got a good look at my girl in my jersey, because it’s the last time you’ll ever lay eyes on her.” Markus spits, his body vibrating with barely contained rage as my arm slides around his waist.

I preen at the way he calls me his girl, then tuck myself into his side, letting him feel that I’m safe. He relaxes the tiniest bit, and I find my fingers tracing over the divots of his abs.

Wyatt completely ignores him, his eyes focused on the movement of my fingers. “You just disappeared. How could you just leave me? You said you loved me.”

Markus tenses again, and I give him a soft squeeze. My chin lifts, I’m no longer afraid of this man, and truthfully, I don’t think I’d be afraid even if Markus wasn’t standing next to me. Wyatt is a coward. He has other people do his dirty work, but he’s also prideful. If I play my cards right, I’ll get more than an admission out of him.

“I thought I did,” I quip. “But love doesn’t intimidate, Wyatt. Love doesn’t try to control. That wasn’t what we had.”

His lip curls, and I know I’m on the right track. “What I don’t understand is why you’re here. You hate the heat, it’s literally why I moved here.” I continue, doing my best to keep my voice uninterested.

“You chose to leave me?” He steps in, but stops when Markus straightens. This is so like him, to make a scene when things don’t go his way. Gain the empathy of people who don’t know what really happened. It’s sickening.

My scoff is loud in the quiet hallway. “Wyatt, I pepper-sprayed you when you tried to stop me from leaving. You already know I chose to leave.”

“You stupid bit–”

Markus lowers his stick, pressing it to the middle of Wyatt’s chest, pushing him back the slightest bit. “I’d think about your next words very carefully,” he seethes, his anger barely contained if the way his muscles are trembling under my hand is any indication.

“Why are you here, Wyatt?” I ask again. “Couldn’t run the Boulder office without me? Needed to look like you made a good career change, so you fed Savannah some sob story about me being kidnapped?”

I see Savannah’s head of blonde hair come around the corner with her father in tow. Perfect, this is exactly what we planned.

“What would your boss think if he knew your college career ended because you slept with your coach’s wife to secure some business deal for your father?” I ask, tilting my head so it rests against the outside of Markus’s arm.

Wyatt freezes, caught off guard by the fact that I know that. He tried real hard to bury it, but I overheard him bragging about it one night while he was drunk and held that card close to my chest. “My father plays golf with half the league's ownership.” He scoffs. “No one is going to believe you if you try to spread that around. They paid good money to keep it under wraps.”

Obviously not well enough.

“Plus, one conversation with an airhead like Savannah was all I needed to get in the door. That girl is too soft for her own good.” He chuckles, shoving his hands in his pockets like he’s this untouchable being.

“Listen, Kaitlyn,” he drawls. “What that old bat doesn’t know won't hurt him. I came to take you home, and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.”

I hum, the sound vibrating through me. Letting go of Markus, I step forward. “You see, Wyatt. That’s where you’re wrong.” I take another step. “I’m not yours to control anymore.”