Page 28 of Ruthless Game

I had zero interest in going to that rock.

Still, I found myself responding.

Emma: why would I meet you anywhere?

Unknown: oh good you aren’t pretending you don’t know who this is

Emma: I wouldn’t waste either of our time with lies

Unknown: that right there is a lie

what did I say about lying to me, emma

Emma: Fuck off

Unknown: oh, she swears now

Oh, fuck this. I wasn’t responding anymore. I was about to turn off my phone when he followed up with:

Unknown: I promise you’ll want to come meet me and hear the details of our deal

unless you want Jeffrey’s life to come crashing down

I glowered at my phone. All I wanted to do was tell him to fuck off again, or worse, hurt him in some way, but I was trapped between well … a rock and a hard place. I snorted at the horrible joke.

“Jeffrey owes me,” I said, for the first time in my life. I’d avoided confronting my brother about the mess he’d put me in, too ashamed to admit how far it had already gone with Lawson.

I added Lawson’s new number to my contacts as ‘Blackmailing Jackass’, feeling a little satisfied with myself for pushing back in some way, even a minor one. I didn’t think I’d need the reminder that he wasn’t the boy he’d been, but it helped. Pulling on my hiking shoes and a light rain jacket, I grabbed the keys to my dad’s car and headed out to hear the rest of the Faustian bargain I’d agreed to.

By the time I made it down to the rock, it had begun to rain, making the path muddy in parts and slippery in others. I tried not to remember Lawson’s gentle control as he’d guide me down the path, big hand wrapped around my smaller one. I’d never been little. Short, yes, but too heavy to be little. It didn’t matter, because I always felt small and protected when I was with Lawson.

Not now though.

I pulled off my hood, letting the rain drops fall on my head. It was a hot, muggy fall so far, and the rain was a welcome respite.

He was sitting on the rock, arms crossed, clearly not caring that the wet stone and rain were soaking his jeans and hair, turning the light brown strands dark.

“I’m here. Talk.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Pretty bossy, for someone without the power here.”

I gritted my teeth. I hated that he was right.

“Talk, Lawson.”

“Say please.”

I stared him down. Even on the plane, mindless with need, I hadn’t said please—I wasn’t going to start now.

He sighed.

“Okay, it goes like this. My game is fucked up. Letting in easy-to-block goals, head all over the place. The Gehenom Beasts drafted me, but my coach says they’re going to rethink it if I keep playing the way I have this summer during practices.”

“I mean, that sucks,” I allowed. “But I don’t see what that has to do with me.”

“It’s not only hockey,” he continued like I hadn’t said anything. “My personal life is flat. A million girls have tried with me, and I can’t get interested in any of them. I briefly tried to flirt with my friend Jack’s fiancé before they were officially together, but that went nowhere. Seems like no matter what I do, I can’t get hard for anything but fantasies about you. That time on the plane was the first time I came close to coming while touching someone else.”

The world blurred, and I almost lost my footing on the wet ground. I tried to blink reality back, but I was too busy spinning at his words. Was he saying what I think he was saying? I’d always assumed Lawson was fucking his way through Reina, but based on his casual confession, it seemed like he hadn’t slept with anyone.