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I came up behind him and grabbed his ear.
“Ow, ow, ow!” he called out. “Claire, what the heck!” he yelled down to me. It was still so weird to me that he’d grown taller than me.
“Tell me what the hell is going on right now, Canyon. Why won’t anyone let me work?” I demanded through gritted teeth.
“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you,” he whisper-yelled. His eyes scanned the room trying to make sure no one could hear him. I guess he decided people would eavesdrop, so he made a motion for me to follow him out to the stairwell that led down to the rink. His buddy Troy followed on our heels.
As soon as the door closed behind us, I faced the two tweens. “Why won’t anyone let me work?” I repeated.
“Callahan,” Canyon said with a shrug.
I squinted at him. “What about Callahan?”
He sighed and looked at Troy. Troy nodded. “Callahan told everyone not to let you work,or else…” his voice trailed off.
I slid my jaw to the side. “Or else what?”
“I don’t know. But no one really wants to know, ya know?” he gave me a look that said ‘duh.’
I huffed. “Who did he say this to?”
“All the guys here.” He shrugged again like it wasn’t a big deal. “You want word-for-word?”
I nodded.
His eyes went wide and he pointed his index finger at me. “So I can’t get in trouble for swearing and you won't tell my mother?”
I rolled my eyes and nodded again.
He arched an eyebrow at me. “Okay. He specifically said- ‘if Claire Kessel rips her fucking stitches working here, I will watch security tape and I will personally rip the head off of whoever let her fucking work.’ And no one really wants to mess with an NHL guy, ya know? Can I go now?”
“You are dismissed,” I said dryly.
Canyon and Troy went running down the stairs, laughing at some dumb boy joke that I didn’t understand as they went.
So… He threatened them. Wow.
And now everyone was looking at me like I was some kind of delicate little doll.
I shook my head. Well, he better be prepared for this fight.
I slowly walked to the front office to find my dad.
“Where is he?” I demanded.
“Uh…” He was shuffling papers on his desk, avoiding eye contact with me.
I rolled my eyes. “Dad. Just tell me. Where is Duke?”
He sighed and dropped the papers in his hands before looking up at me with a wary glance. “He’s leaving for Detroit, honey.” He checked his watch. “I think his flight takes off at 5.”
My heart dropped.
No.
Not again.
Tears stung the back of my eyes, threatening to come forward.
