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ONE
Luciana
The bladesof my skates clicked against the ice as I stepped onto it. With a soft hiss of steel against the frozen surface, I glided toward the center of the rink next to my partner.
I’d imagined what this moment would feel like my entire life.
I’d always thought—always beentold—that entering any kind of competition was out of my reach. I’d been stifled, kept in the dark when it came to my true skill.
I’d been lied to, manipulated, and emotionally beaten down by the people I should have been able to trust most.
But today made all that anguish worth it.
Today, I would let out the truth of who I was—who I was meant to be. I would fly free in front of an audience, if only for a few minutes.
I wanted to cement this memory into my brain. After all, it was my first competition since I’d started skating fourteen years ago.
I’d only get this moment once.
And no creepy stalker was going to ruin it for me, no matter how hard they tried.
I couldn’t stop my gaze from flicking toward the stands with a nervous twitch. Watching for a tell-tale flash of blood red, as if the psycho who’d been haunting me might have left one of his bloody presents here in Dellville’s rink, two hours from the town where he’d been harassing me before.
Hecouldbe here among the decent-sized crowd that’d gathered to see the full competition after yesterday’s qualifying round. I didn’t really know anything about the creep who’d left dead animals in my bedroom and on my car, who’d taunted me with a doll hung by a noose.
My gut clenched at the memory. I couldn’t imagine manyotherfigure skaters had to worry about a psychopath while they got into position for their first ever official competitive performance.
Was he already planning his next moves? How far would he take his sick game next time?
I closed my eyes for a second, gathering myself. I couldn’t think about that asshole right now.
I had to focus on the men who were standing with me rather than against me.
Jasper caught my gaze, and a small smile touched across his lips. The arena lights shone off the pale planes of my partner’s stunning face beneath his shaggy auburn hair.
He let out a shaky breath that maybe he thought I wouldn’t notice.
A lot was riding on this moment for him too. Jasper St. Pierre, once known as Saint Jasper by his many avid fans, hadn’t competed since he’d been sunk by a major slump more than a year ago.
This could be his comeback—or a nail in the coffin formed by his uncertainties.
Our not-entirely-official coach, Niko Okabe, gripped the top of the boards where he was standing by the edge of the rink. At my glance, he shot me a broad smile, but I suspected there was a little anxiety in his twinkling brown eyes too.
He’d come all the way from Japan to dedicate himself to pulling Jasper out of his slump. And I’d discovered that he was invested both professionally and personally, with feelings that were warmer than friendly.
As he swiped his slender hand through his smooth black hair with its stripe of neon pink, my attention slid higher in the stands just for an instant.
I couldn’t see my bodyguard, but I knew with every fiber of my being that Rafael was standing up there, watching over me. Silent, unseen, but ready to leap to my defense at a moment’s notice.
We’d get through this, the four of us, together. Even if my two fellow skaters had no idea just how much I had to worry about.
I was starting to live my dream, and in the end, that was the only thing that mattered. I had to keep my focus, not just for my men, but for myself.
For five-year-old Lou who’d fallen in love with skating at a random ice show that her mother had taken her to out of boredom.
For ten-year-old Lou who’d practiced for hours each day after school, determined to do better, tobebetter.
For fifteen-year-old Lou, who’d already seen and been forced to participate in so many horrors, who only found solace on the ice.
