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“It is, though. Your dad had his demons, but he and I—we tried—and then after he went, I—fuck, I dunno. I’m making a mess of this shit. I’m just… My hands are tied, you know?”
“It’s okay,” I say again. My voice is thick. “I don’t blame you.”
He raises his watery gaze to meet mine and attempts a smile that doesn’t fully succeed. “I don’t really believe you. Lord knows I don’t deserve no absolution. But I’ll stop torturing you with an old man’s demons. Tell me more about you. How’s the hockey player?”
“He’s… alright.”
“You know, when he was a kid, I never would’ve thought he would be anything.”
That makes me do a double-take. “When you—what? You knew Beck when he was young?” Funny. No one has ever mentioned that to me.
“Probably as long as I’ve known you.” He shrugs like it’s meaningless.
Before I can press more, the server shows up to take our order. Anton raises his hand to stop her before she starts on the specials spiel. “Actually, I gotta run,” he explains. He drops a wad of cash on the table. “Lunch is on me, though. Sorry to dine and dash on ya, Sloan.” He comes around the table and presses another whiskery kiss to my cheek. “You really do look good, though. You’re practically glowin’. Always knew you’d shape up fine in the end.”
Then he’s gone, leaving me with nothing but questions and a few bucks to buy a burger.
22
BECK
I’m at the rink early. I need to clear my head.
But the tunnel is occupied by the last person on the planet I feel like talking to. When I turn the corner, Viv’s there, shoulder leaned against the wall like she’s waiting for someone.
“Well, just the man I’ve been waiting for.” I don’t stop walking, but she pushes herself upright and falls into step beside me.
“Why are you here, Viv?”
“Who, me?” she says innocently.
“No, the other fucking she-devil who’s glued to me like an STD I can’t shake.” The metaphor needs work, but I think my tone conveys the venom I have in mind.
“Because we work together, silly goose!”
This naive schoolgirl act she’s got going on is gonna drive me crazy before I even make it to the locker room.
“Pretty sure I recall firing you,” I drawl.
She tuts and wags a finger in my face. Her voice is poisonously sweet. “Unfortunately, Mr. Daniels, you can’t fire me. You never even hired me in the first place! I work for the team. So I spoke with Mr. Floyd—who’s your boss, in case you forgot that little tidbit—and he agreed that I’ll be your handler for the remainder of the season.”
“Mywhat?”
“Your handler. I keep you out of trouble.” She reaches out and tweaks my nose like I’m a misbehaving puppy. “Goodness knows you’ve got a knack for finding messes wherever you go! You need me.”
“I need you to hire Sloan back. That’s all I need from you.”
The syrupy sweetness drops from Viv’s voice immediately. “Forget it. She’s fired. She violated the terms of her contract. I was well within my right to let her go.”
“Just like I’m within my right to tell you to take a fucking hike.”
That cocky smile appears again. “I think my lawyers—not to mention the team’s—would beg to disagree. Should we go talk to them?”
I growl, a deep rumble of discontentment burning like hot coals in my chest. I know that gleam in her eyes—she’s done her homework here. “Fine. Be my fucking handler, but you are not to come to the games, the practices, or the arena at any time. You want to talk to me, to ‘handle’ me? Think again. I don’t want to see your face, ever. Have I made myself clear? If not, I’m fully prepared to elaborate.”
I’ll say it over and over again in as many different ways as I need to so she gets it. I have time.
She inches closer, her head tilted to the side. “Youneedme, Beck,” she hisses.
