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His mouth firmed into a thin line. “I’m aware of your living arrangements. I see her credit card bill every month. I’ve also seen this.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a video he’d saved.
I watched myself jump over the railing at the football stadium and run to Eva’s side. My face wasn’t clearly visible inthe video, but my body language made it pretty evident I’d take out anyone who stood between me and his daughter. On its own, I could make the case I was worried about my roommate, but when the video ended, he switched it to a close-up photo of Eva in my arms a few minutes later.
She’d curled into my chest, and I remembered thinking I’d give anything to take her pain away. This picture was much more damning than the video. Whoever had taken it had nearly zoomed in on my face. I was staring down at her, and there was no mistaking my expression. Anyone looking at this picture would know I was in love with Eva.
Her dad knew about us—our secret was blown. The one thing she asked of me, and I couldn’t deliver.
Finished presenting his evidence, he slid his phone back into the pocket of his suit. “I’ll tell you again. Stay away from my daughter.”
A flare of hope fought its way through the dread. If he already knew, telling him to fuck off probably wouldn’t make things worse. The answer was the same either way.
“No.” I met his eyes calmly, despite the anger coursing through me. “I’m not going to stay away from your daughter. Not unlesssheasks me to.”
He nodded as if he’d expected that response. “You may not be aware of this, but I value my daughter—and what she represents to me—highly. I’m about to announce my candidacy for the U.S. Senate, and my voters will expect my family to represent the best of themselves. Not associating with a drug-addicted hockey player who will probably cheat on her the moment he gets bored.”
My shoulders tightened with the need to strike back, but I kept my arms loose at my sides. “Wherever you got your information is wrong. I don’t do drugs, and nothing would make me cheat on your daughter. She’s fine, by the way. After her fall.”
“She always is.” I couldn’t quite read his tone, but he didn’t sound relieved. “You won’t be though. I understand you’ve been drafted by the Dallas Thunder. I also understand you and your twin brother are astoundingly similar. How do you think your prospective employer would respond to you being expelled from school during your last season for helping your brother cheat?”
I tried not to let my sudden fear show, but my face must have given me away because he smiled.
“Stay away from her, and there’s no need for the knowledge to go beyond me. You’re better off anyway. She’s finally chosen someone suitable as her date for my fundraiser, so I imagine her dalliance with you won’t be nearly as appealing after tonight.”
He didn’t know his daughter at all if he thought a political fundraiser would be appealing to her. It took me a second to realize he was threatening her as much as me. She’d broken their agreement, even if she found someone to appease him.
“Don’t take this out on her.”
He tilted his head. “Now why would I do that? She’s fallen in line, and I’ve taken care of any outliers.”
Me. I was the outlier. This guy was supremely confident his threats would have the desired effect, but I suddenly wasn’t as worried about me and Danny. We’d figure it out. Eva would be devastated. She hadn’t fallen in line, and as soon as he figured out what she was up to, he’d come for her.
Unless I offered a new deal. One I had no intention of keeping, but the appearance would maintain the status quo long enough for her to finish her last semester.
“Dissolve your deal with her, let her finish her degree, and I’ll stay away.” It was a desperate attempt, but I had to try.
“My deal with her is none of your concern. Good luck in your game tonight.” He turned and strode out of the courtyard as if manipulating his daughter’s life was simply one more business meeting.
My hands had closed into fists at some point, so I shook them out, trying not to let the frustration and fear win. There was alotshe hadn’t told me. The fundraiser, her dad’s political career, the date for tonight. No wonder she’d been acting strangely.
I stared at Eva’s coffee sitting on the fountain and found myself teetering between two equally terrible choices. Water dripped down the outside of the plastic cup and hit the concrete with a quiet splat. I wanted the choices to be equal, but they weren’t.
I’d spent the last four years protecting Danny, but TU wouldn’t feel that way if they found out about the tests. Technically, wehadbeen cheating, though it didn’t feel like it. Danny knew the material or he wouldn’t be able to pass the classes.
Luckily, Wildcat didn’t give a fuck who worked the shift as long as they had tax information on file.
Eva’s dad may know about the switching, but I doubted he could prove it. Unfortunately, this was exactly the type of scandal that could scare Dallas away from signing me. The fallout could be disastrous if he followed through, and I had no reason to believe he’d bluff.
Of course, none of the fallout mattered because I wasn’t going to abandon Eva. Danny, the Dallas team, TU, none of it was as important as her. No one else knew about the test switching, and despite my early reservations, I absolutely believed Eva had kept our secret.
She didn’t know we’d been caught, and if I understood Eva’s dad correctly, she was attending his political fundraiser tonight. One hundred percent he was going to double down on their agreement, taking away even more of her control.
I grabbed her coffee and yanked my phone from my pocket as I made my way back to my car. Eva didn’t answer. In fact, the call went straight to voicemail. I sent a text, but as I suspected wouldhappen, she didn’t read it. Fuck. Her dad paid for her phone, and the coincidence wasn’t lost on me.
The fundraiser had to be somewhere nearby because I left her in my bed only a couple of hours ago. She had practice today, but not for another twenty-three minutes. I could catch her at home.
I rolled through the two stop signs and thanked the traffic gods for the green light on the way back to the house. If I could warn her, we could figure out a way around her dad’s threats. Archer was coming to the game tonight. The last time I’d talked to him, he’d seemed like he cared about his players. Maybe he’d understand the situation if I laid it all out for him.
I didn’t need a college degree to play hockey, and Eva didn’t need her dad’s money to pay for school. We could find a way.
