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He’s right. I’ll get in a fuckton of trouble. Although, I’m pretty sure it’d be worth it.

“What’s going on?” Axel comes around the other side. His voice has that easy drawl that he uses to taunt forwards on the ice. He takes one look at my furious expression and then another down at Ethan who seems to realize he’s not just outsized—he’s outnumbered. “Why are you picking fights with hipsters?”

“He said some rude shit about Twyler.” My fingers curl into fists.

“TG?” Axel says, suddenly interested. “What’s a little fuck like this have to do with our girl.”

“I knew it,” Ethan shakes his head, but I don’t miss the smug smirk on his mouth. “I knew she was fucking all of you. God, what a whore.”

“What did you say?” Axel steps between us, knuckles cracking. “I know I didn’t hear that right.”

In a blink, the whole scene unfolds in front of my eye. One of us destroys this little shit. Like fucking destroys him. We all get tossed into jail. Coach has to come bail us out. The season and our careers are ruined before they even get started. All over a pathetic, abusive, little shit. Taking a deep breath, I tell him, “Get the fuck out of here.”

“What?” Axel looks at me in disbelief. “You’re going to let him just—”

“Yes.” I look at Ethan. “You get the fuck out of our bar or I can’t guarantee you don’t get a beatdown the next time.” He seems to realize I’ve just given him a free pass and starts to walk back to the bar. Reid loosens his grip and releases me. I turn to them and say, “Escort him out.”

“Where are you going?”

“To find my girl.”

* * *

Twyler linked up our phone tracking systems after we took our relationship underground. Not so we could find each other, but rather, in her words, “If I go missing or turn up dead, they’ll figure out pretty quick you were my secret boyfriend. This protects both of us.”

This is what it’s like to fall for a girl obsessed with true crime.

And fuck, I definitely think I’m falling for her.

Outside the bar, I quickly look at the app, and see that Twyler is already up at Shotgun, her little icon moving in the direction of the teal house.

I break into a jog, running out of the business district, and back onto campus. She’s walking up the sidewalk leading to her porch when I catch up.

“Twy,” I call out, “wait up.”

I expect her to keep running. Maybe even to shut me out. The things that asshole said to me—if he unleashed the same toxicity on her? She’s probably in a full-blown panic. But she slows her gait, walks up her front steps and opens the door. When she steps inside, she doesn’t shut me out.

I follow her in, closing the door behind me, and find her in her room, curled on her bed, her arms wrapped around a pillow shaped like a cat. That prick called her a whore and accused her of sleeping with the team. No wonder she’s upset.

“Can I come in?” I ask, hovering in the doorway. If she says no, I’m not sure what I’ll do.

She nods, and I hear the sniff. Dammit, she’s crying. That goddamn bastard, the urge to track him down is barely outweighed by the desire to stay.

“Fuck, Sunshine,” I say, sitting on the edge of the bed. I lay a hand on her head and stroke her hair.

“He’s such a dick,” she says. “It’s like he has some radar that tells him exactly when to show up and fuck with my life.”

Her cheeks are streaked with tears, but she looks more pissed than sad. My heart aches seeing her like this. It took so long and so much work to get her to drop that shield. I won’t let him fuck that up. Without asking, I curl up next to her and wrap my arms around her body, holding her tight.

“Sorry I ran. I know you hate it when I do that.”

“Keeps me in shape.” I crack a smile, but it’s halfhearted. “You had every right to get away from that bastard, although next time, I’d rather you come find me.”

“I panicked.”

“I know.” I rest my head on her shoulder. “I also know he needed his ass kicked.”

She cranes her neck to look at me, eyes wide. “Did you?”