Page 64 of Ruled Out

I know what he’s thinking—I should tell Zach the reason behind my smile and I should trust the guy who’s given me no reason to doubt him over the years I’ve known him. When Jon needed Zach to stand by him and have his back, he did.

The rest of the team starts to make their way to the ice, but there are still a few minutes until practice starts, so I wait a couple more seconds for the room to clear and then turn to Zach.

“I don’t know exactly how much you know already, but remember when I was traded here?”

Zach’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise like he didn’t expect me just to come out and tell him whatever it was. “Yeah, there were rumors of a love affair gone wrong.”

I nod and scratch at the back of my neck. “I know you’re my captain, but I need to know I can trust you as a friend.”

“You can trust him,” Jensen interjects, looking at Zach.

With a single tip of his chin, Zach stands and waits for me to continue talking. I take a deep breath and prepare myself to do something way out of my comfort zone—share my life.

“Right after I was signed, I met someone.”

Zach takes a seat on the bench next to me and begins lacing up his skates. “A girl?”

I side-eye Jensen. “Yep, and, well, she worked for the Destroyers.”

Zach’s head shoots up. “You broke staff-player fraternization policies? Shit, man.”

I wince and run a hand through my hair. “Annnnd … she also happened to be the GM’s daughter.”

If the bench wasn’t between his ass and the floor, I’m pretty sure Zach would be flat on his back right about now.

“Say fuckingwhat?”

“We got caught one day in her bedroom by her dad, and I got put on the instant trade list. After nine months of sneaking around, I had known it was getting riskier, but I couldn’t stay away from her.”

Zach comes to stand in front of me. He props his hands on his hips and shakes his head. “And you can’t keep away from her now.”

“Never have been able to. Tried my fucking hardest, but … she’s …” I drop my hand from my hair to my side. “She’s everything to me. Just like Luna is to you, like Kate is to Jensen, and like Felicity is to Jon. She’sthe fucking one, man.”

“He just left her in his bed,” Jensen adds.

Zach runs a hand over the scruff of his jaw. “I’m guessing Graham Jenkins doesn’t know about this—you know, given the fact that you’re still breathing?” He winces. “Jesus, that guy made me look like a teddy bear on the ice.”

“He has no idea. Mia and I need to work out the right time to tell him.”

“Burrows is gonna be pissed too,” Jensen says, fixing a final pad in place.

I nod. “Yeah, I know. But if I can prove to Graham that I’m serious about Mia, then I have an outside chance of not being murdered.”

It’s not lost on me that, at this point, neither Zach nor Jensen knows about the depths of my past or the real reason Graham thinks I’m bad news for his daughter. Right now, those are truths I only want to share with Mia.

Zach points to the clock above the locker room door, indicating we need to head out onto the ice. “For what it’s worth, here’s my best advice. You are the most gifted player I personally have ever seen, but speaking honestly, I don’t think we’ve seen the best of you. Your eighty percent is another player’s dream game.” He looks me dead in the eyes, offering me a captain’s stare. “Bring it. Turn up for practices early; stay behind until the Zamboni hits the ice. Show themwhyyou are so valuable to the team. Send a message to Graham that you’re every bit the player and man he wants for his daughter and make it so Burrows has no choice but to keep starting you, even when he wants to bench your ass for being a stupid prick.”

“I loved all of that up until the final two words.”

Jensen snickers at my side, but Zach maintains eye contact with me.

“If you bring your best, then you have no reason for them—or me—to question you. That buys you time and respect forwhen you go to Jenkins and tell him you’re fucking his daughter again.”

I roll my tongue across the roof of my mouth and smile at Zach. “Jesus, now I know why Jon always said you’re the guy to go to when you got issues. Technically though, I’ve never fucked his daughter.”

Jensen chokes on his own breath. “You’re telling me you had the girl of your dreams in your bed and didn’t fuck her?” He holds up a hand. “Sorry, make love to her.”

I roll my eyes. There’s zero chance of me telling them she’s a virgin and that her first time with me is going to be one she’ll never forget. Although I know if I did say it, they’d ten out of ten get it.