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CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

carter

I wake up with a stuffed skunk pressed into my eye socket. Grimacing, I reach up and yank Stinky out from under my head. Glancing down at the redhead who is wrapped around me, a tired smile pulls on my lips. I reach over and place the skunk on the other side of her pillow.

We slept together last night.

Fucking finally.

And it was perfect. It was better than I could have imagined. It’s like my body already knew her body, and my heart knew her heart. That part, I’d already been aware of. I have been studying her heart as long as she’s been showing me glimpses of it.

I feel like a new man. Like I’ve been reborn. That was only a few months without sex for me. Arden hadn’t had sex in years . I run my fingers through her hair and she lets out a sleepy little sigh.

I stare at her sleeping face, mouth parted as she breathes in. Those plump, freckled lips kissed me for real last night. She meant it this time. I’m officially the luckiest man alive. She might be my fake girlfriend but that sex was very real and it was very fucking good.

We also finished at the same time, which has never happened to me before. Ever.

Yeah, it was the same fucking time. Don’t let her convince you otherwise.

I shut my eyes, sinking deeper into the pillows. I will stay here all damn day if it means that she’ll actually get some rest.

Lowesy’s party was a success on all fronts.

He was so drunk when I left that I doubt he noticed I dipped out a little early.

He was far too happy to care, following Sweets around and doing shot after shot with the boys.

He had his crew from home, anyway, and it was very clear he intended to spend most of his time with them. He was sorted.

God, I love my life.

A low buzzing interrupts my serenity. I groan, rolling over as best as I can without waking Arden. I see Boston’s face on the screen, so I silence it and roll back into the bed that I never want to leave. Mine is much comfier, I’ll give myself that, but any bed she’s in is the preferred one.

I shut my eyes, my hangover starting to kick in, when my phone starts buzzing again. My eyes snap open and I glance at the nightstand. There is his stupid face again.

For a moment, I debate silencing it for a second time. But it’s Boston. Boston wouldn’t call me twice if it wasn’t important.

I slide out from under Arden and she stirs a bit, only to fall right back asleep when I pull the covers over her. She lets out a dreamy sigh, and I seriously consider quitting my job just to spend the rest of my life staring at her.

My phone continues to buzz in my hand.

Right. Boston.

I trudge out of her bedroom and shut the door behind me. When I answer his call, there is chaos on the other end of the line. Farm chaos. There are dogs barking incessantly in the background, and I swear I can hear his goats screaming up a storm.

Fucking goats. At seven in the morning. While the Jager drums in my temples.

“Boss.”

“Hey—oh, fuck,” he says, and there is some grunting and shuffling and swearing.

“Sorry, you’d think having animals would get easier the longer you do it, but then the kids are breaking into the cow pasture and scaring the shit out of them, and Mildred acts like she’s never seen a fucking goat a day in her life. ”

Mildred is a cow, by the way.

“I thought they roamed together,” I say, falling onto Arden’s couch. I am certain I’ve seen the animals grazing together. Goats and cows included.

“They do,” he grumbles. “But these little shits like to butt their heads against the cows’ legs for practice. Two in particular. They never see them coming so they have a meltdown each and every time.”

“Did you call me at seven in the morning to tell me about your goats?”

And Mildred the cow.

“No,” he says. “Not at all. Where are you?”

“Arden’s.”

There’s a long pause. “Really.”

He doesn’t pose it as a question.

“Yes,” I say. “Is there a problem?”

“Well, there might be.” He sighs, long, loud, and tired. “I’m going to send you something. I already know the answer, but I don’t think my opinion is the one that’s going to matter.”

“What are you talking about? ”

“Hold on.”

I wait in silence, my curiosity eating me alive. After a moment, my phone buzzes in my palm and Boston returns with a grumble, telling me to look.

It’s an article about a specific podcast and my heart sinks to my toes.

The Beast’s Affair: Arden Doll is Punching the Air Right Now

I ignore the stupidly tragic headline, mocking my assault charges. I hate that they published her name like that, next to such an ugly title. I click the article as fast as humanly possible. My dinner rises in my throat the moment that I see the picture they’ve attached.

Sure enough, there I am. At Icebox. Behind me, with a red circle around her face is Irina fucking Coasta.

She’s standing very close to me, smiling up at me like we know each other intimately.

I wince, scrolling down, and hoping to god this is all that there is.

One stupid picture isn’t the end of the world.

Of course that’s not where this ends, though.

There are twenty pictures, all of them varying in closeness, but none of them show us talking or actually touching.

The killer is not the photos. The killer is the fact that this absolutely unhinged woman did an interview.

A tell-all. This woman and all her crazy brain cells sat down and told somebody that she was having an affair with me.

This is Reno’s fault in some twisted fucking way.

“One sec, Boss. I’m going to watch this video.”

“Take your time.”

I hit play.

Interviewer: I received an anonymous tip from a credible source that indicated Pittsburgh defenseman, Carter Forkerro, is having an affair. I decided to go straight to the individual that this source named: Irina. Hi Irina. Thank you for sitting down with me today.

Right, like the source and Irina aren’t the same person.

Irina: Thank you for having me.

Interviewer: You have been photographed with the Pittsburgh hockey team quite frequently over the past few years, correct?

Irina: That’s correct. I met them one night at a local bar and it kind of took off from there.

Interviewer: Is that how you met defenseman Carter Forkerro?

Irina: Yes. We have known each other for some time.

No. We haven’t. I don’t know her. Terrifyingly, I think she might know me, though.

Interviewer: And you claim that you and Carter Forkerro had a romantic relationship during that time?

Irina: Have . Yes. Present tense. We have had a romantic relationship for sometime, pre-dating that woman that he’s been photographed with recently.

I run my hand over my face. This is bad. This is very, very bad.

Irina: He met her the night that he got arrested, and then they started spending time together behind my back. So, if anything, I’m not the mistress. She is. I was here first. I was with him first.

My blood goes cold. Not only did she just completely lie about a history with me, she just said outright that Arden wasn’t my girlfriend the night I was arrested.

Fuck.

I pause the video and try not to scream into my closed fist.

“What the fuck?” I groan.

“It gets worse and worse,” Boston says on the other end of the line.

Irina: I’ve tried to get ahold of her over Instagram to tell her, but she won’t accept my requests. He might be publicly dating her, but he’s also been with me. She needs to know that. I’m tired of being a secret.

Interviewer: Does Carter Forkerro know that you have tried to contact her? Does he know that you’ve attempted to reach out to Arden Doll?

Irina: He knows that I wanted to. He begged me not to. I think he’s afraid she’ll cut things off with him if she knew. I still think it’s only fair that we’re both aware of what’s going on. The least he could do is let us know that he’s sleeping with other people.

She is certifiably insane. Absolutely delusional. None of this is true.

Interviewer: So, you’re doing this to look out for another woman?

Irina: Exactly. It’s not fair, what he’s doing to us both. He’s clearly a monster. He keeps racking up these assaults like it’s a hobby, and he keeps breaking women’s hearts like it’s his job. It has to stop. If it’s me who has to stop it, then so be it.

I slam my finger onto the phone and pause it. My ears are ringing. My blood is hot. What a psychopath. What a liar.

“I am going to destroy this woman,” I bite out.

“I’ve got your back however you want to handle this, but this was only posted an hour ago, Fork. It’s going to take off. You need to get ahead of it.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to do? Call the owner of the World Wide Web?”

“Swing by if you want. We can figure it out. I’ll call Lemmy.”

Lemmy. My godsend. Our lawyer. She’s a menace in the courtroom, and the reason I am likely not getting prison time anytime soon. Yes, calling Lemmy up is exactly what we need to do.

“I’ll be there in an hour, I’ve got to…” I’ve got to fucking deal with the girl that’s fast asleep in bed, the one who just ga ve me the most mindblowing sex of my life. “Handle things here.”

“I’ll see you in a bit. Good luck.”

I hang up and rest my head in my hands. Irina is not allowed to ruin all the work I’ve put in. All of the genius PR that Arden and I have done together. She is unhinged. She is fucking delusional. I don’t even know if I’ve ever said hi to her before.

She can’t blow this up. She can’t.

If Arden believes this, I’m fucked. She’ll never trust me again.

I finally manage to pull down the last of those iron walls that she barricaded herself inside of.

We had sex just last night. I can’t do this to her.

I can’t hurt her like this. It’s not true.

I have never, and will never, sleep with Irina Coasta.

I have a magnitude of witnesses who would testify to that, but I also have an awful fucking reputation hanging over my head like a guillotine.

Public opinion might not side with me.

Shit.

I drag myself back into her bedroom and find her fast asleep in the exact position that I left her in. I crouch next to her bed and sweep my hand over her forehead. Her eyes slowly open, a sleepy and satisfied smile on her mouth.

“Hi.”

“Hi, beautiful,” I say, angling my head to meet her eyes. “How are you feeling?”

She stretches a bit, keeping her head in my hand. “Sore.”

Well, fuck.

“Want me to grab you anything?” I ask, unable to fight the smile at her sweet face.

“No, I’m okay. I’m just tired and I work nights tonight, so I have to stay in bed as long as I can. ”

I was hoping to have her to myself tonight. “I have to go out for a bit.”

“Where?” she asks, lifting her head off my palm. Her brow furrows. “I want you to stay.”

My heart lurches at her request. I rest my chin on the back of my free hand and stare at her.

She wants me to stay.

I swallow. I can’t hurt her. I care about her too much to put her through this before I settle it.

She’s actually relaxed for once in her life.

Would holding off one day before addressing this really hurt?

The podcast was posted one hour ago, at five-thirty in the morning.

With any luck, Lemmy will have it down before eight.

Maybe, this only has to impact me, not Arden.

I want her to stay on this cloud of bliss that she’s sleeping on until it’s unavoidable.

“I know, Bub,” I whisper. “I just have to run to Boston’s to help him with something. Do you want to come to my place after your night shift?”

Her brow is still furrowed. “Did I do something wrong?”

My heart physically aches at that question. At the look on her face. The doubt.

I’m going to fucking ruin Irina Coasta, I promise you.

“ No ,” I hiss. I lean forward to kiss her mouth. “No, you were perfect. You are perfect. He just needs my help. I had the best night with you, Red. We’re going to keep doing that over and over and over again, okay?”

A small smile tugs at her mouth. “Really?”

“Really.” I kiss her again, my heart racing in my chest out of pure rage now. “You’re going to have to personally apologize to all the orphaned animals in the shelter, because they’re never going to see another dollar of my money with how much we’re going to be doing that.”

She chuckles sleepily, pushing my shoulder with her palm. “ We both know you’re going to keep paying or I’ll stop putting out.”

I smile. I figured as much. “I’ll see you in the morning, alright? I am on the road later in the week, but you can stay at my place if you want. Have the girls over?”

She yawns. “You’re thinking way too far ahead, but yes, I’ll come over after nights. Pick me up?”

I nod, pressing my mouth to hers one final time. “You got it.”