Page 29 of Ice-Cold Obsession

I crouch beside him and put my hand on his shoulder. “Hey, breathe.”

He doesn’t seem to hear me. His hands keep moving, frantic and desperate.

“Listen to me. You need to breathe.”

Nothing. His breaths are coming in short, sharp gasps, and his whole body is trembling.

I shift closer and wrap my arms around him, pulling him toward me. He resists for a second, his muscles rigid, then collapses against me. He buries his face in my neck.

I feel something wet against my skin.

He’s crying.

I freeze, my arms still around him, unsure what to do. This isn’t the arrogant hockey player everyone knows. It’s not the guy who made my sister’s life hell. But it’s...

I don’t know, but I hold him tighter anyway.

“It’s okay,” I say quietly, even though I don’t know if it is. “Just breathe with me. In and out.”

His breaths are ragged against my neck, and I feel his fingers clutch at my jacket. I keep my arm around him and rub slow circles on his back with the other.

“Breathe in through your nose,” I say. “Hold it. Now out through your mouth.”

He tries, but it comes out choppy and uneven.

“That’s good. Try again.”

I keep talking to him, and slowly, his breathing starts to even out. The shaking doesn’t stop, but it lessens, and his grip on my jacket loosens slightly.

Movement catches my eye. Someone’s near the edge of the trees, looking at us. I can’t make out who it is from the distance, but they’re definitely watching. Then they turn and disappear into the shadows.

I glance down at the grass near Gabriel’s knee, and I know immediately what it is.

The bracelet.

I reach for it and pick it up, then pull back slightly. “Gabriel.”

He doesn’t move.

“I found it.”

He lifts his head and looks at the bracelet in my hand. He takes it from me with trembling fingers and clutches it like it’s the most precious thing in the world.

“Thank you,” he whispers, his face still wet with tears.

I nod and sit back, giving him space. He slips the bracelet back on his wrist and stares at it for a long moment, his breathing still uneven but slower now.

“Your brother?” I ask carefully.

He nods but doesn’t look at me.

“What happened to him?”

He’s quiet for so long I think he won’t answer. “Shooting.”

I stare at him. A shooting? His brother was killed in a shooting? Oh shit!

“I’m sorry. My sister died not too long ago. Life’s been hell without her.” Wait, why the fuck did I say that?