Page 46 of Ice-Cold Obsession

“I said no.” I grit my teeth.

“Gabriel—”

“I’ll do double work. Triple. Whatever you need. Just leave her out of it.”

He laughs. “What? Are you in love with her?”

The question catches me off guard. Am I? I think about the way she looks at me and about the way she held me when I was falling apart over the bracelet. She makes me feel like I’m not completely broken, and I can’t stop thinking about her even when I should be focused on everything else. Her smile makes my chest ache in a way I don’t understand.

So yeah, I’m in love with her.

But I can’t say that becausehe’ll use it against me and control me even more than he already does.

“No.” I force myself to meet his gaze. “But involving others is complicated, especially new people. It’ll derail everything. Personal stuff and business could mix too much.”

“That’s not your decision to make.”

“Please. I—”

He takes a step closer. “You’re doing it. End of discussion, which I shouldn’t even allow us to have. But since you lost the game like I required, I won’t punish you for this disobedience. Bring Scarlett tomorrow when I text you.”

“I can’t—”

“Tomorrow.”

He turns and gets back into the car. The door closes behind him, and the engine starts. I watch as the cars pull away, their taillights disappearing into the darkness.

I turn and head back toward campus, my feet moving automatically. I can’t bring Scarlett into this or let them use her the way they’re using me. She’ll get hurt, or worse. And it’ll be my fault, just like everything else.

But if I don’t bring her, they’ll come after her anyway and me too. I’ve thought about running, disappearing, and going to the cops. But they have too much on me, and too many ways to destroy me and everyone I care about.

I stop and sink to the ground, my back against the brick wall, and press my hands to my face.

I don’t know what to do.

I don’t know how to fix this.

I don’t know how to protect Scarlett.

My chest tightens, and breathing becomes impossible. I try to pull in air, but it won’t come. My vision blurs, and I realize I’m crying.

The tears come fast and hard, and I can’t hold them back. My whole body shakes, and I hate myself for being this weak.

I press my palms harder against my face, trying to muffle the sound and make it stop. But I can’t. My shoulders shake, and I can’t control it.

I think about Scarlett. About her smile when she saw me on the ice. She wore my jersey with my name on it as if she was proud to be with me.

But she doesn’t know what I am, what I’ve done, or what I’m going to have to do.

And when she finds out, she’ll hate me.

The thought makes everything worse. The tears stream down my face, and I can barely breathe through it all. I’m gasping for air and choking on sobs.

Scarlett will hate me and look at me the way she should... with disgust and disappointment.

And maybe that’s what I deserve.

I pull my hands away from my face and stare at the ground. My vision is still blurry, and my chest still aches, but the tears are slowing now. My breath comes in ragged gasps, and I feel hollow and empty.