Page 11

Chapter Eleven

JACKSON

S ince the evening at Triana, Wickham’s made sure to stay away from me. He has many faults, but stupidity isn’t one of them. Chad knows why I can’t stand Wickham, but I refrained from telling him Wickham was sniffing after Izzie. I don’t want Chad worrying about anything besides goaltending.

We’re in Vancouver, and we just won the third game in a row in the series. We just need to win one more game and the Cup is ours. We can taste the victory, but we also know the job is not done.

The game today started early, and even though everyone is tired, we decided to go out to dinner just the same. It’s a laid-back affair—as laid back as a bunch of hockey players in one place can be. The locals aren’t too fond of us right now, and here the hockey culture is strong.

“Jesus, did you see the look that waiter gave us?” Alex Kaminski asks. “I’m afraid to eat here.”

“Right? What if they poison us?” his brother asks.

“No one is going to poison us,” I say.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Darcy,” Wickham butts in, not hiding the malice in his tone.

I ignore him. He only said that to antagonize me. Sure, sometimes overzealous fans do things to annoy us, like the one time someone set off the fire alarm at the hotel during the time of our nap. But this is a high-scale restaurant, and I doubt the owner wants to face a lawsuit.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I fish it out to check the message… and still. It’s the PI I hired to investigate Jane’s family. This is the first time I’ve heard from him since I hired him. His message asks me to call him whenever I can.

Hell. He knows I’m on the road with the team. If he wants to talk to me, it must mean he found something I should know ASAP. I get up from the table and head out of the restaurant to call him. The street isn’t busy at this hour, and I don’t want anyone on the team to eavesdrop on this conversation.

The PI, Larry, answers on the first ring. “Hello, Jackson. Didn’t expect you to call me right away.”

“I have the time. Tell me. What did you find?”

“You were right to be concerned about Jane Bennet’s family. They’re utterly broke and about to lose their ranch. Her father made some very poor choices. Blew the money he made as a professional polo player in bad investments. He trains a few horses for old clients, but that doesn’t bring him much.”

Fuck. I wish I’d been wrong.

“How deep in the hole is he?”

“A couple million.”

“Are you serious?” I blurt out.

“Like a heart attack. But there’s more.”

I rub my face and start to pace. “Go on.”

“Chad’s fiancée isn’t as sweet and innocent as she seems to be.”

My stomach churns. If Jane is a fake, it will devastate Chad. I hate that for him, but at the same time, it’s best if he knows before he marries her.

“What did she do?”

“It turns out flamenco isn’t the only type of dancing she specializes in.”

I freeze. “Please don’t say Jane’s an exotic dancer.”

“She doesn’t work the pole anymore, but she used to.”

I feel sick, and the woman is nothing to me. Poor Chad. I doubt she told him about her colorful past. “Do you have proof?”

“Sure do. I can have a report ready for you in a couple days.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re not going to tell Chad now, are you?”

“Of course not. We’re in the middle of the finals, and I can’t stress him with that news. I’ll wait until it’s over.”

“Good call. I’m sorry I don’t have better news.”

“Yeah, me too.”

I end the call, and when I turn around, I think I spot Wickham going back inside. For fuck’s sake. I was too engrossed in the conversation with Larry to notice if someone was nearby listening. I should have been more careful. If he heard anything, he’d better keep his mouth shut.

But I can’t leave things well enough alone when it comes to the snake, so I head back inside and look for him. He’s making his way back to the table. I quicken my step and catch up with him before he can sit down.

I grab his arm to stop him. “Wickham, a word.”

He looks down at my hand around his arm, then at me again. I release him and step back, not wanting to appear like I’m about to throttle him.

“What do you want, Darcy?”

“How much of my private conversation did you hear?”

He widens his eyes innocently. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb with me. I know you were eavesdropping just now.”

“Oh, you mean your conversation about Chad’s fiancée ?” he replies loudly.

“What conversation?” Chad asks from behind me.

Son of a bitch . Wickham saw him coming and wanted him to hear it. I’d punch him if he wasn’t my teammate.

“Don’t know. Ask your buddy.” He smiles spitefully.

I turn around and face Chad. “It’s nothing. We shouldn’t talk about it now.”

He frowns. “Cut the bullshit, Jackson. If it involves Jane, I want to know.”

I rub my face, internally cursing my stupidity. I can’t believe I fell right into Wickham’s trap.

“Fine. But not here. Let’s go outside.” I look at the snake in our midst. “Don’t you dare follow us.”

“Wasn’t gonna.”

Of course not. You’ve done the damage already.

Once Chad and I are outside the restaurant, Chad presses. “Why were you having a call about Jane?”

“I was worried that you were rushing into things, so I hired a PI to look into Jane and her family.”

Chad’s eyes bug out. “You did what ?”

“You heard me.”

He pulls his hair back. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“I had to. You’re in love and not thinking straight.”

He stares at me as if I’m the vilest person in the world, and it pains me. “Whatever you found out about Jane, I don’t care.”

“You should care!” I blurt out, losing my temper. “She’s not who you think she is.”

He takes a step back, shaking his head. “I don’t want to hear it.”

I should keep my mouth shut, but I’m pissed that Chad is being stubborn about this, and the alcohol in my system isn’t helping. “She used to be a stripper, Chad. Did she tell you that?”

His eyes widen. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not. Did she also forget to mention her father has a huge debt and is about to lose the ranch?”

Chad stares at me like I just killed someone he loved. In a sense, I did. I just shattered the image he had of his fiancée. Without another word, he pivots and walks away from me.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“Back to the hotel. Don’t follow me.”

I rest my hands on my hips and look at the sky. Fuck. What have I done?