Page 157 of Trapped With You

It sounded like whoever this guy was, he spent time scoping out his victim before finally deciding on Mabel. Having spent a few minutes in her presence, I could tell she was extremely kind, sweet, and trustworthy. The last attribute was probably what he banked on. And unfortunately, she fell right into his trap.

“Do you remember what he looked like?”

“I remember him having blond hair and I think he was a jock?”

Fuck, that wasn’t enough information. There were nearly two hundred people present that night. A lot of them were athletes from different schools in the city. However,blondandjockdid help narrow down my search.

It wouldn’t completely feel like a needle in a haystack.

“I see.” I drained the remnant of my coffee, mulling over who this could be.

A flash of insecurity sliced over her face. “Do you think this was all a sick joke…just for the fun of it?”

I knew what went through her mind.Why me?What did I do to deserve this?The simple answer was that Mabel was a convenient scapegoat for this person. Nothing more, nothing less. Therefore, I offered her a nugget of the truth in hopes of giving her some peace. Make her realize that what happened had nothing to do with her and everything to do with Ella and me.

“I was roofied that night and led upstairs under the pretense that my girlfriend was waiting for me in the room. All so I could be caught in a compromising position and look like a cheater.”

Her eyes widened. “T-That’s horrible. Why would anyone do that to you?”

“Sometimes people like to hurt others for the sole reason that they can.”

And for retaliation in my line of work.

“I’m sorry, Cade.” Mabel reached forward to squeeze my arm in a platonic manner. “You didn’t deserve that.”

I decided right this moment that once I caught the masked fuckers, I was going to make the designated one write an apology letter to Mabel before I killed him off.

“Thank you,” I rasped. “I’m okay now. It took some time, but I’m in a better place than I was three months ago. You can understand why I wanted to meet up and get some answers, right?”

“Yes, of course.” She smiled sadly. “It makes sense.”

“Do you remember the guy’s name?” I egged on. “Maybe what he was wearing?”

“If he gave me a name, I don’t recall. I was very drunk.” She tilted her head in a calculating manner. “Although I do remember him saying he played hockey.”

My blood ran cold.

Blond. Jock. Played hockey.

It could be anyone. It was a big city. There were many hockey players in different schools. Many blond ones. And yet I fumbled for my phone, my pulse quickening as I opened up my gallery app.

“Hey, Mabel?” I found last year’s Rangers’ team photo and turned my phone towards her. “What are the chances you recognize any of these guys as the one you spoke to that night?”

She leaned forward, studying the image for a minute. “Cade, I’m sorry. I don’t think it’s anyone from here.”

Well, shit. It was worth a try. Regardless, I had three clues to continue my search.

I was about to pull my phone away when Mabel made a sound of distress and zoomed in on a particular player. “Oh my God. Wait! It’s him. I recognizehim.”

Gazing down at the familiar face, I froze.

Gavino Ricci.

C H A P T E R3 2

You and I

Ella