Page 53 of UnWholly Angels (Crestview Cardinals #1)

Chapter Thirty

Maya

O h hell no.

The last thing I needed was a goddamn babysitter while Riley was gone.

For fuck’s sake I’d killed people. Yes, Maya, but you also lost it from Rocco merely being in your presence the other night, so yes.

Yes, you do . I told myself to trust that Riley had my best interest, but I couldn’t let my guard down with a man I hardly knew.

He pushed past me, walking into the house, and I threw an annoyed glance his way, internally barfing at who would be protecting me in Riley’s absence. A strong, proper, and almost soothing voice came from the porch, and I turned toward it.

“Hello, please don’t mind Rowan. He’s just angry I said Backstreet Boys were the superior 90’s boy band,” she laughed, holding out her hand to me. “I’m Charlotte, but you can call me Lottie.”

My body tensed when I saw an arm reach around me and grab her bags.

She gave me a look of concern and ordered Ronald, or whatever his name was, not to approach me from the back.

This was frustrating, but still, I welcomed her inside and showed the two around.

Thanks for disappearing, Riley. I really appreciate it.

“The both of you can have this room, I hope it’s okay,” I said, pushing the door open slightly.

The guest room was untouched since the last time I washed the sheets.

Honestly, the sleepless nights in here were torture.

I watched Charlotte run her fingers along the silky sheets.

I followed her gaze to the dresser where a picture of my mother and me lay, and my heart clenched as she picked it up.

“Is this your mother? You look just like her. I never knew my mother, but my father…My father was the best. He used to make this Banana bread that was just so—”

“Lottie…don’t,” Ronald’s voice was thick with emotion behind me, and I whipped my head around to face him.

“She can do whatever she wants, Ronald. You’re a guest in my house, and if you want to keep being an asshole, you can sleep on the floor,” I spat.

“Did you just call me Ronald?” He laughed.

“I like her Rowan, she’s not afraid of you,” Charlotte said, placing the picture back down. “He’s just looking out for me, Maya. My father passed tragically, and it’s still hard sometimes.”

My legs traveled faster than my brain could process the thought.

The look on her face was a stark reminder of what I lost, even if my mother hated me.

When I’d found out she passed alone and was left for days, it was hard to handle.

I loved the Whitlocks dearly, and I was so happy they didn’t push me to call them mom and dad.

It was allowed to happen organically, although I didn’t say it often.

I wrapped Charlotte in my embrace and held her tight.

Her shoulders relaxed, and in a moment, she was hugging me back.

Her eyes held so much pain that I felt like she needed one.

“Let me go find Riley. I’m sure he will want to see the both of you. Help yourselves to anything in the house.”

I could hear music blasting down the hall and rolled my eyes. Hiding in the bedroom, how typical of him.

In a flash, I was pushing our own door open, and Riley was packing. A huge bag sat on the floor with his skates and stick laid atop, his shirts messy in a suitcase. Now this was real; he was leaving, and I wouldn’t see him for a couple of weeks.

What if something happened while he was away? I was so focused on staying strong for him that I was blind to the research I could’ve been doing on those two down the hall. All I could do now was trust that Riley knew this man well enough to protect me in case Rocco tried anything stupid.

Pacing back and forth, his footsteps were heavy as he mumbled about losing something under his breath. I couldn’t care less if my presence was known or not, but I piped up anyway. “I changed my mind, please don’t go.”

He silenced mid-sentence and met my saddened gaze. “Not now, Maya. Please don’t do that now because I’m trying not to second guess myself here,” he said, running his palm along his face.

My hand went to my pocket, digging around for the necklace.

If he couldn’t stay, then he would take a piece of me with him.

I needed to figure out a way to warn him about who was in the room with Rocco and me that night, and I needed to do it fast. Riley sat on the bed with his head in his hands, so I took the chance.

No physical words fell from my lips. I only took the piece of the chain between each finger and clasped it around his neck.

“Take me with you then, okay?”

Riley’s hands flew to the base of his neck, feeling the smooth surface of the cross, running his thumb along the sleek metal multiple times to make sure this was happening.

For the first time in a while, when he faced me, his eyes were red and puffy from the impending tears, still he smiled a toothy grin.

“I love you, Maya.”

While I was distracted, he stole my lips, placing a gentle kiss across them. I couldn’t help the warning that flew from my own when we parted. “Be careful in Seattle, Riley. Betrayal from within hurts far worse when you don’t see it coming.”

Riley

Half a day later and going through the worst turbulence of my life, we landed in Seattle. Once we got to the hotel and checked in, a lot of the other guys went to bed, but I couldn’t sleep, so I went to the one place that could help clear my head in this state.

The arena seemed to have had some upgrades done in the offseason, and it looked nice since the last time we were out here. Larger seats, brand new glass panes, and the players’ bench looked newer, and less like it would give us splinters every time we sat down.

Placing my head against the cool glass, I inhaled and exhaled, willing my buzzing mind to relax and focus on the game tonight.

I wonder if Maya will be watching. At least for a few weeks, I could go back to being Angel Kingston, the top goal scorer and captain of a team who had been working their asses off.

They were my family, and in no way deserved to sacrifice the cup because I couldn’t get my head on straight.

I missed her already, though, and tonight, win or lose, I needed a distraction from not being able to wake up to her.

Okay, you’re Angel Kingston now, bad ass hockey player. Everyone loves you, everyone’s going to be watching you. Maya is going to be watching.

My eyes flew open at the sound of a throat clearing, my senses already preparing to go into fight or flight. Vape juice filled my nostrils, and I relaxed because it was just Noah. I’d heeded Maya’s warning, but I knew for sure that Nicholas and the Stryker’s I could trust.

He hit the vape a few times before speaking. “You haven’t gone to bed, have you, man?”

I shook my head, my jaw tensing as I watched him inhale the thing with a grimace. No hate, just not my cup of tea.

“Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t find a way to weasel yourself out of these games to stay home. I would have,” Noah said, nodding his head to me.

“Are you trying to make me feel like a piece of shit, cause it’s working.

” It wasn’t just being so far away from Maya.

It was the fact that this separation had made me feel way too uneasy, and not trusting the people you saw as your family wasn’t an easy feat.

“I’m going to go to scope out the gym, wanna join? ”

“Ohhhh, fun in the gym. At least take me to dinner first, Kingston,” he mocked in a playful tone.

When the details of my life outside of hockey came to light, some of the guys had reservations, which was fair, I guess.

Noah never treated me differently, and I was thankful for that.

Maybe in another life, it would have been him instead of Nick.

But Noah was very much nestled deep in his own dynamic, which was taboo in itself.

Noah and I kept each other in check, helped each other keep the darkness at bay.

Nicholas had tried to drown that part of me in the past, and I loved him for it, but I needed to be understood, and that was where Noah came in.

He understood loss and the way guilt, grief, and anger fucking ate at you.

Sometimes the only way to deal was to end it or find a different hobby to quiet the voices that constantly told you to do or say more.

The ones that told you that you would never be good enough, or strong enough to make it.

Noah had bikes, and I had sex. Maybe I’d take Maya to some of his races soon.

He stood straighter, fishing into his pocket and brought out a mid-sized circular object and placed it in my palm. “Does this look familiar?”

I mulled over the object in my hand. It was smooth like glass, yet cloudy, and made the air feel thin. It took a few minutes, and I clenched my jaw once I’d realized.

Lorenzo’s fake eye.

Narrowing my eyes in suspicion, I took a step toward him. “Where did you find this, and why do you have it?” I asked calmly, every hair raising on the back of my neck. The phantom tune of his whistle sounded through my ears, and I became increasingly aware of my surroundings.

“Well, after I took the right hook from your girl, I decided to investigate the equipment room, and it was just sitting there on the table.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled the vape out, taking a shaky puff and exhaling before he continued.

“Someone wanted you to find it, Angel. This happened publicly, around all of us. It’s not Maya’s fault for reacting the way she did, and I believe her.

I’ve seen that look before, so I think it’s time to start talking about what’s really going on before it’s too late. ”

“Who was the last person with her?” Noah was right, but tonight was not the night. Tonight, we needed to win.

“The rookie. I saw them talking on my way to the shitter, that’s why I could hear her crying outside the locker room.” The Rookie, really?