Page 59

stassi

How the hell did he find out? Why didn’t anyone notify me about his parole hearing? I would’ve warned the lawyers and judge that he’d come straight to my house. But he didn’t go there...

“I don’t understand it,” I said, feeling a heavy weight settle in my chest.

It was overwhelming, and all I wanted was to go to Damien and hold him close.

We had a rule that Damien was not allowed to be in his presence, and that was never an issue with him being in jail. The once-in-a-blue-moon phone calls were fine, but I was supposed to be warned about this.

Fuck my lawyer. Fuck him so hard because you cannot call me the day before, no, hours before he was getting released to let me know. I’d need to get safeguards in place. Thank fuck Damien was with Ledger. As much as I wanted to be there, Ledger had the physical ability to protect him.

“Did he call you?” Alex asked Dirks as we pulled into Alex’s apartment complex.

“No. Nothing.”

“This doesn’t make sense,” Alex said softly.

A sigh of relief mixed with a surge of anxiety as we pulled up to the building.

Dirks didn’t even have a chance to fully park before I’d flung open the door and bolted toward the building. My heart pounded, a mixture of fear and determination fueling my steps.

“Anastasia,” Alex screamed from behind me. “Stop.”

To anyone watching, I must’ve looked frantic, like I was possessed. Alex’s voice cut through my haze of panic, and I paused mid-step, turning around to face him. His expression was a blend of worry and resolve.

“I will not let you go in there alone,” he said, his tone firm but filled with concern. “I know you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, but please, wait for me.”

The sincerity in his eyes made me realize how much he cared. Dirks was already running up the sidewalk, his long strides eating up the distance. His face was set with determination, mirroring Alex’s concern.

I nodded to both of them, a silent agreement passing between us.

This wasn’t about me anymore; we were in this together.

For so long I wanted to be a part of a team, but I thought I needed to prove to myself that I could do it on my own.

The only person I had a team with was my ex-husband, who proved to be a horrible player.

I thought the only way I could eventually find another teammate was to sacrifice my own happiness. As I looked at Alex, I realized we were really in this together. With a deep breath, I steadied myself.

We entered the building, the once-familiar surroundings feeling strangely foreign. Each step echoed in the hallway, amplifying the heavy silence. As we stepped into the elevator, Alex reached for my hand. I looked up at him and then closed my eyes.

Please let this be over with.

The tension grew with each passing floor.

The only sound was the faint hum of the elevator.

When the door finally pinged open, it was the sole indication we had arrived.

The moment I stepped out, with Alex holding my hand tightly, the muffled shouting from down the hallway reached my ears, sending a shiver down my spine.

It took everything in me not to break into a run. My heart pounded louder with each step, the shouting growing clearer, more intense. I glanced over at Alex, who squeezed my hand reassuringly, his eyes steady and unwavering.

“I need to walk over there and let go of you.” I looked down, trying to steady my breath.

Alex nodded, his grip firm yet gentle before he released my hand. “I’ll be right behind you. I’m not going anywhere.”

Taking a deep breath, I rounded the corner. The shouting grew louder, echoing off the walls. The hallway stretched on, every step feeling like a mile, the suspense tightening its grip around my chest.

With Alex a step behind, I pushed forward.

There he was, my ex-husband, standing outside the door, and thankfully, the door was clearly shut. The realization that Damien was still safe inside the apartment brought a wave of gratitude that momentarily eased my anxiety.

My ex-husband looked both familiar and shockingly different. Dressed in gray sweats and a white shirt, he had a rugged, unkempt appearance. His hair was long and wild, blonde curls haphazardly framing his face.

He appeared somehow stronger and far more terrifying than I remembered, his posture radiating a sense of barely contained rage.

Despite the fear clawing at my insides, I stood my ground. Alex’s hand was no longer in mine, but I still felt his unwavering support. Taking a deep breath, I summoned every ounce of courage I had left.

“Why are you here?” I whispered, the words barely leaving my lips.

Even after all these years, being around him made me feel so small.

His eyes met mine, and I saw the rage there.

Once a soft shade of blue, his eyes now seemed icy and cold, piercing through me with an intensity that made my blood run cold.

After all those years in prison, I’d hoped things might change.

During our calls, he’d been pleasant with Damien, and I’d imagined this reunion might be better, even though I’d braced for the worst.

“Why are you here?”

Alex took a step forward. “Answer her question because right now, from where I’m standing, you’re at my door, banging on it.”

Dimitri’s chest rose and fell rapidly.

I stared at him dumbfounded. I thought I would’ve been far more broken when I saw him. I thought our reunion was going to somehow start and end in tears. I thought he was going to make me feel so much worse than I did.

As I looked at Alex, who never stepped ahead of me but stayed by my side as my equal, I knew I was a different person than I was all those years ago. I couldn’t believe we were all casually in a hallway with one man who ripped apart my world, and the other who pieced it back together.

“I was here because I got out early on parole. I didn’t know where the fuck to go, and I heard you got traded. Chicago was the closest big city to the jail. I was out in Indiana, so it was close for me to get on a bus and get here.”

“How did you get my address?” Alex asked calmly.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Dirks walk up, so he was on the other side of us.

“Dimitri. You can’t be here,” Dirks chimed in.

Dimitri ignored them and looked at me while he responded to Alex.

“I picked up some new clothes and a quick phone on my way here to try and see if I could figure out where the fuck you lived. Little did I know that I would see a photo of you with my wife and kid on some fucking gossip site on social media...”

My heart exploded, and I didn’t even realize this was a possibility. It had been a few weeks since Alex and I had reunited, so how the fuck did this even happen?

My knees threatened to buckle, but I refused to let him watch me fall.

I was not his wife anymore. He left me with nothing but scars, physically and emotionally, but I needed to show him that I’d learn to live with them.

They didn’t define the story of my life that I once thought I had to live. I was free.

“The article was a photo of you guys last night, taken from outside this apartment. A few Google Maps searches, and it was easy to match the entrance in the photo. All I had to do was look up where all the hockey players on the Ravens lived. You’re all fucking dumb living in the same building. I came right here.”

“My apartment.” Alex seethed. “How did you find what apartment I lived in?”

“Easy,” Dimitri said and crossed his arms over his chest. “I threatened a delivery driver outside, stole his jacket, and grabbed his packages. I told the front desk that you needed to sign for one personally and asked if they could confirm your address.”

Alex balled his hands into fists. “You motherfucker.”

Finally, after staring at me, unblinking, Dimitri turned his attention toward Alex. “I thought it was this one”—he gestured to Dirks—“that I was going to have to be wary of, but all along, you were right there under my nose, taking my wife away from me.” Dimitri took a step closer to Alex.

“Stop it,” I demanded.

He ignored me. “Were you the one who told her to leave me? To finally give her meek little bitch self a voice?”

I swallowed. It had been years since anyone spoke to me the way Dimitri had. Alex’s eyes darted to me. His hands were still balled up at his side. He was almost shaking from the effort of physically restraining himself from lunging at Dimitri.

“Do not talk to him like that.” I looked behind Dimitri at the door.

Ledger had taken a step outside, holding onto the handle. Thank fuck the man was as tall as the doorframe, towering over all of us.

Ledger looked right at me. “Hey, Anastasia. Damien is currently resting right now.” Ledger’s eyes went back to Dimitri. “As I told you earlier, you can see him if you get a court order saying it’s okay. If you could please unblock the hallway.”

Dimitri didn’t turn around as if he hadn’t heard Ledger say anything at all. His eyes were trained on me.

“I’m not fucking leaving without my fucking wife.”

“She is not your wife,” Dirks snapped.

Dimitri pointed at Dirks, then glared at Alex. “You went behind my back, Anastasia. Were you fucking him all those nights you disappeared?”

“D-disappeared.” My words cracked.

Dammit. I wanted to stay strong, and I felt myself getting smaller and smaller as the moments passed.

“Yes. You think I didn’t know you’d leave whenever I went out for a boys’ night?” He then glared at Alex. “And you think I didn’t notice you stopped coming out with us?”

I swallowed audibly.

“I was going to confront you that night at the hotel, tell you that you were a lying, cheating piece of shit. But then you hit me with the divorce talk, and it was over.” He shrugged, as if it meant nothing. “I saw red.”

“What if Damien had been there?” Rage coursed through my veins.

Good. Anger meant I wasn’t small. I was strong, and I needed to stand up for myself.

“I always planned to do it when he wasn’t around, Stassi.”