Page 121 of The Heart Stealer

I watch the black-and-white images of the rink in reverse, flinching when I see myself on the ice. It’s so fast, it’s hard to tell what’s going on, but then we get to the beginning, and the lady stops rewinding and presses Play. I hold my breath as I watch myself face off with Theo.

Liam’s hand glides around the small of my back, his breaths uneven as he watches Theo attack me.

“Ooo, nice!” Casey grins when I flip Theo over my shoulder, then pumps his fist in the air with a cheer when I punch Theo in the face.

“That’s one hell of a thunder punch.” Asher throws a grin over his shoulder.

“Thunder punch and sword dick.” Casey laughs. “They’re like the perfect pair.”

Asher cracks up while I frown, looking to Liam for an explanation. “Sword dick? What does that mean?”

“Nothing,” Liam growls, shoving Casey’s shoulder.

But the guy doesn’t even notice. His laughter has evaporated, his eyes locked on the screen as the rest of the video plays out. Things got messy and desperate near the end there. You can taste my fear as I scramble to get away from Theo.

When my boot smashes into his face, it’s not as satisfying as I thought it would be. I’m starting to shake again, and Liam’s hand curls around my waist, tugging me against his chest.

“It’s over now,” he murmurs. “It’s over.”

I close my eyes, exhaustion swamping me, while Casey and Asher have a quiet chat with the security man.

“It’ll be enough to convict him. It’s obvious he attacked first and she was just defending herself.” Asher points his thumb at the screen.

Let’s hope the police agree with him.

They arrive about five minutes later, and we walk out to the front entrance, where Theo is cursing up a storm and accusing Ethan of assaulting him. The head coach puts a quick stop to that before turning on the weeping woman behind him and barking at her for letting this moron in.

“He held the door for me. He was nice and smiley and helpful. I didn’t even think about it when he followed me inside.” She whimpers, dabbing at her eyes with a balled-up tissue. “He looked like he was supposed to be here.”

The coach grunts, muttering something about security not being tight enough. His dark gaze sweeps over me, and I shrink back, knowing I’m included on his list of people who should not be in here right now.

It’s a long evening as the police question everybody involved. They watch the video, and I walk through what happened all over again. The officer who interviews me is very kind, and I’m grateful for her calm manner. It’s obvious that I was just defending myself, and as I watch them finally drive away with Theo in the back of their squad car, I feel this huge weight lift off my shoulders.

My surprise date with Liam is shot, and I don’t have the energy to go out now, so we head back to Hockey House, where Mikayla has been pacing.

She yells at Ethan for not keeping her in the loop.

She gives me a fierce hug, then tells me off for not calling her immediately.

Then she rants for a while about… you know what? I don’t even know.

“She’s hangry.” I cringe, sharing a look with Ethan.

He snickers and pulls his phone from his back pocket. “Anyone up for pizza?”

A loud “Puck yeah!” echoes throughout the living room, Mikayla’s voice among the loudest as her boyfriend places an order.

I grin, smiling around at these hockey men and my lil’ best friend. I love them all so much… and it suddenly hits me that my life is in Nolan, Colorado, now. The girl who hates the cold and always dreamed of living by the beach is settling into a small, landlocked college town.

And the weirdest thing is… I couldn’t be happier about it.

Flinging my arm around Liam’s shoulders, I plant a kiss on his cheek, and as he gathers me against him, I know I’m exactly where I belong.

CHAPTER 46

LIAM

It’s been nearly a week since Rachel was attacked on the ice. She’s healed pretty fast, the bruising on her face light and barely noticeable. Thanks to her block, Theo’s knuckles only skimmed her cheek. It still riles me when I think about it, but all I have to do is picture the way she defended herself and the angst is replaced with a glowing pride.

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