Page 86 of My Pucking Crush

After I left, the idea of sitting on an island somewhere with all my money left me feeling too exposed. And anyone living in a fortress or surrounded by guards just draws attention. Belova would always outgun me.

I chose to hide in plain sight, and killed two birds with one stone. I indulged in my love of hockey. Being part of the organization, I melted into their sea of staff, coaches, trainers, and security.

With my dark gray suits, white shirts, blue ties,shades, close-cropped hair, and a menacing scowl, I looked like every other guard.

But behind my shades, my gaze tracked Max Ryan. It worked for five years. It’s still working, if Gideon and Dev can be trusted. They saw me in Vegas. So far, they’ve kept their traps shut.

In a few months, I’ll be back in the shadows. Hopefully, as part of Daria Enterprises. A place where Belova won’t dare to touch me. He’s got no reason to. It won’t bring his sister back. And if it comes down to it, I’ll give him the millions I got from Lia’s insurance.

Of course, I have one loose thread to snip.

Looking down at Max in his bed, I ask, softly, “Is that piece of crap uncle of yours still alive?”

“Yeah.” Max’s eyebrows pinch together, his voice cold and dead.

I climb into the bed next to him and his head falls into my naked lap, his warm breath on my cock. “He won’t be much longer.”

MAX DOESN’T QUESTIONmy promise to take his uncle out. Or ask details. Not that I’d give him any and put thoughts in his head that a savvy detective can force out of him.

Smiling, Max sleeps calmly in my arms all night long. Holding him is the only thing I can do to comfort him, even if it’s short-lived.

Max and I don’t have a future. He’s not ready to be out. His confessions reveal a darkness that lurks within him. A darkness from his past that I can’t change.

That uncle is going to pay, though.

Then I’ll bend the knee to House Domenico for my safety and that of my sister’s.

I glance at Max’s handsome face, relaxed in sleep, painfully aware that there’s no place in that life for a famous hockey player boyfriend.

Well...fuck.

FORTY-TWO

Max

Days later, I’m still livid that Richmond’s win against us put them in the playoffs, most likely playing against Cape May. A good team, who will get mowed down with every trick in the book, just so Richmond can face us again.

Even though I’m back on the ice, we play the last two games halfheartedly. Coach Beck brings up some players from the farm team to get major league ice time for their contracts. They’re our support system when a player goes down for any length of time. We have to keep them happy and engaged.

The regular season ends, and we have five days until Game One against Albany here in Stamford.

I grow a beard in the postseason, I follow brutal dietary rituals, and in the past, I’ve woken up in the middle of the night to run ten miles on the treadmill. I growl, I curse, I slam shit. Every loss is the end of the world, and Gilda looks at me with a glimmer of fear in her eyes.

Now I have a bodyguard who is paid to be, for the lack of a better word, up my ass. It feels like we’re in some kind of relationship. Even though it’s temporary. I have to incorporate him into my playoff routine and rituals.

Sweating from a brutal workout, I stare at the Sound. Luca left early this morning before I woke up. His cryptic note worried me, but I’ll have to get used to it. Maybe he started working for the mafia guy.

Or maybe my cold attitude and drive to win has already driven him away.

FORTY-THREE

Luca

I’m alone on this two-lane road in the backwoods of Vermont. One that makes me crazy. But not as insane as Max has been.

He’s turned into another person. Hyper-focused and intense. Speaking in one-word sentences and not looking me in the eye.

We might have taken what we have as far as it can go. I have a new life waiting for me across the border in Manhattan. In the shadows. Max loves his life of fame and glory.

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