Page 67 of Expose on the Ice

"No," I cut him off, grabbing his arm. "Follow me."

I lead him to a quiet corner of the arena, my mind racing. I’ve built up the courage to confront him during the last period, since I’d discovered he was the mole. And as we reach a secluded spot, I take a breath and turn to face him.

"I know what you’ve been doing," I say, my voice low but firm. "You’re the one who betrayed Carter, aren’t you?"

Tank’s eyes widen, a flicker of panic crossing his face before he schools his expression. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Cut the crap, Tank," I snap. "You’ve been leaking information to my editor, Frank. And you stole my notebook, didn’t you?"

It looks like he might try to deny it, but his facade crumbles, his shoulders sagging as he lets out a heavy sigh. "How did you figure it out?"

"I overheard you talking to Frank," I say, my suspicions confirmed. "But why? Why would you do this to your teammates? To Carter?"

Tank’s eyes dart around, ensuring we’re alone before he speaks. "I didn’t have a choice, Lily. I… I got in over my head with some gambling debts."

My stomach churns as the pieces fall into place. "So you sold Carter? Your team? Your friends? Me?"

"I never meant for it to go this far, but they threatened to break my knees if I didn’t pay up," Tank says, his voice barely above a whisper. "It was just supposed to be a few harmless details at first. But then Frank wanted more, and I… I couldn’t stop."

An icy dread settles over me as I remember the recently destroyed notebook in my apartment. The one with Carter’s deepest secret. "You didn’t?—

"I’m sorry, Lily," he interrupts, shame clear in his eyes. "I broke into your apartment. I found the other notebook."

"No," I breathe, horror washing over me as my world tilts on its axis. "Tank, I just burned that notebook. Tell me you didn’t give Frank what was in it."

His silence is all the answer I need.

"It’s too late," he finally says, unable to meet my gaze. "Frank has already paid me for it and the story is set to go live tonight."

I feel like I’m going to be sick. Only a few days after I’d won Carter, and we’d started to forge a path together – toward romance, toward a solution – it was all going to explode, his deepest secrets splashed across the headlines.

"You do not know what you’ve done," I say, my voice shaking with anger and fear. "Carter’s life is about to be turned upside down because of you."

Tank’s face crumples. "I’m sorry, Lily. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just… I didn’t know what else to do…"

I shake my head, disgust and pity warring within me. "You need to tell Carter. He deserves to hear it from you before this hits the news."

"I can’t," Tank says, panic flashing in his eyes. "He’ll never forgive me."

"You’re right," I say coldly. "But you owe him the truth."

Tank’s eyes are filled with remorse, but it does little to quell the anger bubbling up inside me. "I’m so sorry, Lily. Frank… he kept pushing for more."

"Frank," I spit the name like it’s poison. "That bastard set us both up, didn’t he?"

Tank nods miserably. "You don’t know the half of it… he said you were on thin ice at the paper."

I laugh. "That’s no state secret."

"No," Tank says, shaking his head. "He told me you’d lose your job next week."

My heart plummets. "What?"

"He told me he’d decided a month ago, but he kept you in place so I could get your notes. Now he has everything he wanted, he doesn’t need you."

I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. All this time, I thought I was making progress, that I was doing my job well. Even though I wouldn’t break the story on the cover-up in Carter’s past, I’d been committed to finding another story, another angle. But Frank had already decided.

"God, I’m such an idiot," I mutter, running a hand through my hair. "He’s been playing me, using me as a pawn in his twisted game."

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