Page 15 of Puck Princess

“Owen’s hot sister?” Heath furrows his brow in an attempt to form thoughts.

If Owen hears him say that, the Scythes will be down two team members.

“Yes.”

“The one with the baby?” Lachlan asks.

“Yes. Have you seen her?”

“Oh yeah, she’s here.” Heath nods casually, taking another swig from his mug.

I’m getting impatient. “Wherehere?”

“She was with Miles at the bar,” he says before belching. “But I think they left.”

My heart plummets. “Together?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Lachlan shakes his head. “Fuckin’ Miles. Bro’s halfway down the aisle, and he’s still gettin’ all the chicks.”

Shit. I turn to leave, already elbowing my way through the crowd. “Get an Uber home tonight, please,” I call back over my shoulder.

“Awww, look at her,” Heath babbles. “Not even working for the team anymore and she’s still taking care of us.”

I hustle back out to the sidewalk, but it’s just as crowded outside as it is inside. People are talking, vaping, bar hopping. The only thing I don’t see is Miles or Summer.

“You lookin’ for someone, sweetheart?” the bouncer asks with a tip of his head. He’s a large man dressed in solid black. His head is shaved and his thick arms are sleeved in old tattoos that have all faded to the same shade of green.

“I’m looking for a hockey player. Big guy—he plays hockey for the Scythes.”

“Honey, half the people here play hockey for the Scythes. You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

“Miles Solomon. He was with a girl about my height—reddish blonde hair, probably wearing a hoodie.” There’s no guarantee Summer was still in incognito mode, but I have a feeling.

He points down the side of the building. “They went that way.”

I rush down the alley without so much as a “thank you,” but there’s no time for niceties. The crowd thins out the farther from the doors I get, but it’s still pretty dense. I’m still scanning each face I pass, praying I find Summer’s.

When I near the back of the building, I stop, defeat tugging my mouth into a frown. I pull my phone out and try to call Owen again. Nothing.

They’re gone. Miles took her somewhere and…

I can’t even let myself finish the thought.

I’m considering whether I can call the police without looking inside when I look up… and there they are.

Across the street in the alley behind what looks like an abandoned building, I see the familiar, hulking shape of Miles Solomon looming over someone much smaller than he is.

Quickly and quietly, I make my way over, sticking to the shadows so they won’t see me coming.

As I get closer, I hear voices.

“You promised me it would be different,” Summer says.

“I didn’t promise you shit. You took everything the wrong way.”

“Oh, okay. So, when you came so hard you got teary-eyed and then told me you loved me, how was I supposed to take that?”