Page 58 of Knot Dead Yet

Grabbing a few bottles of water, I opened the maintenance door to a quiet corridor. I smiled, ready to embrace her, but her chair was empty. The hall was silent.

I paused, glancing back and forth between the door I’d come through and the hall. Maybe she had to use the facilities. She wouldn’t go in the locker room. Though she could have while we were out on the ice. Did she go back to the lounge?

Taking out my cell, I texted her.

Nothing for a minute.

I sat in the chair and chugged half of a bottle of water. My head still hurt, but there was something starting to overcome it. Not just worry but dread.

Kienna was just in the bathroom or getting something to eat. The most logical answer was right ninety-nine percent of the time.

But that other one percent…

I looked at my phone again. It had been five minutes. She hadn’t even looked at my text.

This time, I tapped my screen and called her. It went straight to voicemail.

I hung up and called a second time just to be sure. When it cued me to leave a message, I said, “Kienna, it’s Alderic. Where did you go? I’m worried. I just want to know you’re okay. Please call or text me when you get this.”

The service door pushed open as I clicked to end the message. Tiergan stepped into the corridor and frowned. “Where’s Kienna?”

Casimir followed right behind Tiergan and his expression went hard. “Did you see her, Fournier?”

I shook my head. Slowly. “No. She wasn’t here when I came out. I texted and called her. No response yet.”

Casimir took out his phone and called Kienna. I could hear her voicemail come on, and he ended the call before leaving a message. “I’m going to look down the hall to the nearest bathrooms and concessions.”

“Or the VIP lounge. She could have gone back to where her father is,” I suggested and he nodded. “I’m coming with you.”

Tiergan tapped his phone. “I sent a text to Maddox and Kane.” He glanced up, worry in his expression. “Do you thinkshe left? Like left the city? She’d been talking about going to see her friend in Alaska, and now with her stalker…”

“No.”

“No way,” I said at the same time Casimir did too. After everything, I didn’t think Kienna would get up and leave without telling any of us. Even if she was afraid and wanted to get out of Winnipeg, she wouldn’t let us freak out by not letting us know.

“That stalker, do you think he found her here?” Casimir’s tone turned hard.

“No, no one but us knew she was here.” I texted Kienna again, but the previous one was still unread. Both Casimir and Tiergan were texting too, and their energy was draining the oxygen out of the hall. Worry had turned to fear and was eating at my innards.

Tiergan sat in the chair and leapt to his feet, bending and staring at a drop of something on the wall. “What’s that? Is that blood?”

I leaned closer and saw it gleam under the light. Blood. This hallway was spotless except for that one. My heart raced like a chased rabbit’s as fear turned to terror. “Merde.”

The door swung open to allow Kane and Maddox through.

“Where is she?” Kane peered down the hall.

“She’s gone. Not answering her texts or calls. And now this.” I pointed to the dot of blood.

Something flashed in Kane’s eyes which made him look more like a man out to murder than the composed captain of the team. Maddox put his face almost against the wall and breathed in the blood. A low growl vibrated dangerously from him.

“It’s Kienna’s.”

Kane’s nostrils quivered and he pointed down the corridor. “She went that way.”

We turned and started to run as the maintenance door opened again. Ewan scowled at us. “What the fuck are you all doing? There’s a lot of shit that needs to be done. The fucking coach just suspended me for the rest of the season. The whole fucking play-offs! We need to get working on getting him to change his mind. The team is screwed if the pack isn’t playing together.”

Fucking hell. Ewan probably wouldn’t have gotten suspended the rest of the season if he hadn’t mouthed off to the coach. Likely he was a dick when he met with the coach privately too. But my rude cousin was the last thing on my mind. Kienna needed us.

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