Page 25 of Knot Dead Yet

My fingers drummed on the armrest of the front passenger seat in Tiergan’s SUV. I resisted the urge to bark at him to go faster, but he was already weaving in and out of busy downtown traffic.

“Do you think they’ll let us drink tonight? I could really use something hard after that practice today.” Ewan scrolled on his cell. The screen’s light reflected on his face and highlighted his bored expression.

“Even if they let us, we shouldn’t. We need to make a good impression on Mr. Birk.” I stared out the window and found my lips curling into a smile at the sight of a pink billboard. Pink like Kienna’s hair. Everything I saw reminded me of her. The laughing woman on the dental ad, the puffy coat in the store display window, and the scent of the first spring flowers in the boxes along the main street.

Dammit. I needed to stop thinking with my Alpha hormones and focus on hockey. Our careers were incredibly important to all of us, and winning the play-offs this year would be big on all levels.

“I’ve got my Canadian good mannered schmoozing ready to go.” Tiergan flashed me a grin and straightened his tie with one hand.

“What you have is a clip-on,” Maddox playfully snarked, and we all laughed. Some tension lifted, and I could breathe a little easier.

It would all go well. Mr. Birk seemed easy-going and open to talk about anything we wanted. The only distraction would be Kienna, but she said she was leaving Winnipeg to visit a friend. As much as I wanted to chain her to me, I pulled back from that urge. If she was gone, then we’d all be able to fully focus on kicking Chicago’s ass.

The cousins yammered on the rest of the way. Tiergan found a spot around the corner from the restaurant to park. It irked me to see Casimir’s sports car already there, but screw him. We were here for the new owner and for the team.

The steakhouse was an old house converted into a fancy establishment. Our coats were taken at the door, and since the whole place had been rented out just for our team and staff, we were allowed to wander in to find our own table to sit.

Greeting our teammates as we walked through, I knew exactly where I wanted to sit. Mr. Birk was at the big table in the main dining room with the coach to one side and Kienna on the other at the end of the table. She fiddled with her napkin as the two men chatted, looking a little lost. I gritted my teeth as my instincts demanded I move a chair to sit with her and forced all my attention on her father.

“Mr. Birk.” I smiled and extended my hand as we approached. “It’s good to see you again. Thank you so much for treating the team to a fine meal tonight.”

“Kane, great to see you. It’s my pleasure.” Birk stood and shook my hand. I moved out of the way for the rest of the pack to greet him.

Someone had already taken the chair directly across from Kienna, even though they weren’t at the table at the moment, and so I took the seat across from her father. I caught her peering at me from the corners of her eyes, but she turned her head away and pretended to check her phone when I looked at her.

Once the whole pack was seated, Birk motioned to the menus. “Order anything you want. It’s on me. I want the team full of energy from a good dinner before the game tomorrow night.”

“We’re going to kick their asses!” Ewan hooted, receiving a stern look from the coach.

Birk just laughed and raised his glass. “Here’s to the Rampage’s win against the Flurry!”

We all raised our glasses—which only had water in them at the moment—and toasted to what we were sure would be a victory. Once Birk put down his glass, Kienna tugged on his sleeve and whispered something to him.

He patted her hand. “Later, honey. Have a nice steak and we’ll talk when we get back to the hotel.”

Kienna’s jaw hardened as her father turned away from her. Her shoulders drooped and she stared at the phone in her hands again. Yet her fingers didn’t move, and the screen seemed blank.

While Birk seemed relaxed and in a good mood, Kienna was not. The tension between them was lost on her father. What was going on? Though she was schooling her pretty face to remain neutral, she was no doubt upset. Her lips pulled down and her gorgeous green eyes lost some of their gleam. I didn’t want to judge Birk as a father having just met him, but Kienna was unhappy. He needed to fix it.

Fuck. I wanted to fix it.

Tiergan, who sat on my left, nudged me and subtly nodded toward Kienna. No doubt he sensed her misery too. Maddox was at the other end of the table staring at her with his hands clenched in fists on his lap. At least the cousins were chatting up Birk and hopefully making sure he didn’t notice how the Alphas on his team were distracted by his daughter.

I gave my head a minute shake to Tiergan. Unless Birk brought her into the conversation, we shouldn’t talk to her. No matter what was happening between him and Kienna, she was still an unclaimed Omega and we were Alphas. As her escort, Birk would have to make an introduction if he wanted to do so.

Casimir walked in from another room with an open wine bottle in hand. He fully ignored us and smiled at the coach and Mr. Birk. “I selected their best vintage.” He displayed the alcohol to the two men. “A Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Shall I pour for you?”

The guy was playing it smooth. He was doing exactly as he should, as much as it presently irked me. If there wasn’t all the tension over Kienna between us, I would have been pleased how a teammate was treating our new owner. But Casimir had taken the seat nearest to Kienna. It should bemyseat. Thank goodness Maddox was at the other end of the table with the naked fury on his face. Hell, I wondered what my own expression revealed. I glanced at Alderic and jerked my gaze to Maddox to let him know to keep an eye on him. The last thing we needed was a fight right here in the restaurant.

“Excellent choice, Casimir.” Birk nodded his approval and held up his wine glass to be filled.

Casimir poured wine for Birk and the coach and then motioned to Kienna. “Mr. Birk, may I offer your daughter some wine?”

My fingers dug into my thighs, wrinkling my pants. A low growl rumbled from Maddox.

Fucking hell. We could not let this night go wrong. If Birk kicked any of us off the team, we were screwed. We needed every single one of us to win against Chicago.

If Birk noticed the growl or any reaction from us, he didn’t mention it. He dipped his head to Casimir. “You can ask—”

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