Page 10 of Inked Adonis

An hour later,sweat drips down my face as I tear across the ice. My breathing comes in heavy bursts, but it’s not enough. A workout isn’t worth shit unless I’m teetering on the edge of cardiac arrest.

I cut across the ice for the closest puck, imagining it’s Ilya’s head as I wind up and rip a sizzling shot into the net. Every opposing player that dares to stand in my way is my father’s sour disapproval. I scorch the rink under my skates, picturing that it’s Katerina lying below me, being torn to shreds.

It was Myles’s idea to come to the rink, but I’m not even sure where he is until I hear someone applauding from the stands.

Myles is sitting behind the penalty box, free of gear and hair damp from a shower. I float across the rink towards him.

“When did you hit the showers?”

“Half an hour ago.” He smirks. “You had some demons to exorcize. Plus, I didn’t feel like getting shoulder-checked into next week again.”

I should probably apologize, but we both know I won’t. Myles knew what he signed up for when he suggested hockey. He knows how I play.

I join him in the stands, shedding gear as I go. My t-shirt is soaked through with sweat, clinging to every muscle like a second skin. I empty half my water bottle over my head and let it sluice down my chest before drinking the rest.

“So.” Myles leans back, studying me with those too-observant eyes. “Did you work out your brother issues, or do we need to talk about it?”

Myles misses nothing. It’s an admirable quality for my head of security to have.

As my friend, it makes him insufferable.

“There’s nothing to work out.” I scrub a towel over my face. “I already assumed Ilya and Kat were still fucking around. Now, I have proof. Why should I give a shit?”

“Because you loved them both once.”

The laugh that rips from my throat is sharp enough to cut glass. “I thought I did. Now I’m not so sure. Ilya was there from the beginning—I just didn’t see it.”

That memory is seared in my mind. We were in Moscow for the summer, and when Ilya found out I was going to the rink to meet Kat, he begged to come along. I thought it was to play hockey. The ice was the one thread that connected me, my half-brother, and our father. The one place we could share common ground.

I was dead fucking wrong about that.

It took three years of marriage to realize that while I was grinding myself to dust trying to impress everyone—Kat, my father, even Ilya—my brother was sneaking around behind my back.

If I hadn’t been the eldest son, she probably would’ve married him instead. As it was, she settled for the inheritance that came with my ring while secretly riding my brother’s dick.

She played me for a fool.

I’m not the kind of man who forgives that.

Myles stands, clapping my shoulder with a hand that’s equal parts sympathy and warning. “They’ve had a good run, brother, but it’s all coming to an end soon.”

“Count on it.” I crack my neck from side to side. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Myles leaves, but I stave off the shower for a little while. The longer I stay in this frozen wasteland, the longer I can pretend the outside world doesn’t exist.

I fish out my phone, bracing for whatever fresh hell awaits in my inbox. Maybe a goodbye letter from that traitor Danovic.

Instead, there’s a text from an unknown number.

My first instinct is to delete it. Probably just another spam bot trying to sell me an extended car warranty. But I’m in no rush to rejoin civilization, so I tap it open.

A voice recording. Three minutes long.

I hesitate. My thumb hovers over the play button. I have a fucked-up history with this shit. Some things aren’t meant to be seen. Aren’t meant to be heard. Three minutes is only threeminutes—but I know better than anyone that it doesn’t take long to ruin everything.

A few minutes is all it takes to change your life.

A few minutes is all it takes to burn everything you know to the ground.

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