Page 25 of Cold Carnage

I saw it in his eyes too—that flicker of something more, something he was trying to suppress. The intensity of ourargument had brought us closer, and for a moment, neither of us spoke. The silence was filled with everything we weren’t saying.

I swallowed hard, trying to shake off the feeling. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by him, not now. Not ever.

“I need to do my job without interference or accusations,” I repeated, my voice steadier this time.

Ryker’s gaze bore into mine, his jaw still clenched. “And I need to know you’re not hiding anything.”

“I’m not,” I said firmly. “And you have no right to dig into my past like that.”

“Trust is earned.”

“So is respect,” I shot back.

We stood there, locked in a silent standoff, neither willing to back down. My heart pounded in my chest, the mix of anger and something else making it hard to breathe. Ryker took a deep breath and finally stepped back.

“Fine,” he muttered, his tone resigned but still guarded.

“Fine,” I echoed, trying to steady my racing heart.

“I’m not here to ruin your reputation, Ryker,” I said, my voice softer now. “I’m here to help. Whether you like it or not, that’s what I’m doing. Whether you trust me. And regardless of what happened between me and Brendan, between me and–"

Ryker stared at me, the tension in his jaw slowly easing. For a moment, it seemed like the fight was leaving him, replaced by something quieter, something neither of us wanted to admit.

“Just stay out of things you shouldn’t be involved in,” he muttered, though his tone lacked the bite from before. He turned to leave but not before glancing back at me one last time, his eyes lingering a little too long.

As the door clicked shut behind him, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My pulse raced, not just from the argument but from the confusing mix of emotions Ryker hadstirred in me. I sat back down, staring at the screen, but it took me a few moments to refocus on the work in front of me.

I typed out a few sentences of the press release before deleting them again. The words felt hollow and inadequate compared to the storm brewing inside me. I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my temples as if that could erase the memory of Ryker’s intense gaze.

Why did he get under my skin so easily? It wasn’t just his accusations or his infuriating arrogance. There was something else—something about the way he looked at me that made my heart pound in a way it shouldn’t.

I shook my head.

No.

Now wasn't the time for distractions.

Especially from him.

Chapter 8

Ryker

The next morning, I sat in Gideon Strong’s office, arms crossed and a scowl etched on my face. I wasn’t in the mood for whatever lecture was coming my way, especially after the long night I’d had. The tension with Paige hadn’t left me, and now I was facing the man pulling all the strings behind the scenes.

Gideon leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable as he tapped his pen against the desk. “You know why I called you in here, right?”

I grunted. “I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

His eyes narrowed. “Adams. She’s in charge of handling the PR fallout from the scandal. And you, Kane, are going to do exactly what she tells you to do.”

I bristled, my scowl deepening. “I know how to handle the media. I don’t need?—”

“You’re not handling anything,” he interrupted, his voice sharp. “Paige is. And I don’t care if you think you can handle it better or if you’ve got some personal issue with her. You’re going to follow her lead, and you’re not going to give her a hard time about it.”

I clenched my fists, trying to keep my temper in check. “I’m not giving her a hard time. I just think?—”

“I don’t care what you think,” Gideon snapped. “This is bigger than you, Ryker. This is about the team. You might be the captain on the ice, but off the ice, Paige is the one calling the shots right now. And if I hear you’ve been making her job any harder than it already is, there’s going to be a problem. Understood?”

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