Page 97 of Cold Carnage

"The Snake Pit," I muttered.

The driver nodded and pulled away from the curb. I leaned back in my seat, trying to calm the storm inside me. The city lights blurred as we sped through the streets, but my thoughts remained sharp and jagged.

I couldn't shake the image of Paige's face when she told me about Brendan. The fear in her eyes, the tremor in her voice—it gnawed at me. She didn't deserve any of this. And somehow, I felt responsible.

The car's interior buzzed with the low hum of the engine, but my phone vibrated louder. I glanced down at the screen. Notifications flooded in, texts from teammates, and unknown numbers. My gut twisted. The news had broken.

My thumb hovered over one of the messages from Leo Wolfe. He usually kept things light, but his tone seemed off.

Bro, you need to see this.

Curiosity and dread battled inside me as I clicked on the attached image. The picture loaded slowly, pixels arranging themselves into a nightmare.

It was Paige and me, tangled together in her bedroom. The granulated photo showed just enough to make out our faces, our bodies pressed close in an intimate moment. Mystomach dropped. Fury ignited like a matchstick struck against sandpaper.

Who the hell leaked this?

My mind raced through possibilities—paparazzi, some lowlife looking for a quick buck. There were laws to prevent them from getting this close to private property, but when did they ever care about laws? Rage simmered beneath my skin as I stared at the image.

I clenched my fist around my phone, knuckles white with anger. Someone had invaded our privacy and exposed something that wasn't meant for public consumption. Paige didn’t deserve this invasion; neither did I.

The Uber driver glanced back at me through the rearview mirror, probably sensing my agitation.

"Everything all right back there?" he asked.

I didn't bother answering. My mind was already spinning with thoughts of retribution. Whoever did this was going to pay—and not just in court fees or settlements. I wanted to make them feel the weight of their actions personally.

As the car sped toward The Snake Pit, I could barely focus on anything but finding out who was responsible for this mess. Every text that came in felt like another punch to the gut—a reminder that our private lives were now fodder for public gossip.

I had to find out who took that picture—I was sure there were more—and how they managed to get so close without us noticing. And when I did, they'd regret ever crossing me.

The city lights blurred past as we approached the rink, my thoughts dark and stormy like the sky before a downpour. This wasn't over—not by a long shot.

The Uber pulled up to The Snake Pit, its headlights cutting through the late afternoon. I opened the door and stepped out,the cool air a sharp contrast to the heat simmering inside me. I leaned back into the car, reaching for my wallet.

"Thanks," I muttered, handing the driver a crisp bill that was more than generous.

He looked surprised but nodded. "Appreciate it."

I closed the door and watched him drive off before pulling out my phone. I scrolled through my contacts until I found Derek's number and hit call.

The phone barely rang once before he picked up. "Hey, man! I knew you and the PR hottie would?—"

"Find out who leaked those photos," I demanded, cutting him off. “And pick up my car from Rylan’s. You know the code. Keys are in the dash.”

Derek's voice faltered. "What? Ryker, wait?—"

I didn't have time for explanations or pleasantries. I ended the call and shoved my phone back into my pocket, striding toward the entrance of the rink.

As soon as I walked inside, a few employees scattered like startled birds, their whispers trailing behind them. Their glances flicked from me to their phones and back again, no doubt buzzing with the same news that had just blindsided me.

It wasn't helping my anger. Each whisper felt like a needle prickling under my skin, each a reminder of how our private moment had been turned into a public spectacle.

I needed to see Gideon. Needed... fuck; I didn’t know what I needed.

My steps echoed through the empty halls as I made my way to his office. The usually comforting familiarity of The Snake Pit now felt suffocating. Every corner seemed to hold another pair of eyes, another set of whispers ready to judge.

Gideon's door loomed ahead, slightly ajar with light spilling out into the hallway. My fist hovered over the wood for a moment before I knocked twice and pushed it open.

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