Page 76 of Enticing

I wrap her in my arms and press my lips to her freezing head.

I could carry her inside, and I will if she doesn’t move, but I want to give her a chance first. “Please, Addie... tell me what’s happening.”

“Gavin called.” The words are cold and detached. “My ex... He wants the girls.”

“Fuck no. He can’t have them,” I argue, and she finally looks up at me.

“I love you, Leo.” She finally looks up at me, but it’s with hollow eyes. “I love you for the way you love them more than any man ever has and for the way you love me... But you can’t fix this.”

“What aren’t you telling me, Adelaide?” As men, you’re taught to fear very little. The world is a bad place, but you’re the bigger badass. And you believe that until the woman you love looks at you, broken. Then you fucking fear what did that to her almost as much as you should fear the raging beast inside that needs to fix it for her.

“Gavin only ever wanted my money. He was supposed to be a hockey star. It’s what Jerry groomed him to be his entire life?—”

“Wait,” I interrupt her, trying to follow the trail of breadcrumbs she’s leaving. “Gavin, your ex, and Jerry, the Bay Hawks CFO? Why did Jerry care?”

“Because Jerry is Gavin’s father. By the time Gavin blew out his ACL his senior year in college, I was already six-months pregnant with Izzy, and I should have seen the difference. He went from owning the world to hating it, and some days me too.” She pulls herself up into a ball on my lap and leans her entire body against mine, still refusing to look at me. “But back then, the abuse was verbal. It was easier to rationalize that away.”

Was. My entire body goes on high alert.Wasmeans eventually it was something else, and I’m going to kill him.

“Wait... is your ex Gavin Dryson?” I remember hearing about him after he blew out his knee during the Frozen Four finals that year.

She nods, and my muscles flex and tense, and I force myself to stay quiet.

If I lose my shit now, I may lose her too.

“He was never interested in Izzy. He started scouting for the Bay Hawks because Daddy gave him a job, and that meant he was gone more often than he was home most of the year. WhenI realized that was a relief, I knew I needed to leave him. But then my parents died, and the media storm that followed was almost as devastating as losing them was. The constant barrage of reporters was overwhelming, the loss of our parents was heartbreaking, and Gavin turned on the charm. He made me believe he was there for Izzy and me, and he helped me through it.”

I lift her chin and force her to look at me.

Her beautiful eyes are bloodshot, and her cold face is tearstained.

“But it was all a lie.” She shoves her hands inside my jacket and finally locks her eyes on mine. “When I told him I was pregnant with Lennox, he asked me to marry him, and I told him no.” She shakes, but it’s not from the cold... This woman is shaking in fear, and I swear to fucking God, I’m going to kill him. “We’d never talked about marriage, and deep down, I didn’t trust him enough to marry him.”

A single tear streams down her cheek as she looks at me.

“He didn’t really want to marry me. He wanted access to my trust fund. He wanted access to the money and the team, and when I turned him down, he lost his mind and beat me before he threw me down the stairs.” Her breath catches in her throat as she shakes in my arms, and my entire fucking body goes cold. “He broke my nose, crack three ribs, and fractured my arm. And he left me at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious and pregnant, like a fucking psychopath.”

I’ve never wanted to kill a man before, but I want to kill this one.

“And now he wants my girls.”

“We won’t let him have them, Adelaide. I promise you that.”

“He’s mad, Leo. Mad I married you when I wouldn’t marry him. And he’s going to use the girls to get to me,” she cries.

“You’re not the only one who comes from a powerful family, sweetheart. We’ll do whatever we have to do to keep you and the girls safe.” Next steps start coming together in my mind as a plan takes shape. “I love Coraline, but we need to get an actual attorney involved in this who doesn’t have anything to do with your family or the Bay Hawks.”

“I know...” Her first sob echoes off the snow-covered lake behind us as she breaks. “He can’t have them, Leo. He never laid a finger on Izzy, but that doesn’t mean he won’t. And he’s never even met Lennox. I need my inheritance, so I can pay him off. He’s only ever been after the money. Well, he can have it if it gets him out of our lives.”

“Baby... I need you to get mad. I understand you’re scared, but I swear to God, Adelaide, I won’t let him touch you or the girls. He’s never going to hurt anyone again. Now, I need you to get angry because it’s time to destroy his whole fucking family, and tomorrow, we’re going to figure out a way to make that happen. His days of terrorizing you are over.” I lift her in my arms and stand. “Time to go inside and get you warmed up.”

“I’m scared, Leo,” she whispers, and that admission fucking eviscerates me.

Gavin fucking Dryson is a dead man walking.

Even though it’s a new year, Leo Sinclair is still at the top of his hockey career. How long can this winning streak continue? Every other team in the league will have their eyes on our guys just like this reporter does. I mean, we might be watching for two different reasons, but that’s our little secret…

#KroydonKronicles #EyesOnThePrize #Winning

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