Page 31 of Iced Out
The laptop snapped shut so hard it echoed through the small room. I grabbed my phone, thumb shaking as I pulled the image up again and stormed out.
Twenty minutes later, after booking it across town, I was standing in the rink’s hallway that still buzzed with post-practice noise. Skate guards clanged as a few stragglers from the team exited the ice. Laughter spilled from the locker rooms.
I spotted him instantly—Luke, leaning against a wall, one earbud in, scrolling through his phone as if the world didn’t just shift on its axis.
He didn’t see me coming. Good. I shoved my phone against his chest, screen up.
His head snapped up. “What the hell?”
“What is this?”
His brow furrowed as he looked down. The image loaded. His hand froze.
“Where did you get this?” he asked, voice low.
“No. Don’t do that. Don’t act surprised.” I stepped in. “That’s my mom. Standing next to the guy your dad called a trusted exec. The one who vanished without so much as a fucking farewell party. And behind them?Lorne. You know that’s not good. Ever.” My voice shook. “If he’s there, it means something went sideways.Youknow that.”
“You’re reading into things that aren’t there.” Luke’s expression didn’t change. Not much. But something locked behind his eyes. “And that picture? That’s not news.”
“Oh, so we’re just pretending it’s fine that your family buried the truth about a man who disappeared? That my mom was there—literally in the picture—during the ‘restructuring’?”
His jaw flexed. “Your mother took money that wasn’t hers. She disappeared. She left chaos behind.”
“You don’t know anything about her.”
“I know what my father told me.”
I scoffed. “And he’s a credible source now? Must be nice, playing loyal son while your entire legacy’s rotting from the inside.” I wanted to scream that Darren Langley was dead, but that was too far. And it was clear he didn’t know. I couldn’t trust him, not with how at odds we were.
Luke stepped closer, shoulders squared, voice cutting. “She was involved. With Langley. With whatever happened. She knew where the money went.”
“She ran because she was scared.” My throat tightened. “You think I knew what was happening? All I knew was we had to leave—again. Another town, more burned bridges. I didn’t know—” My breath caught. “I left you without saying goodbye because I didn’t have a choice.”
He stared at me. Silent. Then: “You ran with her.”
The words sliced deeper than I expected and made me complicit, as though he believed I’d known all along.
I staggered back a step. “You have no idea what it was like. What the fuck did you expect me to do—stay behind and live in a cardboard box behind the arena? What other option did I have but to follow my mom? I don’t have a trust fund at my disposal like some people do.”
His gaze flicked away. Just for a second. Then back. But it was enough.
“You think I wanted any of this?” My voice cracked, but I didn’t stop. “I’ve been carrying this weight for a while. And now I find out your family’s version of events was never the full story?” I knew I wasn’t making sense to him because he didn’t have the full story. Neither did I, but I had a hell of a lot more than he did.
He didn’t answer. Didn’t argue. Just turned and walked away. No apology. No closure. Just… gone.
I stood there, the image still glowing on my phone, heart jackhammering against my ribs. Every part of me vibrating with the awful, gut-deep realization that this wasn’t about school rivalries or reputations anymore. And somehow, Elise was wading in just as deep.
This was blood-deep. Legacy-deep. And whatever I found next might not just burn bridges. It might blow up the whole damn town.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
LUKE
The shift hit the second I stepped inside. The locker room dipped into silence, as if I’d stepped into a conversation I wasn’t meant to hear. My presence was something they hadn’t prepared for.
Logan, never one to shut the hell up, leaned back on the bench and threw out a smirk that was too damn pleased with itself. “You’re getting sloppy, King.”
“She’s not yours to mess with, asshole. Stay the fuck away from her.” The rest I left in my stare. It shut him the hell up, and he bent his head, finished unlacing his skates, and left the locker room.
