Page 169 of Game Misconduct
I sink into the chair across from him and stare at the drink in my hand. “Started around media day. No, I take that back. For me, it started the first time I met her. When she marched into my apartment in Boston and gave me an ultimatum.”
“What was the ultimatum?”
I lean back in the chair. “Forty-eight hours to sign or go out as a washed-up has been.”
One side of his mouth quirks up. “Sounds like Carrington.”
I blow out a breath that’s half sigh, half laugh. “Yep, that’s her. But we fought like hell against it. We just couldn’t stay away from each other. Didn’t mean for it to happen.”
Jace lifts a brow. “But it did.”
“Yeah.” I take a sip and let the fire burn its way down. “Shemade me feel something I haven’t in years. Like I mattered. Like I wasn’t just the guy people whisper about when they think I can’t hear.”
Jace doesn’t say anything. He lets me talk.
“We kept it quiet. Thought we could control it. But the board found out. And then the Boston story leaked. Timing was too clean. I thought…I thought maybe she’d told someone.”
He winces, just slightly. “You accused her?”
“I didn’t say the words.” I glance at the keycard again. “But I didn’t stop her from believing I did initially.”
Jace leans back, jaw ticking. “Tell me what happened in Boston. I’ve heard the rumors. I want the truth.”
I don’t want to relive it. But if I don’t say it now, I never will.
“There was this rookie,” I start, voice low. “Kid was smart, fast, played with his heart on his sleeve. The kind you bet your money on early.”
Jace nods once.
“He also happened to be gay,” I continue. “Didn’t tell the press, but some of the vets figured it out. One in particular—Joshua Leonard—made it his personal mission to break him.”
Jace’s face darkens. “Jesus.”
“I caught Leonard cornering him in the weight room one night. Slurs. Threats. Shit that doesn’t belong in a locker room, or anywhere else.” My grip tightens around the glass. “I lost it. Pinned him to the wall. Told him if he came near the kid again, I’d break his jaw.”
“And that’s what got you benched?”
“That, and not keeping quiet when they told me to.” I lift my gaze to Jace’s. “The team swept it under the rug. PR nightmare, they said. Bad for the brand. They told the rookie to request a trade. They told me to shut up and sit down.”
“And you didn’t.”
“No. I took the heat. Took the suspension. Didn’t say a word publicly, because the rookie didn’t want his story out. But I stillgot labeled as the problem.” My throat tightens. “Then Carrington gave me a chance. Puts me back on the ice. I let her in—and the past followed me anyway.”
Jace blows out a slow breath. “So when it leaked, you assumed it was her.”
“I wanted to believe she wouldn’t. But part of me…” I trail off. “I’ve been betrayed before. When you’re used to it, you start looking for it.”
Silence stretches. Jace finally picks up the bourbon and takes a measured sip.
“You’re still an idiot,” he says quietly. “But I get it now.”
I nod once, jaw tight.
“She didn’t leak it,” he adds. “You know that, right?”
“I do now. But I already broke her trust. Not only with not believing her but then I essentially broke up with her in front of the board. Told them we were over.”
“So you’re an idiot and an asshole.”
