Page 92 of ICED
I manage a crooked smile. “And I’ve got an angry coach waiting if I’m late. Again.”
“You won’t be,” Maya says, like if she says it with enough certainty, it’ll be true.
Lila munches a strawberry, then looks up at me with serious eyes. “Bear?”
“Yeah, Jellybean?”
“Do you think my daddy set the alarm off?”
The question knocks the breath from my chest.
Maya freezes halfway through packing Lila’s bag, her back going ramrod straight. I meet her eyes over Lila’s head, and I see the flicker of fear she’s trying to keep buried under calm.
I clear my throat. “I don’t know, Jellybean. I didn’t see anything when I checked, there wasn’t anyone outside or in corridors. Could’ve been the wind, or a cat, or a branch.”
She frowns. “But what if it was him? What if he found us?”
My jaw tightens. I reach across the table, my hand warm around her small wrist. “Then he’d have to get through me first. And that’s not going to happen. You’re safe. YouandMummy.”
She stares at me a beat too long, then nods and returns to her porridge like it never happened. Maya exhales slowly and gives me a barely-there nod of thanks.
By the time we’re all out the door, we’re late.
The nursery drop-off is brisk. Lila hugs me tight, whispers, “You’re my favourite bear,” and then bounds into the room like nothing happened. Maya watches her with glassy eyes until the door swings shut. It’s the first time I’ve dropped Lila off.
“Would it be okay with you if I added you to Lila’s safe contact list? It just means you won’t get questioned if you come pick her up or…”
My heart twists with something akin to love. “Absolutely, where do I sign?”
Maya smiles and heads over to speak to a member of staff. Once the paperwork’s signed and they’ve taken my mugshot we’re all set, and I grasp Maya’s hand and lead her back out to the truck. We don’t talk much on the drive to the bakery. Maya’s staring out the window, arms wrapped tight around herself. She’s gone into defence mode.
“You alright?” I ask gently.
She nods, too fast. “Just tired.”
I want to say more, want to ask if she believes it was just a false alarm, if she’s thought about going to the police again, if she needs me to stay close today, but I don’t push. Instead, I park outside the bakery and turn to her. “I can move some stuff around this week. Come by during lunch. Sit out front. Keep an eye.”
Her lips twitch into a tiny smile. “You’d bring the bear to the bakery?”
“Always.”
She squeezes my hand. “Thanks, Owen.”
I watch her walk inside before driving off, the bakery door swinging shut behind her. The street looks normal, safe. But I check the mirrors five times before turning out.
By the time I get to the rink, I’m fifteen minutes late. Coach gives me a look like he’s ready to gut me, but says nothing. I mutter an apology, throw on my kit, and jog out onto the ice.
I skate like I’ve got something to burn. Because maybe I do. There’s only so much you can do to protect the people you love. But I’ll do every damn bit of it. Even if it means being late. Even if it means never sleeping easy again.
Because Maya and Lila are mine now.
And no one, no shadow, no man, no ghost from the past, is going to take that from me.
I’ve just peeled off my pads when I hear it. “Jackson.Office.” Coach Bentley’s voice cuts across the locker room like a blade.
A few of the guys glance up, Dylan arches a brow, Ollie winces likeoof, good luck mate, but I don’t look at any of them. Just toss my towel over my shoulder and head down the corridor, heart already thudding.
The office door clicks shut behind me and the air feels ten degrees colder. Coach leans against his desk, arms folded, expression unreadable in that way he does when he’s not shouting, worse, maybe.
