Page 144 of Wrong Pucking Player

“Don’t anger me, Cyrus.” I don’t even realize I’m in his face. I’m just there, towering over him as I watch his eyes go wide at our confrontation. It’s taking everything in my fucking soul not to punch him.

All because it would make Kenzie sad if I did.

“Your ignorance is going to steal the joy out of everything if you keep acting like a boy instead of a man,” I hiss as I inch even closer. “You think Kenzie wasn’t smart enough to get an internship anywhere else? Get this offer in any other sport? Do you think team nurses are only in hockey? It’s two essential things you need for her position, Cyrus… to be a nurse and find a team that needs a healthcare provider for injuries and emergencies. She was in Toronto. She could have gotten plenty of offers there. She could have done her internship with the Toronto Maple Leafs if she wanted. Yet she came all the way back here. The small town that really hasn’t done shit for her.”

He holds back whatever he wants to say, which is a good thing because I have no more patience for him.

I have to find Kenzie.

“What’s stopping her from leaving here? Her bitch of an aunt who takes her money and demands she gets grants just so she can enjoy stealing more money from her like it’s free? Oh, it has to be the community. The same pricks who compare her to her popular best friend, who’s apparently better looking than her, only because O’Riley and Winchester are fighting over her, making it seem as if she’s the golden grail no one else can touch. How about you? The man she’s had a crush on and has fucked, has yearned to date but keeps telling her he’s not ready. Keeps denying to the world that you’re a thing. There are only so many times before someone gets tired of that cycle shit!”

I take a step forward, forcing him to take a step back.

Then another step and another, until Cyrus is forced to press his back against the thick white pillar behind him.

“When everyone around her is dismissing her importance and making her feel like her presence wasn’t missed unless they benefited from it, why the fuck did she come back?”

He can’t answer me.

There’s no way he can argue with me.

No more games.

“You want a taste of your own medicine?” I whisper and lean over until I can speak lowly into his ear. “You only came back here ‘cause you had no choice, right?”

I catch the way his body grows still, the sight prompting me to grin as I’m sure my eyes are dark with malicious intent.

I want to make him hurt, but I don’t need to do that physically.

“Vertigo is a pain in the ass, isn’t it?” He’s holding his breath now, which leaves me feeling powerful.An addiction I can see why my older brother enjoys the fuck out of it.“The world spinning when you least expect it. In the car. On the ice. A condition that only gets worse before it gets better. So simple, but it’s expensive as fuck to get it treated professionally. Everyone in this town said you’d become what Winchester is now. The golden boy with blue eyes, blonde hair, rich elite heritage, who has an amazing future that will be filled with nothing but success.”

I paint it all out, so my next words have the most real impact.

“Yet here he is, our equipment manager. Forced to be two teams towel boy instead of strapping those skates up and being on the ice with us.”

He’s fast, but I’m faster, my instincts kicking in as I lean back to avoid his punch but have him in a choke hold in seconds.

“Armani!” Leo hisses and walks in close. “We can’t do this here.”

“Oh, we can,” I emphasize and lean right into Wyatt’s face. “You think I can’t get the building manager to wipe out the camera footage with a simple phone call? Erase that I was even here on the property this very night. You naive pieces of shit. Things can’t be done because you act fucking oblivious to the dark side of this small town. Act like you don’t know shit, but that ain’t true, is it Cyrus Jr.?”

He bites his bottom lip hard but doesn’t even fight my grip, even as I tighten it.

“You think I don’t know the reason why your father just chills with Johnson all the time? Why he’s always at their place, like a bodyguard, ensuring those he cares for are always protected by a watchful eye? He doesn’t want them falling into the clutches this town has to offer. That the rich are desperate to hide from the poor and middle class. He finds peace being how he is, but even he isn’t ignorant. He knows if you act blind for too long, you’ll gain your vision back when those who made it blossom in color are no longer present, leaving your world in nothing but black and white.”

“I can’t bring her into this dark world,” he struggles to speak those words while his face is red as fuck.

“And you think the world she’s living in is any brighter?” I question before letting him go. He gasps for air as I shake my head. “Surrounded by druggies. Around fuckers who only want to pin her in the woods and rape her the first chance they get. You think our world is something to protect her from, but with money, you can protect whoever you want. With power, people have no choice but to bow and acknowledge your worth. With connections, everyone will stop what they’re doing to complete your simple request. You can be an elite and keep those you love alive, well, and happy without them being at an arm’s length, Cyrus.”

I’m tired of the conversation.

“You better pray I find Kenzie in one piece,” I declare. “Or God help you, for you’ll be dealing with more than just a bit of dizzy spells.”

“The moment she knows about your family, she’ll distance herself from you.”

I pause in turning around, just to give him a tilt of my head.

Then I smile like a sick fool.

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