Page 298 of Wrong Pucking Player

“Now, Josephine. Why would you come all the way here to see me?” she asks with a loving smile that makes her wrinkled face light up with happiness. “You’re supposed to be in Moscow, raising your daughter.”

“Grandma Harvey… I’m not…”

She cups my cheeks before plopping a kiss on each of them.

“You haven’t aged a bit, my friend. It’s been years! Decades!” She looks beyond satisfied with my presence. “I told you to bring Sofiya to Strattonville. She’d be best friends with my grandson, Ace. He’s grown into a man now. He’s not into the things we used to do to survive, you know. Oh, I wish I could bring you to him. Did you come with your husband?”

“Um…” Just go with it. “Yes. I did, actually. Ace, your grandson actually brought us out here to find you.”

“Oh, did he!” She’s trying not to shake in happiness. “Where’s my sweet boy? He has a very important game today. He said he’d come back and tell me the good news when he’s done celebrating with his boys. Maybe then you can introduce Sofiya to him. I think he’s not taken yet. I can’t remember.”

“That’s okay. Why don’t we get off the ice and ask him ourselves, hmm?” I offer my hand, but she laughs and begins to turn the other way.

“Don’t be silly. I’ve skated on this very ice for sixty years. I can get there all by myself. Just you watch.”

“Alright,” I don’t want to upset her, but my eyes are glued to her every movement as she moves with her bare feet as though she’s skating.

I wonder what she’s picturing in her mind as she moves her hands and arms just a little. Her movements, despite being unsteady, still prove this isn’t her first time doing this.

Especially with her bare feet.

She’s only inches from the rocky surface of safety when I see Oscar and Wyatt emerge from the forest, completely out of breath.

The sight of them makes me sigh in relief. If they’re here, that means Leo and Oliver must be back at the house attending to Katherine, which means more help is on the way.

With Grandma Harvey off the ice, she’s safe from injury, and I can testify on Katherine’s behalf that she was set up and attacked.

All this meddling could get Frankie behind bars, which is exactly what he deserves with how he almost got away with killing Katherine and potentially Grandma Harvey.

“Take Grandma Harvey to safety,” I urge them as I slowly start to make my way back. Now that I’m not running off the high of adrenaline, I realize walking on the ice with running shoes is a mission of balance, coordination, core strength, and not-so-exhausted limbs.

I’m failing that third part but making it fucking work.

My ears catch onto the sound of ambulances and police sirens, making me turn my head to witness a police car screeching to a stop before revealing Officer Melody, Officer Klettskarð, and even Chief Tobias rushing out of the vehicle. He looks my way while his two special force officers run to help Grandma Harvey, who’s safely in Oscar’s company.

Even from this distance, I can see he’s thankful that I’m safe from his expression before he pulls out a radio and calls for what I assume is more assistance.

This is obviously going to become a full manhunt investigation now that someone outside of our secret crew was involved and put at risk.

Bad timing when Ace is in the hospital, too.

Wyatt is making his way further down toward the ice, his eyes locked on me like a hawk. He looks relieved, but there’s that darkness in the depths of his eyes that tells me he’s on high alert.

“Man. I think I wouldn’t be good at this gig,” I whisper to myself, only to look down at my feet and freeze up.

What the…

A single red dot.

“GUN!” I scream just as the sound pops off and echoes across the vast ice. I scream when something hits my calf— A hiss of curses leaving my lips as I crouch down to rip out the dart that hit my left calf.

I glare at it before lifting my head to see the panic happening on dry land where the officers are shuffling off the rocky ground after dropping down from my warning.

Officers Melody and Klettskarð are pulling Grandma Harvey away, leaving Oscar free to race down toward the ice while Wyatt already has his gun out and is searching for the target.

His wild stormy eyes briefly lock on my frightened ones before they notice what I’m holding in my grasp.

Then his eyes dilate with fear, making me wonder what the fuck just hit me.

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