Page 135 of Blindside Sinner

“Girlfriend?!” Monroe pulls out her phone and starts scrolling. “Why is this not headline news?” She scrolls some more. “You haven’t even Instagrammed it! What the hell, Slo? What gives?”

“Because I would get fired from my very cushy, very crucial job, which I happen to need.”

Monroe sighs. “Sloan, if I had a man who looks like that looking at me, the whole world would be forced to stare at nothing but pictures of us. And if he said he wanted me to be his woman, his girlfriend, then I would be shouting it from rooftops, taking out billboards, full page ads in whatever newspapers are left in the world.” She pauses to shake her head and wipe an imaginary crumb from the table. “Girl, people wouldknow. And fuck that job! He can afford to pay your debt.”

I drop my gaze to my hands where they’re lying in my lap. “He… he doesn’t know.”

Cassie’s eyes bulge. “You mean you haven’t told him about… thedebt?”

Cassie is the kind of woman who tells everyone everything. There’s nothing left to be a secret. It’s admirable to be so open, but I’m not like that. I learned a long time ago to keep my business to myself. Now, it’s too late to do anything different.

“If I tell him now, he’ll think I’ve been lying to him. And then he’ll… try to do something.”

“Like, oh, gee, lemme think…give you the money to pay it off?”Monroe bleats. “Who would you rather owe, Sloan: hockey hunk or that creepy prick who keeps coming around asking for you?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not telling him. And no one else is, either.”

They both nod as the cook rings the bell to tell Monroe that Cassie’s omelet is finished. I’m glad I didn’t order anything.

I’m really not hungry anymore.

67

BECK

The game hasn’t started yet. It’s a good thing, too, because I can’t stop checking the stands for Sloan. She’s always there, behind the bench.

Well, almost always.

Tonight, though, there’s been no sign of her. In theory, that should help me focus on the game better, but in reality, all I can think about is how surprised she’s going to be.

“Are they here yet?” Adrian skates next to me as we do a lap around the rink. The Angels, tonight’s bad guys, haven’t hit the ice yet, but that isn’t who Adrian is asking about.

He’s asking about Sloan’s friends, Cassie and Monroe. I had tickets delivered to them as a surprise to Sloan. My mistake was in telling Colin and Adrian, who are acting like schoolboys excited for their crushes to arrive.

I check the stands again—and my heart rate instantly triples.

Because there she is. She’s flawless in Wave blue, with her auburn hair glowing like fire. When she catches me looking, shewaves. Viv’s seat is conveniently empty, and I’m praying she has better things to do, like steal candy from babies or push down grandmas in the crosswalk or whatever it is she does for fun.

Of course, as soon as I have the thought, an unpleasantly familiar head of shiny hair appears at the stairs. Viv brushes past Cassie and Monroe and takes a prim seat in her usual spot.

I guess all the babies and grandmas have been taken care of for the evening.

I force myself to look away because I gave Sloan my word. I told her we could keep this relationship between us. I wish I would’ve never agreed, though. I hate that Viv has this power over her, this fucking hold, and that there isn’t anything I can do about it.

By the time the puck is dropped, I’m focused on the game. Laser-focused. It’s Adrian and Colin who are still making goo-goo eyes at the women in the stands. At one point, Adrian stands up in the bench area and turns to look at Sloan and her friends so he can blow one of them a kiss.

One of the assistant coaches promptly yanks his ass back down to the bench as Coach scowls behind him. LaDuke is gonna be running hella sprints next practice, that’s for damn sure. I bet it’s a price he’s more than willing to pay.

We win by a goal and head off the ice while the girls and the rest of the arena are still cheering. When I walk out of the locker room with LaDuke and Colin, who have invited themselves back to my place to hang out, we find Sloan, Cassie, and Monroe waiting in the tunnel.

Sloan is careful to keep one of her friends between us at all times. I don’t know if she thinks Viv has spies or is lurking in theshadows, but I don’t like that she’s keeping her distance. It feels like I’m missing an arm to not have her next to me.

She follows me to the car, but she doesn’t walk to the passenger side. Her friends stop in a cluster a few feet away. Sloan doesn’t look at me as she mumbles toward her feet, “I’m gonna ride with them.” She jerks a thumb over her shoulder to indicate Cassie and Monroe.

I nod, even though I feel like she just slugged me in the stomach. It’s stupid and I don’t know why it matters to me, but when she walks back to her friends and waves like I’m just the guy she works for, that feeling intensifies.

What the hell?

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