Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
SINCLAIR
Elenna winced. "That is a complicated situation. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "I mean, I need to talk to all three of them. I'm just not sure how they're going to take it. Javey seems really sweet, but the more I see of him, the more I realise he's volatile."
I exhaled softly. "Phoenix is volatile around everyone else, I can only guess how he might react. I don't know if his angry facade in public is the real him or… Or not. As for Coast, you know what he's like. Does he seem like the sort to settle down to you?"
"No," she admitted. "But I would have said the same about Aidan, Finley and Orion. none of them were the settling down type, until they were."
"Until they met you," I said. "And fell head over heels in love." I tilted my head at her and fluttered my eyelashes.
She flushed slightly. She didn't seem to realise how gorgeous she was. She was even cuter when her face was as pink as it was right now. "If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else."
"That's bullshit and you know it." I waved my pass at the panel beside the door leading into the arena. The light flashed green and the doors unlocked.
"None of those guys would have looked twice at anyone else." I stepped aside to let her in, and closed the door behind us.
"Finley and Orion might have looked twice at each other." She shrugged.
"I doubt that, but that's another thing." I gestured for her to follow me to the PR office. With any luck, we'd be in there first.
"Should I be worried?" She pushed her bag higher up her shoulder, and gave me a smile.
"Not at all." I stepped in through the doorway and glanced around. Only a couple of people were here, but they were busy on their laptops, or with phones to their ears. We wouldn't be overheard for now.
I slipped my bag under my desk and spoke in a low voice. "How did you know Finley and Orion were interested in each other?"
She frowned. "It was Aidan who realised it first. He encouraged them to explore their feelings. He likes to…guide the three of us."
There obviously was more to it, but I didn't pry. I was probably overstepping as it was.
If Coast and Phoenix knew I was even alluding to any attraction between them, they could be pissed off. Whatever may develop between us, might be over before it began.
"So they needed some encouragement?" I asked. "Do you think they would have come together without it?" I realised what I just said, and made a face. "No pun intended."
She laughed. "I'm not sure that you didn't intend that pun, but I don't know. I feel like Aidan gave them—I don't know—permission to be themselves. Does that make sense? It was something they had to choose to do, and to know that we weren't going to judge them for it."
"Right," I said slowly.
That made sense. Coast and Phoenix were judged on a daily basis for their skills on the ice and their behaviour off it. People would definitely judge if they were in a relationship with me and with each other.
I'd seen how the press treated Aidan and Elenna, wanting to know about their relationship, and that was before Finley and Orion were also involved. Now, they were even more voracious.
So far, the four of them managed to avoid the worst. Would that be different with two players? Or three? Fans were more invested in them than they were in the head coach or equipment manager. Especially those who harboured secret desires to become involved with them.
I saw it all the time after games, when the guys were out celebrating. Puck bunnies would swarm them the moment they stepped into Hazards, offering them everything from blow jobs to having their babies.
If they got involved with me, that would put me in the firing line. I could deal with that. Having their relationships with each other put under the microscope? That was a different story.
Elenna sat on the corner of my desk. "Do I want to know who we're talking about here?" she asked cautiously. There was a fine line between satisfying curiosity, and being too nosy.
I glanced around. "You can probably guess. Just don't go saying anything, all right?"
"Of course not," she said quickly. "When have I been known to spill anyone's secrets?"
I gave her a quick hug. "Never. That's what makes you such a good friend. I can tell you anything, and you won't judge me, or run off and tell anyone. Including Aidan, right?"
She chewed her lip. "If it impacts the team in some way that I think he has to know…"
"I'd tell him myself," I said firmly. "It doesn't, I promise." I leaned my hip against my desk. "Although—"
"Although, what?"
"Please don't read any more into this than there already is." I cocked my head and silently begged.
"Sinclair, if you're in trouble in some way, you know you can come to me. Whatever you need, I'm here for you."
"I'm not in trouble," I said quickly. "Not exactly."
"Are you pregnant?" she asked.
"What? Fuck no." That would be a whole other complication I didn't need any time soon. I sucked in a breath and told her how Javey was following me, including him watching me with Phoenix and Coast.
"Sinclair," she said slowly. "He's stalking you? He seemed so, I don't know. Shy and sweet."
"He is," I said. "There's just…a whole other side to him."
"Evidently," she said dryly. "He doesn't sound sweet at all, he sounds dangerous."
"He's not dangerous," I argued. "Not to me, at least."
"What about to Coast and Phoenix?" she asked. "What if he gets jealous of them, and decides to go after them?"
"I'm starting to think I shouldn't have told you." I sighed.
"You definitely should." She put a hand on my arm. "I'm just worried about you, that's all. Stalkers aren't usually known for being reasonable or rational. Or hinged, for that matter. It sounds to me like he needs some professional help."
For some reason, her words made me angry.
"You don't know him," I snapped. "He's not like that. He's just… Intense."
Not to mention obsessive and possessive. But not in a way that would put me in danger. "He's harmless, I promise."
"I don't want those to be famous last words.
" She squeezed my arm. "It's not wrong for me to be worried about you, is it?
If you thought there was nothing to worry about, you wouldn't have been hesitant to tell me in the first place.
Maybe you should stay away from him and, I don't know, come, and stay with me and the guys. "
"The last thing I want is to be your fifth wheel," I said. "If I feel unsafe, I can go and stay with Wren."
"Please do that," she said. "Or stay with Coast or Phoenix."
Now things were about to get awkward.
"About Coast and his apartment," I started slowly. "He might have been attacked there and had to kill a couple of men."
She tilted her head at me. "Sinclair…"
I waved her down, "I know, I know. He can take care of himself. And so can I. You know that. Not long ago, you were in exactly the same position, getting involved with Orion. And Aidan, for that matter."
"I remember, and then there was that whole attack on the arena," she said. "The last thing I want is for that to happen again. While the Fiorellis are after Coast, it's a possibility. They won't stop coming until he's dead, or they are."
"All the more reason for him to be around Phoenix and me," I said. "And Javey. Safety in numbers and all that."
I put a hand over hers. "I know you're worried about me. I love you for that. Believe me, I'm worried about me, too. And you. And Wren, because she's associated with us. And…"
I stopped and frowned. "Maybe we should lock ourselves away somewhere and hide until the Fiorellis are all gone."
She smiled softly. "That was what we used to say. Finley wanted us to run off to some remote island and spend our days in the sun, drinking cocktails and fucking."
"Finley is a redhead, that wouldn't end well for him," I said. It would go about as well for me. "That does sound very enticing, though. If you decide to do that, can I come? I wouldn't mind being the fifth wheel if the island is big enough."
"I have a feeling we need an island with an ice hockey rink, so we can bring everyone," she said. "Wren will want to come along too. And, in spite of them dancing around each other, I think she'd want to bring Tiger along and fuck knows who else."
"This island is sounding very crowded." I took my hand off hers and pulled out my laptop to boot it up.
She laughed. "It is, isn't it? It might be easier to deal with the Fiorellis. How many of them are left?"
I counted them off on my fingers. "Nicholas, Celine, Sawyer, Kaya. Amity if you want to count her, but she stays right out of the family business now she's with Lucas Brantley."
"And all of their associates," she said on an exhale. "Assuming they have loyalty to their employers. They may jump ship the moment it's sinking hard enough."
"I would have thought that's already happening," I said. "Not enough to stop people from attacking Coast. I assume he's filling Aidan in on all the details as we speak."
"If he hasn't done it already," she agreed. "Aidan will want to know. He's going to be pissed off. He hates it when people go after his players."
I smiled. "For someone so angry a lot of the time, he's such a teddy bear, isn't he?"
"He really is, but don't say that to his face." She smiled softly, like a woman madly in love. "He sees himself as big bad Coach Draeger. Scourge of hockey players everywhere. Not to mention the opposition. I think he likes to imagine them lying awake at night, shaking in their skates."
"I'm one hundred percent certain, that's exactly what happens," I said jokingly. "I'm quaking just thinking about him yelling at me."
I'd probably yell back at him. I didn't take shit from anyone, not even the Demons’ head coach. Sinclair Rooney wasn't that easily intimidated.
Although, if I was, it would be by Aidan. He was a daunting man. He'd softened slightly around the edges since he got together with Elenna. Soft, like a meat cleaver.
Okay, not very soft, but slightly less inclined to be as hard on the players as he used to. Of course, that could also be attributed to the fact that, under his leadership, they were actually winning. Whatever he was doing, it was clearly working.
"I can tell," she said, with a smile. "Do me a favour and be careful, okay? And if you need anything, any time, day or night, you have my number. Use it if you need to. I'll come and help you or send the guys. If you need all four of us, that's what you'll get. All right?"
"You're the best," I told her. "I will definitely call you if I need you."
I hoped never to need her.