20. Like In A Horror Movie #2
The thin brunette looks as pale as a sheet. I don’t know her, but she looks vaguely familiar. Maybe we have some classes together, or I’ve seen her at the food court, or something.
She stops a couple of feet away from our group, folding her arms around her middle.
If she’s coming from the restroom, she might have seen Bex.
I’m not the only one who had that thought. Connor approaches her and asks.
“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you. But we’re waiting for my girl—I mean my roommate Bex. She said she was going to the bathroom. Have you seen her by any chance? She’s been there a while.”
The woman tenses up, looking around as if she were worried about something.
Luke intervenes when there’s no answer from the stranger. “Look, it’s fine if you haven’t seen her. But she’s slightly shorter than you, blonde and very pretty. We’re twins.” He smiles, implying that being twins makes him pretty by default.
“Hmm, I… there was a blonde girl in the bathroom. She came out of her stall just as I was leaving. She should be here any second.”
There’s almost a sigh of collective relief at her words, but I can’t help but pick up on the woman’s demeanor.
She keeps looking around, the tension in her posture increasing with every passing second. And I’m still racking my brain trying to figure out where I know her from.
“Not to be nosy,” I say with my most polite tone. “But the arena is about to close down for the night. Are you waiting for someone or is there anywhere we can give you a ride to?”
My question seems to make it worse, as she tightens her own hold on her middle.
I swear I asked nicely. I know how to speak to women; I just usually choose not to.
She must feel everyone’s eyes on her because she eventually answers my question.
“I’m just waiting for my fiancé. He should come out any second.”
Her gaze goes toward the opposite end of the arena’s entrance, where the locker rooms are located.
“Is your fiancé a player?” I ask.
That must be where I remember her from if she’s dating one of my teammates.
Luke, who’s better than me at keeping tabs on everyone’s love lives, turns to look at her again.
“If you’re dating a player, we’re the only ones left here.
Is your fiancé going to the Zeta house party?
And by the way, who are you engaged to? No one made any announcements about it, and as team captain, I like to keep track of this stuff. ”
She takes a step back, obviously put out by Luke’s question.
“I’m not dating one of your teammates. My fiancé is the captain of the Bridgeport Tigers, Kurt Priestly. Look, I don’t want any trouble, ok? I’m just waiting for him to finish showering and we’ll leave. We don’t need another fight.”
“Shit.”
I don’t know who says that, but I share that fucking sentiment with every cell in my body. The second she says that bastard’s name, I remember where I saw her.
That’s the girl who got that spot on the dancing reality show that Bex was supposed to do before she left her father’s agency. The same girl who posted those horrible things about Bex and who encouraged her followers to come after her.
A part of me would like to give her a piece of my mind about what a shitty best friend she is. But there’s another, more urgent thought in my mind.
“Priestly is still here? Fuck!”
I’m not the only one who realizes that we need to find Bex as soon as possible. Hopefully before her ex finds her.
My army training kicks in, and I take control of the situation. We should go over every possibility and make sure that we find Bex sooner rather than later. Hopefully sooner than Priestly.
“Jamie, Luke, you go see if Priestly is still in the locker room. Corey, go to that back door and see if Bex left from there. It’s unlikely, but we need to cover all our bases.
Candace, can you wait here with… Aisha, right?
” When Aisha confirms I got her name right, I slap Connor on the back.
“You come with me and let’s check the restroom. ”
I hope for Priestly’s sake that he’s still in the locker room. Because if he isn’t and if he’s so much as said one harsh word to Bex? The beating he took tonight on the ice will feel like a Swedish massage compared to what I’m gonna do to him.
Connor and I cover the length of the hallway with long, quick strides.
We’re about to get to the end where the bathrooms are, running past the concession stands when the lights go out.
“Shit.” Connor mutters as his phone’s flashlight comes on just one second before mine.
“Let’s check the bathroom first.” I suggest, but a noise that seems to be coming from around the corner gets my attention. “What was that?”
Connor must have heard it too, because he signals to be quiet and listens.
It sounds like a scream.
“Fuck.” We say at the same time, sprinting forward as if we had the devil on our heels.
As we round the corner, all we can see is the back of someone tall who looks like they’re leaning against the wall.
I hesitate for a second, but that’s when the man starts moving, as if he were shaking something, and I spot a flash of blonde hair.
“Bex!” I yell, pumping my legs to get to them before it’s too late.
Connor is right by my side as we run for our lives.
“No slut gets to leave me at the altar, making me look like a fool in front of the entire world.” He grunts one second before we’re on him.
The one thing I’ll never forget, as long as I live, is the desperate gurgle coming from Bex’s throat as she tries to pry his hands from around her neck.
Connor grabs him by the back of his shirt, yanking him away from Bex, and the first thing I see is the hockey mask covering his face.
I put myself between the man and Bex.
Connor takes her into his arms, and once I know that he has and she’s safe with him, I focus my attention on Priestly.
Cold, hard fury is coursing through me, and I clench my fists as I look into the dark, vacant stare of the mask.
“Be a fucking man and drop that mask, Priestly.” I growl, clenching my hands into fists. “Let’s see how scary you are against someone your own size.”
The piece of shit takes off the mask, throwing it on the floor.
“What’s it to you, McKendrick?” he snarls.
“Isn’t Rebecca dating Hart, the man-whore of your team?
Or is she letting you fuck her too, on the side?
You should have seen her when we lived together.
I had been wanting her way before her father decided that we were a perfect match.
But it was like I had to get in line. All my teammates wanted her; every man who lived in our house was bending over backwards to get her attention.
If it hadn’t been for her father’s no touch rule, I bet she would have fucked them all.
But I got there first. I took her virginity.
You should have seen how easy it was to convince her to give it up to me.
It was disgusting how much she wanted it.
So I had no choice but to teach her a lesson after we were done. ”
Bex is crying softly in Connor’s arms at the revolting words that come out of her ex’s mouth.
“And rather than learning how to stay in her lane and who owns her, what did the filthy little slut do? She ran away one hour before the wedding. No warning, not even a goodbye note. Nothing. She left me there at the altar, looking like a fucking loser. So you see, I have to make her pay.”
This guy is a fucking psycho. “Do you know what makes you look like a fucking loser, Priestly? It’s putting your hands on a woman when she doesn’t want you to or to cause harm.
That’s why Bex ran. What you should have done is learn from your mistakes, but you didn’t.
You stalked her, terrorized her and tried to hurt her again.
Twice. I’m afraid you’re the one who needs to learn a lesson, motherfucker.
If a woman doesn’t want you, you move the fuck on.
Even if it hurts, even if it wounds your pride. ”
The bastard’s mouth curves in a smirk. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience, Sergeant. You and I aren’t that different, after all.”
I move so fast that I take him by surprise. I grab him by the collar of his shirt and sink my fist into his face with all my strength. Before he has a chance to react, I hit him again and again.
My already sore knuckles are screaming at me, but I don’t give a fuck. “We. Are. Nothing. Alike.” I grunt with each hit.
Priestly crumbles to the ground, and I straddle him. My hands are as bloody as his face at this point, but I want to make sure he’s never going to go near Bex again.
I lift my fist, ready to strike, but a small, delicate hand lands on my shoulder, and I know it’s her even before I turn to look at her.
“Keene, stop. Please. You’re going to kill him.” Her voice is a whisper, barely audible over the deafening sound of my pulse roaring in my ears.
“Do you know how dangerous it is to touch someone while they’re fighting?” I glare at her, still putting all my weight on Priestly’s chest.
Bex’s eyes are two huge pools of fear and distress. “Why, are you going to hit me?”
“I would never.” I answer honestly. “But if I hadn’t seen you, it could have happened by accident.”
She squeezes my shoulder. “Please stop hitting him. He’s not going to be able to hurt me right now; you made sure of it.”
One of Priestly’s eyes is swollen shut, but he opens the other one right at that moment to look at her.
“Slut.” He gurgles, as blood trickles down from one side of his mouth, forming a couple of bubbles in the effort to speak.
“You fucking piece of shit.” I seethe, determined to break all his teeth.
But Bex’s hand is still on my shoulder, grounding me. “Keene, he isn’t worth it.”
“Let me be the judge of that.” I argue, but she doesn’t budge.
“The worst thing that can happen to him is being exposed for the monster he is. Lose his career and everything he’s worked so hard for. Death would be the easy way out.”