32. Lincoln
LINCOLN
I had a problem, and it came with red hair, blue eyes fringed with gold-tipped lashes, and a cocky smile that was way more disarming than it had any right to be.
That was why I was currently studying the fixture list I’d printed out, highlighted with the instances where the Cranham Kings had a home game on the same weekend as the Whelford Flames.
Because we shared a rink, it happened every now and then, and tonight was one of those times.
We’d played at home last night, and tonight, it was the turn of the Kings.
Staring down at the piece of paper, I sighed before shoving it back inside my desk drawer beneath a stack of university printouts.
Giving in to the inevitable, I grabbed a baseball cap, pulling it down low over my eyes, and threw on a hoodie.
Tugging up the hood, I grabbed my keys. Time to see my not-so-little demon in action.
At the rink, I headed to the upstairs bar, where there was a single line of stools looking down on the rink from behind the goal and a small standing area behind them.
I couldn’t get away with sitting in either the home or away stands—I was too recognisable as a Flames player and, for Cranham supporters, hated on sight.
But up here, where random members of the public milled around, some more interested in a cheap pint than the game, I could watch in peace.
Daniel had told me not to come to his games, and I knew that I’d get angry if anyone dared to hurt him, but I also wanted to see him in action.
I wanted to watch him on the ice from the POV of a spectator without viewing him through the lens of animosity that had always been there in the past. Animosity that was still there between us but was different now.
The away team filed onto the ice to heavy cheers from the small contingent of away fans, and a combination of silence and reluctant applause from the Cranham section, and then the home team came out.
Despite the fact that Cranham University was smaller than Whelford, and therefore their supporter base was even smaller than ours, the noise was deafening.
If the Kings won this game, they’d move to the top of the league, ahead of the Flames.
It was unlikely they’d lose—Cambridge were on a surprising losing streak, languishing at the bottom of the division, but there were no guarantees in hockey.
My gaze was drawn straight to number eighteen, and it remained there throughout the whole of the first period.
Daniel Hoyton on the ice was a fucking dream.
Powerful, fast, and graceful, dominating the right wing, easily outplaying and outmanoeuvring his opponents like it was nothing.
He seemed to have an instinctive bond with Ryker, the two of them working together with wordless communication, completely in sync as they created chance after chance.
When the first goal went in during a power play for the Kings, Ryker’s stick slapping it into the net after a gorgeous backhand pass from Daniel, I fist-pumped the air, a shout tearing from my throat.
“Bloody brilliant goal that were!” The man standing next to me held up his hand for a high five, and caught up in the adrenaline, I automatically slapped my palm against his.
Then something registered in my brain.
Dark beard, hoodie, baseball cap pulled down low.
It was the same man I’d seen at my game. I was sure of it.
And his gaze was trained on Daniel.
I turned back to the rink, my heart pounding. Twelve seconds left on the clock until the end of the period, and they’d never passed so slowly. My mind was racing, and alarm bells were blaring.
Daniel’s words from my uncle’s house came back to me. “Speaking of the ice, can you stop sending your creepy undercover detectives to my games? It’s really off-putting.”
If the man was here again, then that had to mean that Operation Foxglove were already investigating either Daniel or one or more of his teammates.
I wasn’t sure how many of them were involved in criminal gangs or part of the crime families, but I was betting that at least half of the team were connected in one way or another.
My phone was burning a hole in my pocket, my father’s latest text sitting at the top of my messages list, unanswered.
Dad:
You’re running out of time. Do not let me down. You know the consequences.
If the man was working with my uncle, then he might be aware of who I was. I was dressed similarly to him, with my cap pulled down low and my hood covering my head, but even so, I wasn’t naive enough to think it would disguise me if he got a proper look at my face.
Still, that wouldn’t stop me from gathering all the information I could.
When the buzzer sounded, I made my way to the bar for a pint.
The plastic pint glass would give me something to do with my hands, as well as help to hide my face when I lifted it.
When I was back in my spot, perched on a stool in the corner with my pint balanced on the narrow wooden ledge in front of me, I spoke.
“Kings fan?”
The man huffed out a breath. “Of a sort.”
“Yeah? Have you caught many of their games this season?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shake his head. “Just visiting the area.”
“Lancashire?” I guessed, and his head whipped around to mine. I quickly lifted my pint to my lips, ducking my head so my face was in shadow. Shit. I couldn’t allow him to get suspicious.
A leather-gloved finger tapped the wooden ledge next to me, and I stared down at it. “Good guess,” the man said softly, warily, and I gulped a mouthful of beer, willing my hand not to shake.
I’d never been more thankful for the second period to begin, and as other spectators filed back into the area around us, I exhaled.
But throughout the rest of the game, when I managed to tear my gaze away from Daniel, I glanced over at the man next to me, cataloguing what I could about him. He was a threat to my—my nemesis. The saying “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” wasn’t true. Not in this case.
I had to find a way to satisfy my dad and keep the people who were important to me safe. And that included my enemy, because a world without Daniel Hoyton to antagonise me would be a dull place indeed.
In the third period, I temporarily forgot about my worries when one of the Cambridge players cross-checked Daniel and he went down hard.
My fists clenched as the people around me muttered angrily, only appeased when the player received a two-minute penalty.
I watched with my heart in my throat, planning how I’d make the Cambridge player pay for hurting him, but eventually, he rose to his feet, baring his teeth in a cocky smile as he bowed and waved to the crowd.
Dickhead. I couldn’t stop myself grinning.
The man next to me huffed out a laugh. “Bit of a showman that one, isn’t he?”
“Yeah,” I murmured, still smiling as Daniel fist-bumped Kane before storming down the ice, deking around the players coming at him, and sending the puck straight into the net between the goalie’s legs.
Spinning on autopilot, I lifted my hand for a high five with the man, and as he lifted his own arm, his sleeve dropped back to reveal a sliver of skin, shiny and discoloured.
Then my gaze dipped lower to where his hoodie was slightly open, and my stomach jolted. Was that a weapons holster?
Spinning back to face the rink as quickly as I could, I sucked in a shaky breath. Everything about this detective screamed danger, and I needed to warn Daniel.
Fumbling with my phone, I angled the screen away from the man, tapping out a quick message.
Me:
Meet me after. Emergency
“Well, well, well, this is an unexpected surprise. Lincoln Bellingham, here at my game. Couldn’t stay away from me, huh? Did I dick you down that good?”
“Shut up.” Slamming my hand over Daniel’s annoying mouth, I yanked him into the shadows around the back of the rink.
Twisting my cap around so it was on backwards, I pressed him up against the wall and placed my mouth to his ear.
Despite the danger, I was only a man, and breathing in Daniel’s freshly showered skin while my body was pressed up against his and he was sliding his hands down my back…
It took every single bit of discipline and self-control I possessed to not rut up against him, get my fingers around his throat, and kiss him until he lost his breath.
Lowering my hand from his mouth, I brushed my lips over his ear, because my self-control apparently only extended so far. He exhaled shakily, all his cockiness melting away as he wrapped his arms around my back, nuzzling into the side of my throat. “Hi.”
I froze for a second, unsure what to do with this version of my enemy, but after a second, I realised that I liked it. A lot.
Ignoring the alarm bells blaring at the realisation, I drew back. “Dan. I need you to listen carefully.”
Instantly on alert, he lifted his head, studying me with his brows pulled together. “What’s wrong?”
“That man. Uh, there was a man watching your game, and I’m sure it was the same one I saw at one of my games. I think it was the undercover detective.”
“Shit.” Tugging his lip between his teeth, he released me and pulled his phone from his pocket.
“I need to give the others a heads-up.” He paused, his gaze flicking between me and his phone screen, and when he spoke again, his voice was hesitant.
“Will you tell me anything you noticed about him so I can pass it on?”
“Yeah, course I will. That’s why I asked you to meet me.”
“Oh.” His mouth curved into a small smile, and then he leaned into me, sliding his lips over mine. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
“Mmm. I thought we were reserving baby for the bedroom.”
“Did you? We never had that conversation.”
“I dunno.” He shrugged. “Feels a bit too boyfriend-y for enemies with benefits, doesn’t it?”
“Shut up,” I said again, wrapping my fingers around his nape and tugging him into me so I could kiss him properly.
We lost ourselves in each other, kissing slowly and deeply in the shadows of the building, our mouths sliding together again and again and again.
I’d never lost myself in kissing anyone like this, ever, and when we eventually drew apart, I was light-headed, and my stomach was swooping.
I knew what it meant, but I also knew that it couldn’t mean anything. Scrubbing my hand over my mouth, I stepped back, clearing my throat.
“I’ll tell you everything I can remember about him, and then I need to go,” I said. Or…I meant to say that, but what actually came out was, “Come back to mine, and I’ll tell you everything I remember.”
Fuck it. One more night with Daniel wasn’t going to hurt, was it?
The worst of the damage had already been done, and if anything, this would help to get him out of my system more quickly.
And okay, maybe I had known this was the inevitable conclusion when I’d come here tonight, after spending a very long time in the shower, thoroughly preparing myself… just in case.
“Yeah, okay.” He shifted his bag on his shoulder. “I got a lift with Kane. Lemme text him to tell him not to wait around.”
“Does your shoulder hurt? That asshole deserved more than a two-minute penalty for taking you down.”
“Awww, baby. It’s nice to know you care.”
“Baby,” I said flatly.
“Yeah, yeah. We can use it whenever, if we must.” He sighed heavily, but I could see him biting back a smile. “Not in front of anyone, though. But yeah, my shoulder’s a bit sore, but did you see my goal? Fucking epic.”
“It was,” I agreed, reaching out and taking his bag from his shoulder, slinging it over my own. My body jerked at the sudden weight, and I shot him a glare as he chuckled. “What the hell have you got in here? Rocks?”
“A dead body. Nah, just my hockey gear and some of my textbooks. I had to study today; can you believe it? Sunday’s supposed to be a day of rest. Who decided to make my assignment due date a Monday?”
I rolled my eyes. “Maybe you shouldn’t leave it until the last minute.”
“I was busy with family shit.” He pouted, batting his pretty lashes at me. Fuck me, he was so annoying.
“Come on. Let’s go, and you should stop talking before I change my mind.”
“Like you would. You haven’t been able to stop thinking about me. I bet you were there in your bed last night, wanking your big dick and wishing I was there fucking you until you couldn’t walk.”
“Do you ever shut up?” I couldn’t hold back my laughter, and he shot me a triumphant grin.
“I knew it. Don’t worry, it was the same for me. I came so hard thinking of you. I think I might’ve burst a blood vessel.”
“Please. For my sanity, will you stop talking?”
“Fine.” He darted forwards, brushing a quick, messy kiss over my lips. “I’ll stop for now, but when we get back to yours, all bets are off.”