Chapter 22
GRAYSON
Istudied the three photos, my mind going at a hundred miles an hour.
For the first time since Halloween, I felt as if I were in control.
It was like I was back on the ice, instantly calculating and dismissing a hundred different scenarios.
Something in my brain had clicked. I was fucking done with this asshole trying to scare us.
“The envelope.” I stared at Cruz with my arms folded over my chest. “Explain.”
“Payment from Big Dog for services rendered.” He said it in a bored tone, but I could see the muscle ticking in his jaw. “It’s not important. We need to know how it got here.”
It was important, but I let it go for now, because he was right about needing to know how it had ended up at the rink, with this creepy-as-fuck soundtrack mimicking Olivia and the intrusive photos.
I shot Cruz a look that said I wouldn’t be letting his comment go, and his mouth tightened, but he didn’t say anything.
Turning to Ava, who was wrapped in Micah’s arms, I dipped my head, pressing a kiss to her hair, then to Micah’s cheek.
It was a kiss of reassurance. Ava reached out to squeeze my forearm, and Micah gave me a small smile.
“Not good enough for a kiss, huh, Cross?”
This fucker.
Stepping right up to Cruz, I placed my mouth over his ear. “It has nothing to do with you being good enough. It’s to do with me being so fucking pissed at you for the shit you’ve done that I can barely stand to be around you without wanting to mess up your pretty face. Got it?”
When I drew back, I noticed his eyes were wide and dark, his nostrils flared as he exhaled harshly. “Got it,” he ground out.
“Good.” I turned back to the photos, but strong fingers wrapped around my wrist, hot breath skimming over my skin as Cruz’s face was suddenly way too close for comfort.
“You think I’m pretty?”
“Go to hell.”
“I’m already there.”
“We all are,” I muttered, jerking my wrist out of Cruz’s grip. I didn’t have time to deal with him right now. What I needed to focus on was stepping up, being the leader I was always expected to be.
“We need to consider the possibility that there might be more than one person involved.”
The silence turned suffocating.
Ava eventually broke it, her voice a little unsteady. “What makes you say that?”
“It’s just a theory, but I’m thinking about the photos.
This envelope. The texts we’ve already received.
It’s a lot for one person to put together, especially based on the timings.
” Sweeping out my hand to encompass the photos and envelope, I shook my head.
“I dunno. Maybe I’m wrong, but it would make sense if more than one individual was responsible for all of this.
I have a…a gut feeling. It’s the same one I get on the ice, and I know to trust it. ”
“Meaning what?”
I met Micah’s gaze. “Meaning… It’s time to turn the game in our favor.”
“Here’s what we’re gonna do.” Pacing up and down in front of my noticeboard, aka evidence board, I looked at each of them in turn.
Micah was stretched out on my bed, propped up against the headboard, with Ava settled between his outstretched legs, her back pressed against Micah’s chest. Despite the seriousness of the situation, my heart skipped a beat at seeing them there, so comfortable on my bed.
Two fucking gorgeous, different people, who I’d somehow come to care for equally. They looked as if they belonged there.
Then there was Cruz, sprawled out on my love seat with his arms outstretched across the backrest, all fucking nonchalant and…hot.
No way. I did not just fucking think that Cruz Martinez looks hot.
The pressure was obviously getting to me.
Clearing my throat, I resumed my pacing. “What we need to do is smoke them out. If my theory about there being more than one person is right, it should mean we have more of a chance to catch at least one of these assholes.”
“It could be more difficult, too,” Micah pointed out, and I nodded.
“Yeah. More area to cover, I know.” Cracking my knuckles, I glanced over at Cruz, who gave me a tight nod. “But if we get one, we can make them talk.”
“How do we get one?” Ava murmured.
“We smoke them out. Unfortunately, that’s gonna involve some of us being used as bait.”
Ava seemed to instantly understand where I was going with this.
Shooting upright, she slid off the bed and came to stand next to me.
There was no trace of the fear she’d shown at the rink.
No, my girl was showing her spine of steel, and now was not the time for my dick to be taking an interest, but it was really fucking hot.
“Cruz and I will be bait. That’ll be our angle. You and Micah set the trap.”
“The fuck?” Cruz flew out of his chair, his eyes darkening with rage. “No. I’m not letting you use yourself as bait. I’m not being used as bait. I’m getting this asshole.”
“Cruz. It makes sense.” Ava gently rubbed his arm, instantly managing to dial his anger down to a simmer.
“Think about it.” She curled into him, staring up at him from beneath her lashes, and he licked his lips.
Her fingers trailed from his arm to his chest, her nails dragging over the fabric of his T-shirt.
“What could be more enticing than the sight of the golden sorority girl and Blackwell U’s bad boy getting down and dirty? ”
“Fuck,” he groaned. “That’s unfair.”
She pulled him into a filthy kiss that my dick stood no chance of resisting, blatantly tenting my sweatpants. Over on the bed, Micah was in the same predicament, trying to subtly adjust himself as he watched them with blown pupils and parted lips.
When they broke apart, Cruz looked dazed, and I couldn’t help smirking. He caught my eye, and his brows rose in a challenge.
“Wouldn’t the better story be hockey’s super straight golden boy getting hot and heavy with Blackwell U’s bad boy?”
I gritted my teeth, raising my middle finger. “You wish.”
“Maybe I do.”
“There’s no fucking chance, so forget it. I’m not leaving Ava and Micah the job of catching our rat.”
Micah made a noise of protest. “I’m trained in several martial arts disciplines. I’m capable of putting a grown man on his back.”
“Are you, now?” Cruz purred, and I rolled my eyes. Crossing my room to the bed, I dipped down to brush a kiss over Micah’s lips.
“Yeah, that’s why you’re with me, baby.”
His cheeks flushed. When I straightened back up, he came with me, nipping at my jaw in a completely unexpected but incredibly hot move.
“What?” he said when he realized everyone was staring at him. His cheeks darkened further. “You two were kissing, and I thought me and Gray—you know.”
“Is anyone capable of getting through a life-or-death conversation without getting a boner?” Cruz wondered aloud.
“I don’t have a dick, so.” Ava shrugged.
“Yeah, but we make you wet, princess.”
She shut him up with another kiss, which was lucky for him because my preferred way to stop him talking would have been a lot less pleasurable.
“Okay.” Clearing my throat again, loudly, I banged my fist on my desk to get everyone’s attention.
“Listen up. Here’s the plan. Ava and Cruz will get into a compromising situation that our stalker won’t be able to resist. Me and Micah will scout the area, and hopefully we’ll get lucky.
If not, we have the backup of Cruz’s shady little deal. ”
His jaw clenched. Yeah. I wasn’t gonna let that drop.
“We have locks on all our doors, and the window alarms I set up last week, but I think we should set up some more backup options for this because we know the threat will be coming from outside.” Micah tapped his finger against his lips, thinking.
“If we pick the location beforehand, we can set up cameras. Motion sensor ones.”
“Good idea. We need to make sure we don’t get caught doing it.”
I nodded at Cruz’s remark. “We’ll be careful.”
His gaze slid to mine. “You’ll be careful when it comes to the main event. I won’t be able to help you.”
“We will,” I replied, knowing what he was really asking was for me to take care of Micah. Micah, though…he could handle himself, and I’d make sure we took every precaution we could. I wasn’t going to put any of us in danger if I could help it.
“Okay. We have a plan.” Ava smiled at me. “We—”
A loud banging at the door cut off whatever else she was going to say. Motioning for everyone to stay quiet, I unlocked my door and cracked it open, finding Smith in the hallway with a wide grin on his face.
“You gonna stay locked away in your room all day with your girlfriend and boyfriends, or are you gonna come down and be social with us? We haven’t seen you in forever, man. Not off the ice.”
I glared at the bastard guilt-tripping me, and then his words sank in. “Girlfriend and boyfriends? The fuck, Smith?”
“Saw you sneaking them up to your room. Figured you were doing some freaky shit up here.”
“We are.” Cruz nudged me out of the way, pulling the door a little wider. His body was hot and solid against my side. “We’re summoning a demon to suck out your soul when you’re asleep.”
“Kinky.” He was undeterred. “Just kidding about the boyfriend and girlfriend thing, although if that’s what you’re into, that’s totally cool. I’m not kidding about you being social, though.” His gaze flicked to Cruz. “Your guests can join if they wanna.”
I sighed, defeated. There was no chance I could deter him now. “Yeah. I’ll come down. Give me a few to wrap things up.”
There was no possible way I could have all three of them around my teammates without serious questions, and we’d been under enough pressure today. Closing the door, I shrugged helplessly.
“Duty calls,” Ava said. Wrapping her arms around my shoulders, she leaned up to kiss my cheek. “We’ll leave now. Thank you for today. I think…for the first time, I feel hope.”
Hope.
It was all we had, and it had to be enough.