Chapter Thirteen
Leila
The drive to Stormhaven takes exactly forty-three minutes, and I spend every single one of them rehearsing what I’m going to say.
By the time I pull into a parking spot across the street from my brothers’ off-campus house, I’ve gone through at least twenty different versions of this conversation, and none of them end well.
Their house is a typical college rental—a two-story with peeling paint and a front yard that’s more dirt than grass. Landon’s car is in the driveway, flanked by what looks like half the team’s vehicles taking up all the street parking out front. Great, I have an audience for this shitshow.
I kill the engine and sit there for a moment, gripping the steering wheel. I could turn around right now. Drive back to campus and pretend this conversation does not need to happen. But I’m done running, and I’m done hiding.
I climb out of the truck and hurry across the street before I can talk myself out of this. The front door is unlocked—because of course it is—and I walk in to find exactly what I expected: chaos.
The living room is packed with hockey players. Some are playing video games, others are arguing about something, and there’s an intense game of beer pong happening in the kitchen. The place smells of pizza and body spray.
“Leila?” someone says. Suddenly everyone is looking at me, and the room goes quiet.
“Where are my brothers?” I ask.
“Upstairs,” Bodhi says from where he’s lying on the couch. “Levi’s room.”
I head for the stairs, and the second-floor hallway is quieter, so I can hear their voices coming from the end of the hall. Levi’s door is cracked open, and through it I can see both my brothers sitting on his bed, controllers in their hands, playing a video game.
I knock once and push the door open.
“Leila.” Landon drops his controller and stands up. “Where the hell have you been? We’ve been calling you for days.”
“I needed space,” I say, stepping into the room and closing the door behind me. “To think.”
Levi pauses the game and turns to look at me. There’s a bruise on his jaw from where Jagger hit him, and a cut above his eyebrow that has scabbed over. “You look like shit.”
“Thanks. You too.”
He almost smiles. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I say honestly. “But I will be.”
“Good.” Landon crosses his arms over his chest. “We need to talk about what happened at that game.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here.”
“Those fucking assholes,” Levi starts. “Holt ran his mouth, and Mercer . . .” He touches his jaw. “That hit should have gotten him ejected. And Kruger—”
“I’m seeing them,” I blurt out, and the room goes dead silent.
“You’re what?” Landon seethes.
“I’m seeing them. All three of them. I came here to tell you before you hear it from someone else.”
Levi stands up so fast his controller falls to the floor. “The fuck you are!”
“Yes, I am.” I lift my chin and force myself to hold his gaze. “I like them. And I want to see where this goes.”
“Where this goes?” Levi repeats, and he laughs. “Leila, this whole thing is probably them trying to get to us through you.”
“It’s not.”
“How do you know?” Landon demands. “How could you possibly know that?”
“Because I’ve spoken to them. Because”—I take a deep breath—“they make me feel like I’m more than just your little sister.”
“You are more than our little sister,” Levi says. “You’ve always been more than that.”
“Then why do you act like I need to be protected from everything?” I shoot back. “Why do you make it impossible for me to date anyone?”
“Because we care about you,” Landon says. “Because we’ve seen how guys treat girls, especially hockey players, and we don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m nineteen. I can make my own decisions about who I spend time with.”
“Not when it’s them,” Levi says. “Anyone but them, Leila. Pick anyone else.”
“I don’t want anyone else.” My voice cracks, and I hate that I’m getting emotional. “I want them. All three of them.”
Landon’s eyes go wide. “All three? You’re—you’re dating all three of them?”
“Yes.”
“Fucking hell.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Do you hear yourself? You sound . . .”
“I sound like what?” I challenge him. “Like you two at literally every party you’ve ever been to?”
“That’s different,” Levi throws back.
“How? How is it different?”
“Because we’re . . .” He stops, clearly realizing where this is heading.
“Because you have a penis and I don’t?” My voice snaps with frustration as I step closer to him. “I know you two have shared girls multiple times, I’ve heard the stories and seen the girls leaving your room. So don’t you dare stand here and tell me it’s different when I do it.”
“It is different,” Landon insists. “Those girls, they knew what it was. It was just—”
“Just what? Just fun . . . just sex? Maybe it was about them getting to make a choice about their own bodies.” I look between them. “That’s what this is for me too. My body, my choice, and my decision.”
“Leila, they’re going to break your heart, and we’re going to have to watch it happen,” Levi says.
“It’s possible,” I admit. “Yeah, maybe they will break my heart. Maybe this whole thing will crash and burn, and I’ll regret it. But that’s my risk to take. Not yours.”
“We’re supposed to protect you,” Landon says softly.
“I don’t need you to protect me. I need you to trust me.”
Levi sinks back down onto his bed, his head in his hands. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I know you don’t understand,” I say, moving to sit next to him. Then I explain everything from the masks right up until the game, leaving out the finer details my brothers don’t need to hear.
“They shouldn’t have lied to you,” Landon says when I finish. “The masks, the whole chase thing—that was fucked up.”
“I know, and I’m still mad about that. But they were going to tell me. They wanted to tell me.”
“The things Holt said during the game—” Levi starts, but I cut him off.
“They were out of line, and he knows it. He apologized.”
“He apologized?” Levi looks at me as if I’ve grown a second head. “Jagger Holt apologized?”
“In like three hundred text messages, yes.”
Landon sits down on Levi’s other side. “This is fucking insane. You know that, right?”
“Completely,” I agree. “But since when have we Kanes ever done anything the normal way?”
Levi lets out a long breath. “If they hurt you . . .”
“If they hurt me, then I’ll deal with it. And you can say I told you so.”
“That’s not what I was going to say. I was going to say if they hurt you, they’re free game. On and off the ice, I don’t care. I’ll make their lives a living hell.”
“Ditto,” Landon says. “They break your heart, and all bets are off.”
It’s not exactly a blessing, but it’s close enough. “Okay.”
“But, Leila,” Levi continues, “you have to understand what this means. We play them four more times this season. Every game is going to be brutal. This won’t be easy.”
“I know.”
“And if it gets to be too much,” Landon says, “if you need us, we’re always here. Even if it means admitting you were right and we were wrong.”
“Which we’re not,” Levi adds. “We still think this is a terrible idea.”
“Noted.” I lean my head against his shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls.”
“You scared the shit out of us,” he says, wrapping his arm around me. “Don’t do that again.”
“I won’t.”
Landon moves to my other side and joins the hug, sandwiching me between them like when we were kids. “We love you, Leila, you know that?”
“I know. I love you guys too. Even when you’re being overprotective assholes.”
“It’s our job,” Levi says. “Comes with the brother territory.”
We sit like that for a few minutes, and slowly the tension between us eases. They’re not happy, but they will not disown me either. For right now, that’s enough.
“So,” Landon says, pulling back. “All three of them, huh?”
“Don’t start.”
“I’m just saying—that’s ambitious.”
“Landon!” I bump him away with my shoulder.
“What? I’m being supportive!” He’s grinning now, and I can see Levi fighting back a smile.
“You’re both idiots.”
“But we’re your idiots,” Levi says, ruffling my hair.
I swat his hand away. “I need to head back—I have class soon.”
They walk me downstairs, and the living room goes quiet again when we appear. Everyone is watching us, probably trying to figure out if World War III is about to break out.
“She’s fine,” Levi announces to the room. “And before any of you dipshits start to gossip, yes, she’s dating them. No, we’re not happy about it. Yes, we’re still going to destroy them on the ice. Any questions?”
Bodhi raises his hand. “Is there room for me as well? I’m down for group love.”
“Bodhi, I swear to god,” Levi starts.
“I’m kidding!” Bodhi holds up his hands in surrender as Levi jumps over the back of the sofa and pins his teammate.
I say goodbye to everyone before heading out to the truck, but I’m smiling as I pull away from the curb. For the first time since that night, I feel like maybe this crazy situation might actually work out. Or it’ll explode and ruin everything, but at least it’ll be my choice either way.
Leila
I’m going to give you a chance
Jagger
WAIT, REALLY?
Leila
Don’t make me regret it
Knox
Wait, does that mean we can see you?
Riven
I think she just pulled in the driveway
Leila
I think you better have your masks ready