Chapter 29
Islept like shit and woke up to someone ringing the doorbell repeatedly. If it was those fucking kids from down the street again, I was going to sick Mrs. Lipnicki on them. I pulled a pillow over my head hoping whoever it was would go away, but Avery’s sweet scent surrounded me.
The reminder of last night got me out of bed. Avery had asked for time, and I planned to give it to her. But what if she’d changed her mind? She could be outside right now. Without texting or calling. And without walking right in like she’d been doing for months.
Probably not Avery.
I was suddenly way less motivated to get the door. No one else was in the hallway, which was suspicious. Reece slept like the dead, but Eva at least should have been out here ready to castrate someone.
Not surprisingly, Henry was absent. She didn’t like loud noises or drama she didn’t cause.
The ringing stopped only to be replaced by pounding as I came down the stairs. I scrubbed a hand through my hair and checked to make sure I was still wearing my sweats before I opened the door.
Sunlight streamed in as I squinted at the offender. Marco stood with a fist still raised as he ogled my chest. I appreciated getting checked out as much as the next guy, but I wasn’t even fully awake yet. My poor brain couldn’t figure out a reason why he’d be on my front porch.
“What’s up, Marco?”
He blinked twice, then pushed past me to come inside. “Is Avery here?”
“Come on in,” I muttered. “No. I haven’t seen her since last night.”
I nearly tripped over the Louis Vuitton travel bag I’d missed on my first pass through the living room. No wonder I was the only one answering the door. If Stephen was here, he’d make Gavin and Eva go out for brunch.
Marco paced to the stairs as if he’d go check himself to make sure I wasn’t hiding her in my bedroom, then turned and glanced around for the first time. “I thought you had roommates.”
“So did I, but apparently, I’m the only one willing to answer the door. Why are you looking for Avery?”
“I was supposed to meet her at the Kappa party last night, but she never showed.” He shoved a hand through his hair, making part of it stand up. “I assumed she came back here and made up with you.”
I winced. “She told you about last night.”
“Nah, she texted me for backup at the party. When I suggested she just stay snuggled up with you, she got all stiff.”
“Over a text message?”
“Yeah. When she doesn’t want to talk about something, she uses her vocabulary as a weapon. Informed me she wasn’t entertaining you at the moment, and she would appreciate my discretion.”
I rubbed my chest where an ache had taken up residence. “That sounds like her. I can’t help you, though. She asked me not to contact her.”
Marco frowned. “You should ignore that request. Her asshole ex has been texting her increasingly harassing messages, but she refuses to read them.”
“So?” I would not be drawn into Marco’s drama and risk Avery cutting me off for good.
“So she was supposed to meet him at the party last night.”
“Fuck,” I spit out.
“I’m leaning that direction too. I already went by her house, and her dad says she never came home last night. If she’s not here, where is she? I didn’t see her at the party, but I did see the Easton hockey players.”
My mind rushed back to the last time I’d gone to a party to rescue Mase, and the one guy who hadn’t seemed to be as close with Kane’s crew.
“Do you know what the ex looks like?”
Marco pulled out his phone. “No, but I’m a pro at social media. Give me a minute.”
While he searched, I ran upstairs to get dressed. I had morning skate in thirty minutes, but I’d skip it if we couldn’t locate Avery before then. When I closed my bedroom door behind me, I stopped short for a second at the empty hallway. Henry hadn’t been around as much as usual. She used to be underfoot anytime Eva or Gavin left, but maybe she’d finally gotten over her separation issues.
I shrugged and hurried back to Marco.
He held his phone out to me with a triumphant grin. “Found him.”
The guy looked different with a polo shirt and dress pants, but it was definitely the same face. I’d been three feet from her ex and hadn’t realized it. Should have trusted my instincts.
“He knows Kane and the others. We got into it at a Kappa party a while ago.” I handed the phone back and pulled out mine with a sinking feeling. “Let me try to get ahold of her.”
I texted twice, then called. She didn’t read the texts or answer the phone. Marco watched me with a frown as I hung up.
“No answer, but she could be sleeping.” Even as I said the words, they felt wrong. Everything felt wrong.
Marco raised a brow. “You don’t believe that any more than I do. We need to find her. She could be in trouble.”
My phone buzzed with the alarm to leave for morning skate. Where were Reece and Mase? I checked out the window, and sure enough, Reece’s car was gone along with Gavin’s. Those assholes left without me again.
They were probably getting treatment before morning skate since Easton was using the rink before us. An idea hit me like a brick to the face. Kane would be at the arena. He knew the ex. It was our best shot at finding her.
I grabbed my keys and started toward the back door before I remembered I’d left my gear in my car the night before. Marco watched me with a bemused expression.
“Where are you going?”
“Morning skate.”
He scowled at me. “You’re not going to help me look for her?”
I nodded at the door. “The sooner you get out of my house, the sooner we can start. Easton is using the ice before us, and I have some questions for Kane about his buddy Scott.”
Marco rubbed his hands together as he preceded me out the door. “I’m coming with you.”
“I figured. Let’s go before they clear out.”
A sense of urgency built inside me until I was speeding and scowling at the lack of parking spaces close to the arena. Marco must have felt the same because he kept up with me as I jogged through the facility.
Three of my four roommates were there with Coach and a couple of other teammates watching Easton practice. I wanted to charge onto the ice and force Kane to talk, but their coach was already blowing his whistle to end their time.
Unlike the others, I wasn’t dressed out for practice, and I could feel Coach’s gaze on me as I bypassed my team to stand near the exit door. Kane smirked as he saw me and stepped to the side so the others could go past him.
“Finally come to ask me how I know about her birthmark?”
The rage was instant and all-consuming. I grabbed two handfuls of Kane’s top and shoved him back against the glass.
“Where the hell is she?”
Scrambling came from the seats behind me as my guys reacted, and the Easton team stopped filing into the locker room to head our direction. Kane waved them off, but they didn’t stop coming until I let go.
Kane adjusted his shirt, and his eyes flicked to the group of guys standing behind me before shrugging. “If you lost track of your girl, it’s not my fault.”
“She went to the same party you crashed last night,” I growled.
“Probably left with her ex, Scott,” Marco added.
He held his hands up, laughing. “He said they were old friends. She looked willing to me.”
Coach flanked me on the left, glaring daggers at Kane. “Who?”
Kane had the foresight to drop some of his attitude. “Your daughter. I knew she’d get tired of slumming it with this one, but I thought she’d stick with hockey players at least…” He trailed off, and the murderous expression on Coach’s face must have convinced him to get to the point. “Scott asked if he could borrow my dad’s place in town.”
Kane rattled off an address, and I didn’t wait. He’d confirmed Scott had Avery, and she still hadn’t responded. I sprinted for my car with my heart in my throat. Maybe Coach had missed Kane’s reference to me and Avery, but I doubted it.
I was definitely missing morning skate, and I’d have a lot of explaining to do when I got back.
To my surprise, when I reached my car, Coach, Marco, and Gavin were right behind me. Marco jumped in the passenger seat as if someone would steal it from him, but Coach shoved my door closed when I tried to open it.
“You have ten seconds to explain what’s happening.” His voice was calm, but I could see the violence lurking in his stance.
“We think Avery’s in trouble, and I’m going to make sure her asshole ex doesn’t ever touch her again.”
His teeth ground together, and he turned to Gavin. “You’re running morning skate. Make sure Dombrowski is ready to take Cole’s place in first line if necessary.”
Gavin glanced between the two of us as Coach folded himself into the backseat. “Do you need me with you?”
I knew he was asking if I needed him to call in the guys, but with Marco, and now Coach, in my car, I wanted him to focus on getting the team ready to kick Kane’s smug ass.
“We’ve got this, but thanks. I’ll keep you updated.”
Gavin clapped my shoulder, then jogged back to the arena.
Coach opened his door a crack when I didn’t move fast enough. “Get your ass in gear or I’m hotwiring this bitch.”
If I hadn’t been panicked at the thought of Avery with her manipulative, abusive ex, I would have laughed. Instead, I peeled out of the parking spot and ignored the stop sign on my way across town to make sure Avery was safe.
I didn’t care how scared she was of commitment—I was never letting her go again after this.