“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I have you figured out.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I shot back defensively. I didn’t like anyone making a statement like that. I wasn’t transparent. No one knew the real me.

“I know you because we’re both hiding deep pain. I see it in you.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I crossed my arms over my chest, realized that was a defensive posture, and uncrossed them. I was a badass, damn it. Whatever deep pain I hid was mine and mine alone. This guy who’d barely been around me was not able to see through me. Not in the least.

Steele shrugged. “I’m sure you do.” He shot me a knowing smile, stood, and left the practice rink. Steele was wrong. I was strong, and I’d overcome the demons of my past.

No one knew what I hid inside.

Chapter 12—New Problem

~~Geneva~~

We were one game into a four-game road trip. The Sockeyes won the first game against Tampa two to one. Jock was magnificent at goal, and Axel scored in the third. I was happy for both of them.

We flew out of Tampa and landed in Miami that evening. We had a blessed two days before the next game, which allowed me a little downtime. I was exhausted. I’d always prided myself on being in great physical shape, and I was, but this job consisted of long hours while working quickly to meet the needs of the team, especially when the players were on the ice.

I went straight to bed after we unloaded equipment and set up for tomorrow’s practice. By the time I crawled between the sheets, I was exhausted.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was wide awake.

Since I was awake, I might as well do a little stalking of my own.

I opened up Facebook on my phone and searched for her name. Surprisingly, she hadn’t unfriended or blocked me. There for all to see was a drunken, rambling video claiming Jock was the love of her life, and how she’d made a big mistake with one of his teammates. Most of what she said didn’t make sense, but the video was disturbing nevertheless.

She didn’t mention names, but it wasn’t a stretch to guess who she was referring to. The post wasn’t public, thank God. I immediately browsed her friend list to determine who might see this. She’d never been close to any of the WAGs, and there weren’t any mutual friends. Jock had blocked her a week ago because she’d been harassing him, but someone would most likely point this post out to him. Maybe those who saw would’ve already heard the gossip and consider it old news. Or maybe the team would decide Axel was more trouble than he was worth and send him back down.

The thought of Axel going away depressed me more than I cared to admit to myself, yet that sinking, sick feeling rolling around in the pit of my stomach should’ve been ample proof.