“I could have gone to the police about my car…” I counter, holding my ground, “… I knew who stole it. Yet, I waited days to even tell my dad it was missing. I lied to my family, the police, and the insurance company to cover for Killian. I’m not going to say anything. Ever. So, you need to stop being such a dick to me.” I push my hands to my hips, glaring at him. “Okay?”
Killian chuckles from behind me, and so does Nate, who’s sitting on the couch next to Chase and across from Roman, who has his thick arms folded across his chest.
Chase runs his thumb along his bottom lip. It’s equal parts sexy and intimidating.
Lord help the woman who ends up with this one.
He presses his palms to the couch and comes to his full height in front of me. I feel so small in comparison. Dark sleeves of tattoos cover his arms, the same mess of swirly black lines of ink as Killian. All of his friends have tattoos. It’s as if it’s a requirement to join their crew.
Chase glances over my shoulder at Killian. A silent communication is exchanged between them, one I can’t see with my back facing Killian.
Nate nods and then walks over to the fridge, looking over his shoulder at me with the door open. “You like beer, Jade?”
“Yeah. Who doesn’t?”
“You look more like the champagne type,” Chase says in his smart-ass tone.
I flash a devious smile at him. “Nope, never liked it. And I don’t like caviar either.”
His stupid smirk is back, and I want to slap it from his handsome face. With several beers in his hand, Nate approaches us. Shockingly, Chase takes two beers from his hand and passes one to Killian before giving me the other. I swear I hear Killian let out a breath of air behind me. Whether he will admit it or not, I know his friend’s hatred toward me was bothering him.
“You’re okay, rich girl,” Chase says, clanking our bottles together. “Just don’t do or say anything stupid about our business.”
I chug some of my beer, eyes fixed on him. “Don’t call me rich girl, and we’ll be okay.”
The entire room erupts in a fit of laughter—Chase included. He’s a tough nut to crack, but with enough time, I’m sure he’ll grow on me.
“I like this one,” Nate says to Killian as we sit on the couch next to him. He leans in close to me and says, “No one ever challenges Chase. You got some balls on you, Jade.”
Killian hooks his arm around my back and pulls me into his chest, his delicious scent filling my nostrils. He kisses my forehead, his fingers digging into my side.
Without exchanging any words, I feel his relief wash over him. We now have a place where we can be together without anyone asking questions, a place where Killian truly feels at home. And because of him, I get the same feeling every time we’re together.
Chapter Fifteen
Killian
After I grab a sandwich from the buffet, I walk over to the table by the window where my teammates have dinner together. Most of the time, I skip eating in the cafeteria. The food isn’t that good, and it’s a waste of money. But I have a few hours to kill, and Shannon hasn’t been at the house lately cooking for Jamie, so that means the fridge is pretty much empty, and I’m starving.
“Look who bothered to show,” Drake says smirking at me. “I thought you were too cool to eat in the caf.”
I roll my eyes at him and sit next to Jamie. He’s the only one who never gives me a hard time.
“Don’t listen to him,” Jamie says, his mouth full of food. “You can sit with us whenever you want.”
I unwrap my sandwich and glance over at Preston, Tucker, and Trent giving them a quick tip of my head to acknowledge them.
“Have you read the latest Dethroned post?” Tucker asks me.
My blood runs cold from the mention of the blogger who goes by the name The Queen. She’s been attacking my teammates since the start of hockey season and for no apparent reason. So far, she’s called out Preston for dating our coach’s daughter, Tucker for eating pot brownies at a frat party, Drake for sending dick pics to random chicks, and Tucker and Trent for unknowingly having sex with the same girl.
“No,” I say. “Who’s she going after this time?”
Please don’t be me.
If anyone were to ever find out about my extracurricular activities, my life and career would be over in a second. I stay under the radar on campus for a reason. The less people notice me, the more I hope to avoid any unwanted attention. People talk about me, I know they do, but I never do anything to put myself in the spotlight. It’s more out of curiosity that I hear my name whispered across campus. Everyone wants to know more about me, and Jade’s no exception. I wasn’t surprised at the time that was what she wanted from me, but I’m also glad I took the chance on her.