ound echoed in the cramped basement offi

top shut. The glowing screen vanished into darkness. The bold red zero was gone.

oulders blocked the only exit. The smell of fresh ice, expensive cologne, and dark secrets flo

the closed laptop. His jaw was clenched s

was low and rough. It scra

e edges of my desk to hide my shaking hands. "Routine complia

ooked exhausted. Dark circles bruised the skin beneath his intense eyes. He did not look like the gol

omed over me. His presence was suffocating. He

aze dropped to my trembling fingers, then back up to my face. "If you w

ed by the cryptic

" he ordered. It was not an invitation.

ew my

turned around. He opened the heavy metal door and walked out into the dimly lit hallway. He left me

ersity arena was a cavern of fre

my thickest winter coat. I pulled a handmade blue crocheted beanie down over my freezing ears. It was a nervous

lyze corporate liability precedents. I needed to secure my first-class academic standing. M

hallenge. He knew I had found his secret, and instead

over my chest an

of sharp skates carving the frozen water bounced off the empty stadium seats. The sha

iversity hockey team was runn

of moving jerseys. I found n

yers were fast, but Leo was dominant. He controlled the flow of the practice. He

the movement of his teammates with terrif

prosecutor cross-examining a hostile witness. I needed to study his body language.

had bright blonde hair poking out from his helmet and a permanent, easygoing

not smil

. He stood stiffly. He brushed Asher off with a sharp, commanding gesture of his glo

ective with his anger. He was car

pieces of the puzzle w

their secret wealth. They bought expensive cars and threw lavish parties. But Leo Kincaid lived in

was powerful and massive, but he was slowly suffocating in the dark water. He was

r whistle. The sharp sou

yelled. "Kincaid, take the p

o position. The drill beg

bows on my knees. I focused all

he blade of his stick without breaking his stride. He accelerated. He flew past the center red

ario I had watched on the

my br

were flawless. But right before his stick conn

e in the massive arena noticed it. The co

I sa

three feet behind Asher's skates, crashing harmlessly i

coach shouted from th

in a universal gesture of frustration. It looked like a genuine athletic m

. I had the statisti

to create believable failures. The underground betting ring was

was ruining his own legacy. He was destroying his golden futu

histle again. "Water

heir shoulders. They began a slow, synchronized skate tow

t for

in the exact ce

echoing scrapes of skates faded away. The heav

not look at Asher. He did not look at the sc

e gripped his composite hoc

d his helmeted

ast the fifty rows of empty, blue plastic seats. He lo

o the freezing shadows be

d direct

re was undeniable. It hit me like a physical blow to the chest.

iding. He had known I was sit

ezed the rough yarn of my crocheted b

energy radiating from his silent figure promised violence. It promis

pointed a single, black finger straight

d skated into the dark tunn