“Then tell her that.”

“She deleted her Facebook, changed her phone number, and when I called the studio she’s working at in Florida, her aunt told me to fuck off.”

“She’ll be here all week.”

“And she’ll stay far away from me or behind Avery.”

Baylor nodded. “Maybe you can pull her aside?”

Baylor was a no-holds-barred kind of gal. She got what she wanted, when she wanted it, and did it fully with all her heart. She loved like that too. She was fiercely protective of Markus, as he was of her, but he couldn’t take the pity that was in her eyes. He knew she just wanted to fix the situation, to make things better for him, but as his mama always said, “You made your bed, now you have to lie in it.” He never should have been close enough to Mekena’s sister to allow it to happen. He should have run the other way. He knew her reputation, and he knew that she was jealous of Mekena because of how smart and classically beautiful she was.

He didn’t try hard enough, and because of that, he lost a girl he really cared for. If he saw her this weekend, he’d try. He’d talk to her, apologize for breaking her heart. He’d ask for her forgiveness, though, he doubted she’d ever give it to him. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve her. But maybe, just maybe, he’d get what he asked for. And if he did, maybe it would help.

Maybe he could finally move on.

Swallowing hard, he shrugged. “If I even get a chance, I will. Maybe I’ll use my main man Dawson as a distraction.” He smiled down at his godson, and the baby just gazed up at him as Baylor laughed.

“He is a damn good distraction,” she said proudly, and he grinned.

“Yeah, he is,” he agreed, planting a soft kiss to his head before looking back to his momma. Even with the fact that her child almost killed her during his birth, she was still smiling. Still glowing. She had so much to worry about. There was no reason to add his stresses and issues to that. “Don’t worry about me, Bay. I got this.”

She scoffed. “I have no doubts. I only hope you get what you want.”

“I will,” he answered.

He just hoped he was right.

“I’m glad you made it.”

Markus looked behind him to see Mrs. Adler leaning against the boards, a grin on her face. Her nose was a little pink from the chill of the ice, but unlike other women he knew who bundled up to come into the rink, she still wore her office attire. A flowing flowery dress traced her curves, accompanied by, of course, her high purple heels. That was Elli Adler. She never looked underdressed or messy; she couldn’t. She was the face of the Assassins.

Grinning back at her through the visor of his helmet, he nodded. “Of course. Gotta make you proud.”

“Good. Why don’t you come here for a moment?” she said, the grin still there. He paused for a split second, his hand gripping his stick. She was smiling, so surely he wasn’t in any trouble. But it made him nervous. Plus, should he really get off the ice when they were about to start?

He hooked his thumb to the ice where everyone was warming up. “But we’re about to start, aren’t we?”

She laughed. “They’ll wait. I’m the owner,” she whispered, her eyes sparkling with playfulness. “Come on.”

He did as he was asked, following her through the bench area to the tunnel where another man stood, a packet of papers in his hands. “This is one of the team’s lawyers. He’s here because people messed up during your first meeting and didn’t have you sign a few sheets of paper.” She turned to Markus, handing him a clipboard with the papers she spoke of. “First one is legal stuff—how you’ll be paid while you are here and all that jazz. Second is what we offer while you are here. When you are playing more than two games a week, you’ll get another offer sheet.”

Markus nodded as he read the first page very quickly. “I already signed this one,” he said, looking up to her. His grandpa always said to make sure you read everything. Even if the lawyers went through it, read it. He was a quick reader since he read every free moment he had. With Jace being so far away and his not having friends in Florida, Markus gave up video games, and reading became life. He loved it. As a result, reading through the papers was a breeze.

Elli looked to her lawyer as he searched through the packet again. “He’s right, here it is.”

“Oh, good,” she said with a grin, taking the sheet from Markus and handing it to her lawyer. “Sorry about this. I need to get a new staff, huh?” she teased, and Markus smiled.

“No, it’s fine,” he said, reading over the next page, which was what the franchise offered to its players.

6. Free therapy, up to three times a week. (Mental health is important!)

Why did that stick out to him? Out of all the stuff they offered: discounts to everything under the sun, leasing on cars, and all the rest, why did that matter? Rolling his eyes from the frustration eating his soul, he signed the paper quickly, going to the next and then the next. When he was finished, he looked to Elli and nodded. “Are we good?”

She looked to the lawyer who was verifying the paperwork, and when he nodded, she grinned over at him. “We are great. Thank you!”

He couldn’t even focus on her dashing grin or anything else.

Did he need therapy?

Did he want it?

No, that was crazy talk. Nothing was wrong with him.

“Anytime,” he said, a little uneasy from the fact that he was still thinking of number six on that one document.

He wasn’t sure what it meant. He didn’t know why that would stick out to him.

“Yo, Reeves, let’s go!” Jayden called from the ice, and Markus could have kissed him.

He needed the distraction.

With a wave to Mrs. Adler, he walked out onto the ice, heading for where Jayden was waiting. Coach Baxter stood in the middle of the ice, watching as everyone gathered. Standing beside Jayden, Markus looked around at all the familiar faces he knew. Not only personally but through admiration over the years. Lucas Brooks stood beside Jayden, along with the goalie, Tate Odder. Across the way was the awesome Vaughn Johansson—who Markus would have to admit he was kind of dude-crushing on. The guy was downright sick; Markus loved watching him play. To the left were Karson King and Jordie Thomas, a defensive duo that was tough to score on and highly rated. Phillip Anderson was against the boards, along with Erik Titov and the backup goalie, Dylan Alexander. Benji Paxton, the guy who was marrying Lucy, stood tall and confident beside a guy Markus thought was Patrick Franklin, but he was unsure. Looking around the rink, at all of the iconic players he had dreamed of playing with, everything kind of hit him.