Page 41 of Devious Obsession
Your address was leaked online.
No directions after that, no advice. My breathing hitches at what that means. First the site, which must’ve gone viral before it was shut down, because I received about six hundred emails. Now this. Did Steele do this, too? I should go home and get the money. Thalia and I can stay in a hotel until we figure something else out.
If my address is out there, it isn’t safe.
Especially on the first floor, where anyone could break in through the windows. We lock them now, but didn’t Steele prove that it’s easy enough to get the screen off? And then how hard is it to use a screwdriver or something to break the lock?
I’m not a burglar. Unless we’re talking about the Crown Point Theater, obviously.
When I reemerge, the hallway is almost empty. The guy is still there, though. Lingering with a sick look in his eye.
My stomach turns, and I hurry back toward my section. I beat him there—barely—but he follows close behind me. The second period has started, the crowd on their feet. I feel almost invisible, except to the man intent on harassing me. He keeps up with me all the way down to the glass, where he finally makes another move.
“Come on.” He grabs my upper arm. His fingers dig into my skin. “You’re not supposed to fight it, right? I’m offering you cash.”
“Hey!” Something crashes into the glass.
The guy lifts his gaze, and his eyes widen.
I glance over my shoulder, too, surprised to see Steele there. He’s slamming the glass with both hands.
“You get your hands off her,” Steele shouts.
The guy, surprisingly, listens.
He backs up the aisle steps and turns around once he’s far enough away, hurrying away from us. I face Steele again, and he meets my eyes for a second before skating away.
“Holy shit,” Thalia says, standing to let me pass. “What was that?”
“Well, he was behind that shitty website that told the world I was a sex worker,” I grumble, practically falling into my seat. I’m more rattled than I’d care to admit. “It shouldn’t come as a surprise that more than just students saw it. That guy wanted to pay me to blow him.”
“Well, shit.”
Violet takes my hand and squeezes. “It’ll be okay.”
“I know.” I lift my chin and gently pull away. I’m all for comforting touches, but really—I’ve got enough on my plate without Steele making it worse. And now I have to tell Thalia that we can’t go home. That’s going to extra suck.
I refocus on the game.
The Knights have the puck. Someone passes to Josh, who dodges around Knox and Greyson. Someone tries to intercept him, and he leaps over their stick.
Steele is coming in fast, a look of determination visible even with the helmet blocking some of his features.
It seems that the Knight has had enough of getting smashed into, though, because he skids to a halt a second before Steele hits him. He gives Steele a check of his own, sending him into the glass in front of us. The wall shudders, and I try not to have a visible reaction.
The other defenseman tries to intercept, but for once, no one can touch him. Josh passes to another teammate, who flicks it into the goal.
It sails past Miles’ glove.
The horn goes off, and the red-and-white-clad crowd erupts into chaos.
The first goal of the game, and it goes to the Knights.
11
STEELE
We’re going to lose out on our chance at the championship before our season has even begun. This time last year, we were undefeated. Hell, we were undefeated for most of the year. But now, we’re losing, and Coach ispissed.
