Chapter 76: The locked door

Aveline’s POV

I did not answer his question with words. I could not speak even if I tried to open my mouth. My throat felt completely frozen. Instead, I reached my hands up fast through his chest and grabbed the rough collar of his hockey shirt with both of my hands.

I pulled his body down towards me with all the power in my muscles. I pulled him right into a fierce, chaotic, and very angry kiss.

It was not a sweet kiss. It was not a romantic kiss at all. It was a violent collision of deep grief, raw fury, and toxic attraction. All the hidden pain inside my chest exploded at the exact same time. Kieran responded to the touch instantly. He did not hesitate for even a split second. His big arms wrapped tightly around my waist, his fingers digging deep into my clothes. He lifted my body slightly up against the tall stack of blue gym mats. He held me so close to his chest it felt like he was trying to pull me right into his very skin.

For a few short seconds, everything else in the world faded away. The boy's disguise, which I wore every day did not matter. The secret password did not matter. Silas's dangerous threats disappeared completely from my head. The dark ghost of my dead brother Asher was gone too. They all vanished into the heavy darkness of the cold basement garage.

There was only his warm mouth, his hot skin, and the wild heat between us.

We finally broke apart because our lungs were burning for oxygen. We were gasping for air, taking short, quick breaths. Our foreheads rested together, our chests heaving up and down fast against each other. I looked up into his dark eyes, my mind spinning in circles.

Our lips were still burning from the hot fire of the kiss. We could not move.

Suddenly, a loud, sharp noise broke the silence of the basement.

The metal handle of the garage door began to rattle violently back and forth. Someone was on the other side, trying hard to turn the lock and get inside the room. Then, Theo’s loud voice cut straight through the door.

“Asher! Carter!” Theo shouted loudly from the hallway. His voice was full of deep anger. “I know you are in there! Open the damn door right now! Do not make me break it down!”

A sudden wave of fear hit my chest like a block of ice. Kieran moved instantly, his hockey training kicking in. He grabbed my arm and quickly shoved my body behind a row of large cages in the back of the room, hiding me completely in the deep shadows.

Kieran used his fingers to quickly fix his messy hair. He pulled his hockey jersey down straight so it looked neat. Then he walked fast over to the front door to unlock it before Theo got more suspicious.

The lock clicked open. Kieran stepped out into the hallway immediately. He used his large, broad shoulders to block Theo’s view of the dark garage behind him. He acted totally casual, but his body posture was dangerous and tense. He looked like a guard protecting a castle.

“Looking for me, Brooks?” Kieran asked, his voice cold, steady, and flat. “Practice is over. The game is done. You should be in the locker room with the rest of the guys, not down here.”

Theo did not buy his casual act at all. He stood his ground, his face twisted with rage. He stepped closer to Kieran, his sharp eyes scanning every single inch of his face.

Theo looked right at Kieran’s swollen, red lips. He saw the marks of the kiss. Then, Theo tried to peer past his shoulder into the dark room. His eyes narrowed with a toxic, ugly rage. He knew someone else was hiding inside that room, and he knew it might be Asher.

Kieran did not let him move an inch toward the door. He instantly started a fake, loud argument with Theo right there in the hallway. He began yelling about the team's loss. He blamed Theo for the bad plays during the hockey game and the loss against the team.

He used his loud, angry voice to distract Theo completely, drawing all his attention away from the door.

While they were shouting at each other in the hallway, I did not waste any time. I moved like a quiet shadow through the darkness behind the cages. I looked around the back wall until I found a small glass window at the very end of the garage. It was used for ventilation. I reached up and pushed the latch, opening the window slowly so it did not make a sound. I squeezed my body through the tight metal frame, scraping my shoulder, and dropped down into the outside.

The air hit my face, but my mind was in total chaos. I began to run across the grass as fast as I could move my legs. I ran all the way toward the empty parking lot where my car was parked. My bruised ribs were aching and throbbing with every single step I took, but I did not stop running. A terrible weight of guilt and shame hit my heart like a physical punch. I felt sick. I had just kissed my dead brother's worst enemy. I had just betrayed Asher's memory in the worst way possible.

I was working with the people who hurt him, and I was falling for the captain.

I reached my car, pulled the door open fast, and jumped into the driver's seat. I slammed the heavy door shut and locked it from the inside.

The car was freezing cold, but I was sweating. I stared at my own reflection in the rearview mirror. My hair was messy, and my skin was red. I raised my hand and wiped my mouth roughly with the back of my jacket sleeve, trying hard to wash away the physical feeling of Kieran's lips. I hated myself. I hated myself so much for still loving Kieran after everything he had done to my family.

I reached out with a shaking hand and turned the metal key in the ignition switch. The car engine roared to life with a loud rumble, and the bright front headlights flashed on instantly. The yellow beams of light cut straight through the dark, empty parking lot.

My heart stopped beating.

I froze completely in my seat, my eyes widening with total horror and shock.

Resting right on the clean glass of my front windshield, directly in the middle of the bright headlight glare, was a black hockey rubber puck. It was not a clean puck. It was covered in thick, sticky, dark red blood. The blood was dripping down the clear glass of my car window. And taped tightly to the side of the bloody rubber puck was a small, white piece of paper. It was a folded note with words written on it in big letters.