Chapter 5 DANGEROUS

CHAPTER FIVE | DANGEROUS

JAXON FISHER

The moment I hung up on Riley, the smug smirk on my face disappeared. I knew what I had to do to get the answers I needed, and I didn't care who I hurt along the way.

I gripped my hockey stick, skating effortlessly around the rink several times. I wasn't playing with a puck. There was no need for that yet. I was waiting for the right moment to strike, and I knew it would take only a few seconds.

As if on cue, the door to the rink burst open, and Brian slid in smoothly, a frown etched on his face. I tried hard to stop the satisfied smirk from taking over, but it had a mind of its own.

I soon found myself settling into the dangerous calm I knew never brought anything good. It was the kind of calm that only came over me when it came to anything involving Brian.

"Hello, best friend," I called out, alerting him to my presence.

I threw in a playful wink just to aggravate him. Just as I'd hoped, he fell straight into the trap I'd carefully prepared for him.

Somehow, he found a way to storm over to me despite being on ice. His hands were clenched so tightly around his stick that anyone would have thought he was about to crush it.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he hissed, standing so close to me that I could smell his cologne.

I smiled, a genuine, satisfied smile. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't be smart with me, Jaxon. I know you only went after Riley to get back at me."

I scoffed and moved away from him. Then I took off across the ice, practicing the same moves Brian performed every day during practice. He didn't know I'd been observing him, taking note of his every strength and weakness until I knew his moves inside out. He had no idea that was how I'd beaten him and become the hockey captain. It wasn't because I was a better player than he was, but because I knew his moves like the back of my hand.

He wasn't paying attention to my movements. If he had, he would have been even more pissed off.

"Stay the fuck away from her. She isn't your type, and I know you're only up to no good. The beef you have is with me, not Riley or anyone else around me. I know you're only with her to hurt me, and I'll allow you to do that over my dead fucking body."

I chuckled, the sound echoing through the now-silent rink. I could hear Brian's ragged breathing, and it brought me nothing but satisfaction.

"Why would you care if I'm dating your sister?" I dragged out the last word, emphasizing it to make him realize how ridiculous his behavior was.

I knew for a fact that he was in love with her, just as she was in love with him. That was precisely why I'd gone after her. They both thought they were slick at hiding their feelings for each other. I was sure even Stacy knew she didn't have her boyfriend's heart.

"Just stay away from her. I know you don't love her."

"But what if I do?" I retorted. "What if I genuinely want to be with her, just as she wants to be with me? You wouldn't have a problem with that, right?"

"She doesn't want you." He raised his voice, pointing an accusing finger at me.

"Trust me, she wants me. They all do. And you know what?" I moved closer until our faces were only a few inches apart. "I'm going to have her. All of her."

Before I could blink, he grabbed my shirt. His trembling hands clutched the fabric so tightly that I heard the sound of my jersey tearing.

"Don't fucking dare."

"I already did." My voice remained calm despite the rage I felt inside. "You think you can just go around fucking with people's lives? You think you can ruin someone's life and get away with it just because you have a rich daddy?"

His grip loosened, but the fire in his eyes remained. "I didn't do anything to her. She chose that path herself."

"You killed her. She died because of you. You could have saved her."

My voice trembled, my chest rising and falling rapidly as adrenaline surged through my veins.

Flashes of the most horrendous night of my life flooded my mind as though it had happened yesterday. I could still remember the pain in her voice, the hopelessness in her eyes, and the way her hands had gripped mine in fear. I remembered how I'd held on to the last part of her before her blood was shed, as though it meant nothing.

"You killed her," I whispered, my resolve crumbling.

My body felt drained, as though an invisible force were sucking every last drop of strength from me. If Brian hadn't been holding me, I probably would have collapsed.

"Hurt me. Punish me for the crime you think I committed, but don't drag the people I care about into this. They had nothing to do with it. They weren't even there when it happened."

"I want you to feel the pain I felt after losing her. I want you to know what it's like to lose the most important person in your life. I'm not just coming for Riley. She's merely a stepping stone. I'm going to make sure everyone you know sees you for the monster you truly are. And when I'm done with you, you'll wish you'd never been born."

I forcefully shrugged his hands off my shirt and skated toward the door. The air felt constricted, as though I were trapped in a room too small to fit a newborn. I took deep breaths to calm my racing heart, ignoring the tears gathering in my eyes.

Just as I reached for the doorknob, ready to leave, I heard Brian's voice behind me. It was slow but steady as he said the one thing I'd been afraid to hear—the one truth that had crossed my mind more times than I could count, the reality that had robbed me of sleep and plagued me with nightmares.

"Maybe it wasn't my fault. Maybe she was trying to get away from you and your father. That's why you can't let things go after all these years. You're not fighting me over what happened. You're fighting me to escape the guilt that's eating you alive."