LOGINoh no, the plot said “peace was never an option” 😩 Hey lovelies!! 🏒💼😭 Adrian really said “welcome to the family business” and handed Noah a briefcase of trouble 😭 now our boy has two weeks to figure this out while still pretending to be a normal scholarship athlete. This is getting messy. Quick question: How worried are we for Noah, and how long until Chase finds out about any of this? Be honest! 😂 Thank you for reading my debut BL novel! Things are getting intense… and the slow-burn is only getting more complicated. See you in the next chapter
The first few minutes in the warehouse were almost too easy, and that should have warned him. The air smelled of dust, old grease and something metallic. They found the package exactly where Adrian said it would be, a black case resting beneath a metal table near the far wall. Noah stared at it. "That's it?"One of the guards nodded. "Take it."Noah crouched and lifted the case, it was heavier than it looked. He turned and almost immediately, he heard the door lock and his stomach dropped. The guard beside him immediately reached for his weapon."What the…"The lights came on and six men stepped out from behind the pillars, armed. Noah's heart slammed against his ribs and everything after that happened at once. Someone shouted, a gunshot cracked through the warehouse, and Noah dropped behind the nearest stack of crates, the case clutched tight against his chest as the two guards returned fire. The men scattered, someone cursed and another shot rang out, closer this time. Noah presse
Noah knew something was wrong the moment Adrian summoned him and it wasn’t just about the timing. He stood outside the study with his hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie, waiting for someone to let him in.He was tired and it wasn’t just about the lack of sleep as his body still carried the evidence of the previous assignment. The bruise along his ribs, the shallow cut near his jaw, the gash in his thigh and the ache in his shoulder whenever he moved it too quickly. It was nothing Adrian would care about.The door opened and one of Adrian's men stepped aside. "Mr. Voss is expecting you."Noah walked in and stopped several feet away. Adrian sat behind his desk, reading something on a tablet. He didn't look up."You called."Adrian continued reading for a few seconds before he placed the tablet down. "Close the door."Noah did and came back to where he had been standing. Adrian studied him, his eyes moved briefly over Noah's face, his posture, and the slight stiffness in his sho
"I was wondering when you'd come."Adrian stood near the tall windows, one hand resting casually inside the pocket of his trousers. He didn't turn when Chase entered and closed the door behind him. He didn't sit, then Adrian glanced over his shoulder."You look angry.""I'm done." The answer came so calmly that Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly, and he turned fully toward Chase."That's dramatic.""It's actually very simple." Chase took a few steps into the room and stopped. "You knew the assignment was dangerous and you knew there was a good chance he'd get hurt.""Yes, I knew." Adrian didn't blink. "He still completed the assignment."Chase stared at him and gave a small nod. "Right."Adrian walked toward the desk. "You seem upset about something that was ultimately successful.""He came back injured and had to get eight stitches.""And yet he returned with the shipment." Adrian placed a folder on the desk, then finally looked at him, leaning against the edge of the desk. "Are you fin
The locker room was empty when Noah walked in. The muffled sounds of practice filtered through the walls. The scrape of skates against ice, the distant whistle, and the occasional holler from players to each other.He dropped his bag on the bench, and sat heavily on the floor for a few seconds, he simply staring, then he started removing his gear. He ripped off his gloves and tossed them into his bag, then his shoulder pads, then his helmet.He took his time and the moment he stopped moving, he became painfully aware of the deep, pulsing ache in his thigh. Every small shift seemed to pull at the wound beneath the bandage. He carefully reached down and took off the protective padding around his leg. His fingers trembled and he clenched them into fists."Fuck."He leaned back against the locker and closed his eyes. He hated this, hated feeling so fucking powerless, but more than anything, he hated being helpless. On the ice, he didn’t have to worry about any of it. He wasn't some broke-a
The cold inside Yost Ice Arena was supposed to be familiar, but today, Noah felt like it was cutting straight through him. Practice had only been going for twenty minutes and already, every stride felt like punishment as he tried to ignore the sharp pull in his thigh beneath his equipment.He was skating hard enough to keep up with the drill, but every time he planted his injured leg, pain shot through his thigh, still, he kept moving because no one needed to know. He couldn't afford to sit out even if his leg screamed every time he pushed off or the stitches pulled beneath the bandage. He could handle it. He had to."Again!" Coach Jenkins' whistle cut across the rink and the players reset.Noah took his position and rolled his shoulders before the puck moved. It started fine until another player cut across his path and he pivoted sharply. Pain exploded through his thigh and his skate nearly slipped. He recovered before anyone could notice, but the movement cost him and he fell behind
The room was quiet except for the steady rhythm of the heart monitor and the faint sound of Eli’s breathing. Noah sat in the chair beside Eli's bed, his injured leg stretched carefully in front of him. Blood had already seeped through the makeshift bandage the guards had given him in the car, staining the dark fabric of his jeans a deeper black.He ignored it and kept his eyes on Eli’s face when the door opened without a knock. A nurse stepped in, carrying a small medical kit. Behind her stood one of Adrian’s men, hands folded in front of him. Noah only glanced over his shoulder.“I need to take a look at that injury,” the nurse said with a polite smile.Noah barely turned his head. “I’m fine.”"Mr. Voss called for her." The guard’s voice cut in from the doorway. “You’re getting treated.”Noah stared at Eli for several seconds, then he sighed and slowly turned the chair away from the bed, enough to give the nurse access to his leg. The guard watched for another second before he left, c
By the time Noah reached the university, morning had already settled in fully, bright and indifferent to everything he had endured just hours before. the school felt like a different world entirely, much too normal and too untouched. He knew he was late and he didn’t need to check the time to confi
The icy night air struck Noah the moment he stepped outside the building, filling his lungs with a cold that felt almost deliberate, and it was not just the temperature. It was the kind of cold that seemed to carry intent, as if the night itself were watching him.Behind him, the door closed with a
The hospital never slept. It was a deep, creaking, mechanical, unstoppable breath, and Noah felt it the moment he crossed the sliding glass door of Detroit Medical Center. The antiseptic odor struck him first, it was clean and suffocating at the same time, and then there was the low hum of the fluo
Noah Hayes didn’t know it yet, but he had just thirty two hours before everything in his life collapsed.The pen in his hand felt heavier than it should have been, like the weight of all that he had survived was pressing down into that final stroke. He stard at the bottom of the paper where his nam







