All Chapters of DANGEROUS ICE: MY HOCKEY NEMESIS IS MY SINFUL OBSESSION: Chapter 51 - Chapter 56

I slipped the hundred-dollar bill into the housekeeper’s palm before she could even say a word, and she nodded nervously before scurrying away down the carpeted hallway.The knock on my hotel room door sounded a second time, louder and more insistent than before.I smoothed down the front of my shirt and forced the raw anger out of my facial expression, because I could not let Victoria see how rattled I was by Axel’s sudden disconnection. I turned the brass deadbolt, unhooked the security chain, and swung the heavy wooden door open.Victoria stood in the bright hallway holding a black leather folder, and she looked at me with her usual cold, professional scrutiny."You took a long time to answer," she noted, stepping past me into the room without waiting for an invitation. "The athletic director called me twice while I was downstairs, and he wants to ensure you are ready for the morning press tour.""I was in the bathroom, Victoria," I said, keeping my voice flat and distant while I c

I held the plastic phone tight against my ear while the quiet atmosphere of his hotel room vanished. A sharp electronic beep echoed through the small speaker, and the distinct noise of a heavy brass handle clicking open followed right after."Michael?" I whispered quickly, and my heart hammered against my ribs. "Who is opening your door?"A fast rustling sound filled the line because someone scrambled across the floor on the other end. I heard a muffled thud like a heavy object hitting the carpet, and then the call disconnected. The digital silence felt heavy in my dark room.I pulled the device away from my face and stared at the blank screen. My thumb hit the redial button without hesitation, but the line did not ring. A generic automated voice told me the number was currently out of service. He had turned the burner phone off, or Victoria had caught him holding it.The next forty-eight hours felt like a terrible nightmare. I had no way to know if his father punished him for buying

The sound of heavy rain hitting the glass window woke me up early on Saturday morning. The dark grey sky matched the terrible, heavy feeling settling in my stomach. I sat up on the firm hotel mattress, and I rubbed my tired eyes to clear my blurry vision. The events of last night played over and over in my head. I had sneaked into the bathroom, and I had tried to call Axel three different times using the secret burner phone. He did not answer a single call.I reached into my jacket pocket, pulled the plastic device out, and pressed the power button. The small screen glowed bright green, but the notification bar was blank. Axel did not call me back, and he did not send a text message. A deep ache formed in my chest because I assumed he was ignoring me on purpose. The bad fight from two days ago was still fresh, so maybe he just wanted space away from the drama.A sharp knock sounded on my wooden door. I shoved the phone back into the jacket pocket, and I walked across the carpet to ans