Page 82 of Ice Devil

“Those aren’t my questions, Beck. Turn the cameras off.”

They already were off. The bastards had captured exactly what they wanted, to cast a doubt on not only Beck but in shifters in general. A perfect plan that I’d been lured into.

My anger was off the charts.

“Beck. We need to talk,” I said as I tried to get around Jesse. That’s when I realized even the table had been placed in such a way that when Jesse pushed his chair back, I’d need to climb over him to get out. Same thing with Kyle.

“I think we’re done talking.” Beck’s voice was low, the tone nothing like the man I’d met in the locker room, the guy who’d been determined to ruin my night by just being playful. By being himself.

Certainly not the man who’d spent a couple of precious hours in Miami talking about life in general, hopes and dreams that we both had.

And definitely not the guy who’d held me just after we’d had incredible sex. No, this was a man who’d just shut a door on more than our electric passion.

He’d also done so on our friendship and the trust he’d placed in me.

With all emotions vanishing from his eyes, he spun on his heel and walked from the room.

“Get out of my fucking way,” I snarled at Jesse.

“What’s wrong, Sloane? We didn’t expose anything that you shouldn’t have already discovered. The world and all his fans deserve to know he’s nothing but a fucking animal.”

I’d prided myself in being able to control my temper through thick and thin. From drunks pawing at me in dark bars to men with white hair and perfect white teeth telling me I’d be a pretty adornment but should stick to beauty pageants.

Not any longer.

Without thinking about consequences, I hauled off and threw a punch, cracking Jesse’s nose in the process. After blood spewed, I grinned and slipped under the table, crawling out on the other side.

Since I had my standard tennis shoes on, I took off running, slamming my hands on the doors and racing into the corridor.

Beck was nowhere to be seen.

No, this couldn’t be happening, but I had to face reality.

I’d lost my edge in starting to fall for Beck and in doing so, I’d helped jeopardize his career.

As I searched the hallways, I could tell word had gotten out already. Gossip was like wildfires, spreading with just a little fertilizer.

By the time I reached the locker room, the coach had already been told I’d betrayed his player.

He stood with security by his side, throwing his hand out as soon as he noticed me walking closer.

“You’re not welcome here, Ms. Winters.”

“Coach Griffen. I need to talk to Beck. Whatever you heard isn’t what happened.”

I noticed several of his team members glaring at me from only feet away.

He sighed, rubbing his clenched jaw as he did. “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. Beck doesn’t ever want to see you again. Neither does any member of my team. Is that clear enough?”

The rush of rage had no ability to match the sadness or the brutal thumping of my heart. “Yes, sir. That’s very clear.”

CHAPTER 18

Sloane

Chicago Times: Is Beck ‘the Devil’ Kendrick’s Career on the Ropes?

New York Dispatch: Beck ‘the Devil’ Kendrick, a Lesson in Animal Magnetism