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“She sent those texts… and she deleted them from your phone,” Thalia snaps furiously. “That bitch. And that’s how she got Sierra’s number too.”

Her voice rises, hands flying into the air.

“Nick, you’re the most famous person in hockey. You run the biggest, most powerful company in New York alongside your brothers and the Thomases. And you handed your phone to someone else? What the fuck?”

She’s right, I knew I shouldn’t have given it to her. I hesitated, and I still did it.

“Okay. Let’s go back to the beginning,” Ethan says, all business. “What club were you at the night she claims you slept with her? And where does she live?”

I call the GM and ask for Samantha’s address. No explanations—I don’t have time. He finds it and texts it to me within five minutes.

I show Ethan the message, tell him the name of the club and the hotel where I woke up the next morning—next to her, in bed.

Without another word, he steps away and starts dialing someone.

The rest of us stay put—tense, restless, suspicious.

Then it hits me again like a punch to the chest—Sierra’s in this fucking apartment. With Colt. After spending the night. The thought burns through me, and I turn toward the door, raising my hand to hit it with my fist.

But before I can, the door swings open.

Colt stands there, dressed casually, a smug little twitch in his eyebrow when he sees us.

“I’d ask what you’re all doing here, but since Sierra’s inside, I guess that would be pointless,” he says, stepping aside and leaving the door open.

And there she is—frozen in the living room. Wearing an oversized T-shirt.

His.

I don’t even think.

My fist flies into Colt’s jaw with a brutal crack. His head jerks to the side, but before I can lunge forward again, Liam grabs me from behind.

“I expected that, to be honest,” Colt says, moving his jaw from side to side.

Then Sierra appears beside him, reaching for me, panic in her voice. “Nickolas, please stop. What the hell are you doing?”

That’s all it takes.

That voice. My name on her lips. Her defending him.

I lose it.

I struggle against Liam’s grip, almost slipping out of his hold, when Ethan jumps in and restrains me too. Their arms are like steel around me, but I’m shaking with fury.

“Nick, calm down.” I think I hear Liam say.

But I’m too far gone.

My eyes lock with hers—just for a second.

She looks guilty. Scared.

I can’t take it.

I shrug them both off and storm out without looking back. Not even once.

Five hours later, I’m in my apartment. The lights are dim, the silence pressing down like a weight. I haven’t moved from the couch in what feels like an eternity.