Chapter 11: What He Knows

Dominic Hartley trusted very few people.

That wasn't bitterness.

It was experience.

Trust took time.

Consistency.

Proof.

For most of his career, he'd kept people at a comfortable distance.

Partners.

Coaches.

Friends.

Everyone.

It was easier that way.

Cleaner.

Predictable.

Then Nadia Vasquez arrived and ruined the system.

Not intentionally.

That somehow made it worse.

One morning, Dominic arrived at the rink before sunrise.

As usual.

The academy was empty.

Quiet.

Peaceful.

Normally he enjoyed the solitude.

Today he found himself checking the entrance every few minutes.

Waiting.

At exactly 6:58, Nadia walked through the doors.

Dominic immediately looked away.

Which was ridiculous.

He was thirty years old.

Not sixteen.

"You're early," Nadia said.

"You're late."

"It's two minutes."

"Still late."

"I regret becoming friends with you."

"We're not friends."

"See? That's exactly the kind of thing friends say."

Despite himself, Dominic smiled.

Nadia noticed.

She always noticed.

That was another problem.

She paid attention.

Far more attention than most people.

And lately Dominic had started paying attention too.

Far too much attention.

The way she laughed.

The way she argued.

The way she became completely focused during difficult sequences.

It was becoming impossible to ignore.

Which meant it was becoming dangerous.

Because Dominic knew exactly what was happening.

And for the first time in years...

He wasn't entirely sure how to stop it.