Harmless(38)

"Bullshit," Cam snapped. "No way are you gonna miss seeing the players again."

"Yeah, I am," he confirmed, making sure Cam heard the unwavering tone.

Cam kept walking, but for some stupid reason, Roan didn't stop and turn around. He continued to follow Cam. Maybe if he was quiet, he could disappear into the background and no one would know he was there.

Right. Because that had worked so well last time.

As they reached the area that led to the locker rooms, Cam slowed, his eyes scanning the crowd.

"Who're you lookin' for?"

"Mia," Cam stated. "Phoenix and Tarik's wife. Phoenix said she'd be here to take us back."

"She's short, man," Roan said matter-of-factly. "You're not gonna see her with all these people around."

"Cam!"

Cam turned and cocked a brow at Roan, clearly telling him that he couldn't possibly be more wrong.

"Hey," Mia greeted with a smile. "You remember my husband Tarik?"

Behind Mia was her husband Tarik Marx. Roan had learned long ago, when you saw Phoenix, you generally saw Tarik, too. Apparently, the bodyguard/spokesman for the Austin Arrows was interchangeable when it came to which body he was guarding. It looked as though he was here for Mia's protection tonight.

"Nice to see you again," Cam said. "This is Roan Gregory. One of the marina owners and my closest friend."

Mia shook Roan's hand, then Tarik extended his. "Nice to meet you," Roan said.

"Well, come on," Mia said excitedly. "Phoenix put together some stuff that he thought you guys might like."

"Stuff?" Roan glanced over at Cam.

Cam shrugged.

"You know, jerseys, pucks, sticks. Bunch of autographed stuff." Mia shot them a grin over her shoulder. "He's more than impressed by what Gannon's doing."

Cam nodded, but Roan simply stood there staring. When he didn't inch forward, Cam looked at him.

"Gannon's working with the children's home. His company's running a contest, and the kids are getting hands-on experience in developing video games. He thought it'd be cool to throw some hockey gear into the mix. He came up with the idea after they did a charitable event at Christmas."

Roan had heard about Gannon's company partnering with some local place, and he knew there were kids involved, but he hadn't paid much attention past that. Gannon had always been involved with the community, especially when it came to kids.

"The Austin Arrows Foundation is thrilled to be contributing," Mia continued, leading the way. "He said they had such a great time last year. Right now, he thinks the team needs something to take their minds off the game. Some sort of team builder, so he's working to get them over to the home."




 

 

Roan also knew about the Austin Arrows Foundation and all the charities they worked with, but he didn't ask questions. He was secretly hoping they'd be able to slip out without anyone else seeing them. With all the commotion and people moving around, there was a possibility.

"He wants to get them over there ASAP," Mia said, still walking. "He wants to get it on the calendar now. He gets antsy at this point in the year and he starts forgetting some things. He told me this was far too important to let slip by."

Roan could understand that. With their current standings, the Arrows were well on their way to making it to the playoffs; however, they didn't have much room for error, so they had to stay focused. With the new year well underway and the trade deadline coming up, it was easy to get caught up in other things. If they wanted it, they really did need to get on another hot streak. And soon.

Mia stopped in front of the doors to what appeared to be an office. Across the hall was the Arrows locker room. Or part of one. A set of double doors was open and there were players wandering about, reporters with microphones rumbling question after question.

"Roan?"

Fuck.

Roan's spine went instantly straight when he heard Seg's voice. Knowing he couldn't be rude, he managed to pivot around to face him. His smile wasn't nearly as forced as he'd been planning. Seeing Seg was  …  better than good. In an effort to appear friendly, he offered a hand. "Hey. Good to see you again."

Seg glared down at his hand, then met his eyes again. Rather than shaking his hand, Seg held up what appeared to be a bandaged finger. Roan instantly wondered if he was all right, but he didn't ask questions. He sensed that Seg wasn't in the mood to answer them.

"Yeah," Seg said curtly. "Good to see you again."

Roan had no idea what to think, except damn, the man looked good. He'd already changed out of his pads and skates, wearing an Arrows cap and a dark gray T-shirt stretched across his chest. He clearly wasn't ready to leave, hence the lack of a suit. Roan knew the players left the arena in a suit.