An hour before the game, Seg took a minute to call Roan. He hadn't heard from him all day, and he'd tried to call twice. Once after morning skate and once before he headed back to the arena. There was a weird tingling sensation on the back of his neck, and he got the feeling something was wrong.
Roan didn't answer, so Seg left a message. "Hey. Wanted to see how you are. Check on Liam. The game starts in a bit, but I'll call you after. I'd like to see you tonight if that's possible. We head out on the road tomorrow and I won't be back until Sunday. That's too long to go without seeing you." He took a deep breath. "All right. Well, I guess I'll talk to you in a bit."
Seg hung up the phone, staring down at the screen for a couple of minutes. His mind drifted back to last night. He tried to recall whether he'd missed something. He and Roan had made love. Twice. The only reason Seg had willingly gone home was because Roan had needed to get back to Liam. He didn't remember anything being wrong.
Well, nothing more than all the shit they'd been dealing with. But he could've sworn Roan had forgiven him. Or at least was beginning to.
Shit.
"All right, guys," Kaufman called out. "Let's have a chat before we head out there and kick some ass."
The other guys standing around roared their agreement while Seg tossed his phone into his bag. He'd have to worry about Roan later, because right now, he had a job to do. And no way was he going to let these guys down. He damn sure didn't need to give them a reason to be pissed at him.
After all, he'd given everyone enough reason already.
Twenty-Eight
A KNOCK SOUNDED ON THE glass door of the office.
Sitting in his chair behind the counter, Roan lifted his head to peer over. The room was completely dark because he hadn't bothered to turn on the lights. Since it was a few minutes shy of midnight and the office was closed, he hadn't wanted to alert anyone that he was there.
Cam and Gannon were the only people who knew where Roan was. He'd spent the better part of the day dodging reporters, trying to pretend life was normal for him. It wasn't. Not by a long shot.
What normal person had reporters camped out to get dirt about his relationship? What normal person's father and stepmother wanted to destroy his life because of said relationship? What normal person was worried that the man they loved was scared shitless about who he was and resolved that fear by perching a woman on his lap?
"What a fucking mess," he murmured into the darkness.
Whoever was at the door could turn around and go the other way.
The only reason Roan was here was because he needed a little time to himself. It was the very reason he'd borrowed Gannon's car in an effort to throw off the reporters and headed straight for the marina after feeding Liam and putting him down for the night. He'd been grateful that Cam had offered to come over to Roan's house. As far as he was concerned, it was where Liam needed to be. At home in his own bed. Should he wake up, Cam and Gannon would be there.
He forced himself to be content with that for a little while. The buzzing in his head wouldn't stop, and he simply needed a few minutes to think.
By not going out in public, Roan avoided the hassle of the news crews, plus reduced the risk of seeing Seg. He'd received the man's voice mails, both before tonight's game and then after. When Seg insisted on coming by to talk, Roan had known he needed to find a place to go so Seg couldn't find him.
Maybe Hudson or Teague had heard him come in and they were coming to check.
Another knock sounded.
Shit.
Either Hudson or Teague forgot their key upstairs or it wasn't either of them.
Roan prayed they'd forgotten the key because the alternative …
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Fuck."
Getting to his feet, Roan ambled over to the silhouette of a man standing on the other side of the glass door. He twisted the deadbolt and pushed it open.
It damn sure wasn't Hudson or Teague standing there.
Son of a bitch.
Anger and sorrow twisted his gut. His first instinct was to rail at Seg, to make him go away, leave him in peace.
"Hey," Seg greeted.
"I don't want you here," Roan told him, meeting his gaze at the same time a lump of emotion formed in his throat.
"Please don't make me leave," Seg said softly, halting Roan's protest.
For whatever reason, seeing Seg, all the emotions moving over his attractive features, was more than Roan could handle. All the feelings-anger, sadness, hurt, love-warring inside him blended into a storm of epic proportions.
"Why are you here?" he choked out, trying to hold himself together. He'd managed all damn day; he couldn't afford to fall apart now.
"Because I'm not going to let you push me away. Not this time." The determination in his tone belied the concern etched on his face.