My phone buzzed on my nightstand with an extremely sweet text that melted my heart immediately. It was relieving to say the least that Sean felt the way he did. I needed to know that his feelings mirrored mine, and there it was, plain as day.

As I was about to type out a reply, he called me.

“Sean?” I answered right away.

“Get dressed. I’m on my way to pick you up,” he barked into the phone breathlessly.

“What’s wrong?” I jumped out of bed, grabbing a pair of jeans out of my bottom dresser drawer.

“I don’t know, but Gavin and Myla need us right now.”

* * *

Myla and Gavin were standing in the middle of their living room when Sean and I hurried into their penthouse. Myla’s cheeks were puffy and her eyes were bloodshot. Gavin looked like he was about to rip someone limb from limb.

“What’s going on?” I asked, pulling Myla’s shaking body into a bear hug.

“Someone threatened to kill Myla.” Gavin slammed his fist against the wall as he roared.

“Wait—what?” Sean ripped a piece of paper out of Gavin’s hand.

I pulled at one side of the handwritten note as I read the death threat, still holding Myla with one arm. She was lightly sobbing into my shoulder as her entire body shuddered.

“Was this delivered by mail?” I asked as Myla shook her head against the crook of my shoulder.

“Our doorman had it waiting for us this morning, said the nightshift guy had gotten it from a courier right before his shift ended at four in the morning,” Gavin responded.

“Have any crazy fans been lurking lately?” Sean asked, putting the note back down on the coffee table.

Gavin threw his hands in the air. “Fuck, I haven’t had to deal with a crazy fan since I was a damn rookie. I’m no Tyler Seguin or any other pretty boy women fawn over constantly.”

“Well, you have one now.” I grabbed my cell. “I’m going to call this in. Myla, put this in a Ziploc baggie so we can run it for prints.”

Hovering over the page, Sean rubbed the back of his head. “I feel like I’ve seen this handwriting before, but I can’t place it.”

“It’s definitely a woman’s script, but I can’t place it,” Myla remarked as she slid the page into the protective plastic.

“We’re going to need to get both of you out of here. This chick obviously knows where you live and that worries the shit out of me.”

We waited in the foyer as Myla and Gavin packed bags to head for Brayden and Karla’s house.

“What are we going to do?” I asked Sean. “It’s not like we’re going to be assigned to them—we’re too close.”

Running his hand over his face, he sighed. “Fuck, I know, but it won’t be hard for Gavin to get bodyguards for them, and we can be with them as much as possible.”

“This is some crazy shit.” I leaned against the doorjamb.

Sean ran his hand over my shoulder, looking down at me. “Yeah, it really is. We’ve been lucky in the past but I don’t like that this could put you in danger.”

He kissed my forehead. Right as my eyes shut, I heard Gavin clear his throat. “Am I interrupting something?” A sly simper spread as he pointed a finger at us. “I knew it was only a matter of time before the two of you came to your damn senses.”

Myla ran into the room. “Yay! Now I have someone other than Karla to talk to about this.”

Sean glared at me as I shrugged. “They figured it out when we got to the party. You know how much lying makes me uncomfortable.”

He kissed my forehead again before turning to Gavin and Myla. “We can talk about this later, we have bigger fish to fry. Ready to get the heck out of here?”

* * *

First, we took Myla and Gavin to the station to file a report.

“Tomlinson is going to take your statement and process the letter as evidence. Sean and I will be waiting right over here for you guys.” I put my hand on Myla’s arm as she wiped a few tears from her cheeks.

“Is everything going to be okay? Are we going to be all right?” I could see the fear building in her eyes as Gavin protectively tucked her into his side.

“We’re not going to let anything happen to you, baby, promise.” His voice was soft as he tried his best to comfort his wife.

My heart broke for them. Myla and Gavin were two of the nicest people I had ever known, and seeing them stressed and worried was not sitting well with me.

“McBee, Whistler,” our captain called out from his office.

I sucked in a deep breath, following Sean into the small room.

“Sir?” Sean asked as we both took a seat across the desk from him.

“What is going on with Gavin Hayes?” Captain MacDonnell knew Sean and I were close with most of the hockey players so seeing us walk in with the captain of the team was not totally out of character, but I could tell his radar was on high alert.

“Gavin’s wife, Myla, got a disturbing letter this morning, threatening her,” I answered staring down at the piles of files on the captain’s desk. I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of my mouth.

He leaned back in his chair, stroking his short graying beard that covered his rosy cheeks. “I want the two of you to stay with them for the next couple of days. They are comfortable with you, and you guys know their habits and who they associate with. If anyone can keep them safe, it’s you. We’ll figure out how to work it around your shifts. Also, have Gavin get a protective detail for when he is out of town on away games until we figure out who this person is. We don’t know if he is a target too or the actual target.”

I sighed with relief as Sean replied, “Aye, Cap. Thank you. I know Myla and Gavin will truly appreciate this.”

“Protecting and serving is important, but keeping family safe is at the forefront of our mission.” Captain MacDonnell palmed the desk. “Now get out of here and protect your loved ones.”

* * *

“You know the captain has a gambling problem, don’t you?” Sean asked as we made our way up the front steps to Brayden’s front door.

Myla, Gavin, and I all looked at Sean questioningly, waiting for him to continue.

“That’s why he’s so invested in keeping Gavin and Myla safe—I’m sure he has money riding on the Otters’ next game,” Sean continued as he rang the doorbell.

I rolled my eyes, shoving him a bit. “What if he is just trying to be a nice guy? He did say they are our family.”

Brayden, still in his sleeping pants and no shirt, rubbed his tired eyes as he opened the door for us.

Myla hugged her brother as we walked inside. “We’re all family,” she muttered with her face buried in Brayden’s chest.

“Can someone fill me in on what the heck is going on?” Brayden sank onto the couch, pulling his sister down with him as she started to cry in his arms.

Gavin explained everything as I texted Tomlinson about picking Seven up from the condo and bringing her to Brayden’s.

Karla sat on the other side of Myla, rubbing her back. “It’s going to be okay. We’re all in this together.”

“I just don’t get who would want to threaten Myla after you all have been together for so long. Usually this shit happens right when a player gets a new girl or is wifed up, not a year after he’s taken off the market.” It was very apparent that Brayden was not handling the news well. “Should we tell Coach?”

Gavin stopped his pacing midstride. “We are not telling my father about this. He’s already pissed enough that I married your sister—let’s not give either of my parents more reason to be jerks. As far as I am concerned, all of this shit is on a need to know basis. This stays between the six of us and whoever knows at the police station. Once this is handled, we are never going to speak of it again. Is everyone all right with that?”

Brayden handed a napkin to his sister. “You’re snotting and it’s gross,” he whispered before looking over to his brother-in-law. “If that’s how you want this handled, you got it.”

We all agreed that it was for the best to follow Gavin’s plan.