Just My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires by Esther Pen novel Chapter 303

Chapter 303

JULIAN’S POV

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The damp smell of engine grease, rust, and wet concrete filled my nose as I pulled my black hood lower over my face.

I stood deep in the shadow of a rusted shipping container, hidden inside an abandoned industrial shipyard on the south side of the river.

Rain dripped continuously through the corrugated iron roof above, tapping against the muddy ground like a steady, ticking clock. Cold water soaked through the shoulders of my jacket, but I barely felt the chill.

My body was exhausted, every bone in my frame aching from the rough climb down the balcony rope at my father’s house.

The right side of my face was swollen and dark where my father had struck me, and my jaw throbbed with a dull, relentless pain every time I swallowed.

I pulled the stolen mobile phone from my pocket, checking the encrypted screen for the fifth time in ten minutes. The tiny digital clock read five minutes past midnight.

The silence of the empty shipyard was deafening, broken only by the sound of the wind whipping against the loose metal sheets overhead.

A quiet, low rumble of a powerful engine cut through the storm.

Headlights flickered through the heavy fog at the far end of the narrow alleyway between the stacked containers. A dark, unmarked sedan rolled slowly across the gravel, its heavy tires crushing broken glass before coming to a complete stop twenty feet from where I stood.

The bright headlights clicked off, plunging the narrow space back into dim, shadow-filled darkness.

The driver’s side door swung open softly. A tall man stepped out into the rain, unhurriedly opening a long black umbrella over his head. He wore a dark leather coat and black trousers, his movements calm, deliberate, and entirely silent.

He did not look like the typical corporate fixers my father usually hired. There was a dangerous, heavy stillness about him, the kind of cold weight that only belonged to a man who had lived in the dark for a very long time.

“Julian Vance,” the man said, his voice a low, gravelly baritone that barely rose above the sound of the falling

rain.

“Are you Silas?” I asked, my voice raspy and dry as I took a tentative step out from behind the rusted steel wall. The man paused, a faint, dark smile touching the corner of his lips beneath the rim of his umbrella. He lowered the umbrella slightly, letting the dim yellow streetlamp illuminate his face.

A long, jagged scar ran from the left side of his jawline down beneath his high collar, contrasting sharply with his pale skin.

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My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires

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“Silas was simply the name on the secure portal,” the man said smoothly, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an unreadable intensity. “You can call me Gabriel.”

“I do not care what your name is,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady despite the cold shiver running down my spine. “Do you have clean transportation? Did your people clear the highway patrol routes like I asked?”

Gabriel did not answer immediately. He slowly walked closer, his heavy leather boots clicking softly against the wet pavement until he stood just three feet away. He looked me up and down, taking in my bruised jaw, my muddy clothes, and the twitching tremor in my fingers.

“Your father’s empire fell three hours ago,” Gabriel said quietly, his tone completely flat. “The federal marshals have seized every bank account tied to the Vance Group. Your wife Leonie was arrested at the private airfield forty minutes ago.”

My heart slammed violently against my ribs, a cold wave of panic rushing through my veins. “Leonie was caught?”

“She was foolish,” Gabriel replied, resting one gloved hand inside his coat pocket. “She thought money could buy her a quick exit. She did not realize who she was truly running from.”

“Brandon Sterling,” I spat, my voice laced with pure, burning venom. My hands curled into tight fists at my sides. “He took everything. He took my family’s money. He trapped my father. And he is holding Aria hostage in that house.”

Gabriel watched my reaction closely, his dark eyes glinting with a strange, calculating light. “You believe he is holding her against her will.”

“I know he is,” I said, taking a step toward him. “She loves me. She was terrified when I saw her in his study. Brandon forced her to stay. He turned her against me, but if I can just get her away from his security, she will see the truth. She will come back to me.”

Gabriel remained silent for a long moment, studying the desperation etched across my face. He let out a low, quiet breath, nodding slowly.

“Brandon Sterling is a cruel man,” Gabriel said, his voice dropping an octave, carrying a heavy, bitter weight that I did not fully understand. “He takes whatever he wants, and he discards the people who bleed for him. He believes he is untouchable sitting in his high tower.”

“You know him?” I asked, frowning slightly as I picked up on the sudden edge in his tone.

“I know what he is,” Gabriel answered smoothly, his expression instantly smoothing back into a calm, emotionless mask. “I know how his personal security operates. I know the hidden flaws in his estate’s defense grid. And I know exactly how to make him suffer.”

A wave of desperate hope surged through my chest, blinding me to the dark danger radiating off the man standing in front of me.

“Then help me,” I pleaded, stepping closer to him. “I have offshore accounts my father never knew about. I can pay you whatever you want. Just give me the weapons, give me the men, and help me break into his estate one last time. I just want Aria.”

Gabriel reached inside his leather coat and pulled out a clean, silver encrypted phone, extending it toward

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10:54 Fri, Aug 28

My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires

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