A botched play that was fully my fault, all because I couldn’t complete a basic backhand pass.
Fuck me.
Morrison got in my head.
And now he knew I had a weakness.
OceanofPDF.com
BAILEY
I perched on the edge of my seat, my entire body tensed like a bowstring. Because attending a match between the Bulldogs and the Falcons wasn’t emotionally draining enough on its own, the game tonight had been incredibly tight—and physical. Like both sides were out for blood.
With less than two minutes left in the second period, both teams were practically dead on their feet, exhausted from beating the crap out of each other on the ice for the previous thirty-eight minutes of play. There had been more hits and infractions tonight than I’d seen in ages. Chase was obviously hitting anything that moved, but the other players were unusually aggressive too. Derek was on some kind of rampage, which was completely out of character for him. Even some of the tamer players were piling on. The Bulldogs were targeting Ward in particular, probably because he was their most skilled opponent. And they were going after Chase because, well, Chase.
The officials had started letting some of the less serious penalties slide, probably so they weren’t playing four-on-four for the entire twenty minutes each period.
After a turnover, Chase got a hold of the puck on their end and brought it up. Paul headed in his direction, accelerating with the obvious intent to initiate a massive hit. My breath caught and I braced myself, but Chase glanced over in the nick of time. He pivoted out of the way, and Paul slammed into the boards at top speed, making a loud crunch.
I burst out laughing. Good thing we weren’t near Amelia.
“Oof.” Siobhan cringed, biting her raspberry pink lip. “Tough break for that guy.”
“A well-deserved one,” I said.
“Falcons aren’t playing very well.” She shivered, zipping up her teal puffy coat. The frosty arena was even colder than usual, which only added to my mental and physical discomfort. “Not like normal, anyway.” She sighed, raking a hand through her long, inky waves.
“Yeah, neither team is.” The Bulldogs’ three goals had largely been luck. I shifted my weight, crossing and uncrossing my legs because I couldn’t sit still. “Too busy trying to kill penalties while killing each other.”
We watched as Chase zoomed around one of our defensemen and right up to Mendez. He wound up and took a screamer of a shot on the net. It was heartbreakingly close but bounced off the crossbar with a defeating clang. Luke took possession off the rebound and skated up the far side, heading for the Falcons zone.
Chase turned and barreled straight for Luke like a shark that had detected blood in the water. Technically, someone else should have been covering Luke, and technically, Chase was taking himself out of position. But this was about more than hockey, especially after they’d been sniping back and forth all game. This was a way for Chase to clobber Luke with some degree of plausible deniability.
And Chase really wanted to make that hit. I’d never seen him skate so fast.
A split second before Chase caught up, Luke glanced over and realized he was about to get demolished. Instead of reacting, he froze, and Chase plowed into him with his shoulder, leveling him with a devastating open-ice check.
It was one of those brutal hits you’d see on TV, replayed in a “top ten hits of all-time” clip compilation.
Almost in slow motion, Luke went flying and landed in a heap on his side.
Chase skated off without looking back.
The crowd erupted into a roar while the players on the Bulldogs’ bench, including Derek, protested loudly, calling for a penalty.
Siobhan turned to me, her blue-green eyes wide. “Is the guy Chase flattened your asshole ex?”
“Yup. Sure is.” I adjusted my gray scarf, tucking it beneath the collar of my coat. It was soft and warm, but I could have used at least two more layers of clothing. Or maybe long underwear, not that it would be the sexiest thing for Chase to find later.
“That didn’t look good.” Shiv sucked in a breath through her dazzlingly white teeth, grimacing.
“Nope,” I said. “Sure didn’t.”
The referee blew the whistle, halting the play. I watched as Luke lay sprawled out on the ice, dazed. As much as I hated him, I didn’t like to see players get injured. Needless to say, I had mixed feelings. Luke definitely deserved a solid check—just not to be, like, severely maimed.
Moderately maimed, maybe.
But I didn’t want Chase to get in trouble, either.
Cheers erupted from the Bulldogs fans as Luke slowly pulled himself up and skated over to the bench, his balance unsteady and with a pronounced limp. As he stepped off the ice, the Bulldogs’ trainers ran to his side and helped him into the dressing room. He would be out for the rest of the game due to the league’s concussion protocols. Maybe longer, depending on the injury his leg had sustained.
But would Chase take a penalty? Or worse? The hit itself was clean, technically speaking; he’d kept his elbow tucked, and there was no contact with Luke’s head. But there was no doubt he’d intended to run Luke down. It wasn’t even a little gray.
Shiv and I watched, waiting on pins and needles and frozen rear ends, as the officials conferred off to the side.
“Please don’t let it be a game misconduct,” I muttered, rubbing my frigid hands together, which was about as effective as rubbing two ice cubes together.
“I hope not,” said Shiv. “The Falcons need him in the game.”
The referee signaled, calling a two-minute minor against Chase for charging.
“Phew,” I said, the tension in my body easing. It was more than fair, considering he’d traveled a significant distance out of his way to make the hit.
Siobhan nodded. “Thank goodness.”
The Bulldogs bench broke into a second round of loud complaints, calling for a stiffer punishment. Chase shrugged and skated over to the penalty box, smirking the entire way. I had a feeling he would have gladly taken a lengthier penalty.
Unfortunately, there were fewer than twenty seconds left on the clock, which meant that the Bulldogs would start the third period on another power play while the Falcons were left shorthanded again.
I hoped that wouldn’t come back to haunt them.
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 30
OceanofPDF.com
NOT FIRST
Bailey
As the second intermission started, Siobhan and I made our way up the stairs, heading into the concourse to stretch our legs. And, hopefully, to regain feeling in our lower halves. Not only was the arena cold, but the seats were rock hard, and my butt had gone numb. We might as well have been sitting on the ice surface below.
She sighed. “Maybe the third will be better.”
“I hope so.” It was difficult to believe it would, but Chase decimating Luke could be good for the Falcons’ morale. Or Chase’s morale, at least. I pointed to the pink sign at the far end of the hallway. “I need to run to the bathroom.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’m going to hit the concession for a hot chocolate. I’ll turn into Elsa soon if I don’t get something to warm me up. Do you want one too?”
“That would be great, thanks.” It would pale in comparison to the hot chocolate from End of the World with Chase, but Shiv was right—the arena’s chill had seeped into my bones. Next time I was at Northview, I would have to remember to bring a blanket.