“Get him off, get him off,” Tor roared at the team.
But it was too late. Ref made the call.
Match penalty.
Now he was down a player. Andrew Kelly, the Renegade coach, signaled who he wanted out. The Hellions star forward, Petrov, skated toward the penalty box, head down, shoulders slumped. Donnelly trailed after.
“Nate,” Tor snapped. The second-string goalie was going in.
“On it, Coach.” Nathan Reed checked his laces and headed out.
Donnelly didn’t even glance in Reed’s direction as he passed; his cheeks were flushed over his ginger beard and he breathed hard.
“Happy?” Tor growled.
“You didn’t hear what that bastard said.” Donnelly ripped off his mask and hurled it at the plexiglass. “Fury talked a bunch of—”
“I don’t give a rat’s hairless pink ass if he insulted your mama, your little sister, or your mamaandyour sister. Your job is to keep your head. Did that happen tonight?”
Donnelly stared at the floor with a sullen expression.
“I just asked you a question.” Tor dropped his voice to a subzero whisper. “If you have the slightest sense of self-preservation, you’re going to give me an answer.”
A muscle twitched beneath Donnelly’s left eye. “Lost my head.”
“You’re making it a habit.”
“Look.” He covered his face with his hand. “I’m trying not to, Coach. I’m—”
“Sucking air in my vicinity,” Tor snapped. “Just get outta here and let me watch us lose in peace.”
Donnelly hesitated. “I am sorry, Coach.”
“So am I. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get through to you.” Tor turned his attention back to the play. And as soon as the game was over, he got called to the owner’s box to receive even worse news.
Now here he was, thirty minutes later, glaring at the Hellions locker room door while straightening his tie. Everyone on the other side would have questions, and he couldn’t provide a single answer. The league negotiations had crapped out. A lockout was now in effect over salary caps, the cherry to the night’s shit sundae.
Swallowing back a frustrated sigh, Tor banged open the locker room door and strode inside. All conversation muted as he marched to the center of the room and stopped short of the pitchfork emblazoned on the floor. No need to invite further bad luck by standing on top of the team logo. He drew his gaze up to his favorite Gretzky quote stenciled along the curved wall before taking in the expectant men on the benches.
These players were a unique breed. Many had left home at a young age to chase a seemingly impossible dream. Some had travelled overseas to build resumes. Most, at some point, had lived far from parents, friends and the comforts of home, forging new friendships with those who had made similar sacrifices.
It was these bonds, a brotherhood strengthened through sacrifice and physical and mental hardship, that sustained a player through tough times both on and off the ice. One of the reasons he’d insisted on the new locker room being shaped as an oval and not a square was so everyone could always see each other, no one relegated to a corner. And his commitment to keeping the focus on team over individuals had worked, at least until this season.
He pressed two fingers to his temple. He’d kill for another Jed West on the team, a natural leader with the rare combination of poise and skill.
The press corps stuffed into the room’s perimeter, holding their collective breath.
Waiting.
Waiting.
The silent question was almost audible.Will Tor Gunnar go rogue?
The powers that be had made one thing crystal clear. With the lockout in effect, NHL staff were instructed to cut off contact with players. Violating the terms was to risk bringing down hell, everything from fines to forfeiture of future draft picks. Simply walking in here took steel balls, especially with the jackals from the press prowling the room’s perimeter.
But these guys were family.Hisfamily. And he’d be damned if he let them go without some sort of send-off. He wanted them to know he was here. That he cared no matter what... win or lose, rain or shine, good times and bad. This game was bigger than a paycheck, bigger than a contract.
They were brothers in arms.
