Maxton passes the puck to Kai. Kai hands it off to Holden. The Bears' defense is collapsing, trying to protect their net and the goal tender. Their goalie, Keegan Lambert, the former backup goalie for the Hudson Huskies, is crouched and ready.
I position myself at the top of the crease, my stick ready. A Bears defenseman tries to box me out but I'm stronger, more experienced. I hold my ground. I won’t be forced out of this spot no matter how hard he tries.
Holden has the puck behind the net. He's looking for an opening, and I fucking know he's going to pass it to me.
Our eyes meet for a split second, but that’s all we need. We’ve been on this ice together the longest, and I can read his every move before he makes it.
He sends it to me.
The puck slides across the ice, a perfect, clean pass. I don't think before I act. Twenty years of muscle memory kicks in, and I pull my stick back and release. I put everything I have into this shot.
The puck flies toward the goal.
Keegan moves, but he's a half of a second too slow for my shot.
The puck hits the back of the net.
The goal horn blares around us. Every Hudson fan in the crowd erupts into cheers. My teammates are screaming and rushing toward me, but everything feels as though it happens in slow motion.
Even when my men crash into me, I barely feel it. Holden grabs my face, his smile wide and bright as he talks to me, but I don’t hear what he’s saying.
All I can think about is her.
I look up at the stands, searching through the chaos of jumping fans and waving signs until I find her.
Gianna.
She's on her feet, her sign is clutched in her hands high above her head, and tears are streaming down her beautiful face. She's screaming something I can't hear. After a few tries,I can read her lips.
That's my man.
My chest cracks open, and my eyes burn as I fight back my own tears.
All the guys are piling on me now, gloves and helmets flying. Everyone is shouting about the Cup and about the win. Grown men are crying and hugging, because we fucking did it.
But I'm already pulling away from them. Before I can try to get to my girl, I hear shouting and cursing.
Turning my head, I see the commotion is coming from center ice. Truett and Keegan are going at it, gloves off, fists flying. It's the showdown that's been brewing all season. Once we learned who we’d be facing in the finals, I knew that no matter who took home the Cup, this fight would be the highlight of the game.
Holden and Kai are already skating toward Truett and Keegan. Maxton is not far behind them. I could let them handle it on their own, but this is still my team, regardless of my retirement status.
Skating as hard as I can, I race across the ice and make it to the center just as Truett falls on top of Keegan. He’s shouting something that sounds like, “I’m glad they traded such a shitty goalie off my team,” in Keegan’s face.
Keegan uses every ounce of momentum he can gain in their restrictive gear to buck Truett off of him. Then, he’s on top of him, but he’s not trying to fight him. Instead, he’s just sitting there on top of him.
I get to the mayhem just as one of the Bears’ defensemen goes to punch Tru in the face. Slamming my shoulder into him, he goes sailing across the ice as Holden and Kai rip Keegan off of our teammate.
Once he’s standing, Holden grabs him and whispers, “Don’t do this right now. I’ll deal with him. Go back to your team and celebrate how well you fought for the last seven games. You did great. We just did better. Now, go.”
With one last death glare at Truett, who is just now getting back on his skates, Keegan skates off the ice.
“What the fuck, Vale,” Kai barks at Truett once he’s upright. “Not the time for this shit.”
Holden goes at him next, and I’m positive that Coach will have a lot to say to him once we’re back in the locker room. I’m not needed right now. They've got it handled.
Which is a good thing, because I have somewhere else I need to be.
I skate toward the boards, straight toward the section where I know she is. Security tries to stop me from calling her to me, but I don't care what he’s going to say to try to stop me. I'm Daemon fucking Lucero, and I just scored the game winning goal in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.
