"Famous last words," Ivy mutters.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Just... be careful. Guys like that, they're used to winning and they don't like it when someone challenges them."
"Good thing I don't care what he likes." I snap, and shake my head. I’ve spoken to him once and he's already making me angry.
Later, alone in my room, I pull up the photos of Carter Lynch again. Study his face. The cold eyes. The set jaw. The posture that screams confidence bordering on arrogance.
He's going to be a problem, but I've never backed down from a problem in my life.
And I'm not about to start now.
Bring it on, Lynch.
Let's see who breaks first.
Chapter 2
Carter
The article drops at 6AM,right when I'm in the middle of my morning workout.
My phone explodes.
Teammates. Coaches. My father. The athletic director. Everyone has an opinion, and none of them are good.
I don't read it immediately. Finish my set first, bench press, two hundred and thirty pounds, eight reps. Control the things I can control. That's what my sports psychologist always says.
Finally, I towel off and open the Tribune website.
"Beneath the Ice: Toxic Culture in Thornhill Hockey"
By Lennox Hayes
I read it once. Then again. Then a third time because I can't believe what I'm seeing.
She interviewed former players, before I was captain. She dug up the academic probation shit from my freshman year when I was stupid and desperate to fit in. She made it sound like the team is some kind of toxic wasteland where women are treated like objects and violence is encouraged.
Some of it's true. Or was true. Years ago.
But she doesn't mention any of the changes I've made. The new team policies. The mandatory consent and respect training. The zero-tolerance stance on hazing that I've enforced so strictly that half the senior class hates me for it.
She wrote the story she wanted to write. The one that makes me look like a monster.
My phone rings. My father.
I almost don't answer, but avoiding Richard Lynch never works. He just calls back and back.
"Yeah?"
"Have you seen it?" His voice is tight. Controlled. Which means he's furious.
"Just read it."
"This is unacceptable. That girl has slandered you. Slandered the program. We need to respond. Legal response."
"Dad, it's a college newspaper article?—"
