“I'm going to head back to my office,” I said when Tess started working on his shoulder. “You need anything, text me.”
Jace looked at me, and I saw the fear underneath the determination. “You'll be here? Tomorrow?”
“Every day.” I met his eyes. “I'm not going anywhere.”
CHAPTER 23
FIRST CIRCLE
JACE
The training facility felt different when it was just me and Tess. The rest of the team was on the ice for practice, and I could hear the distant sound of skates and whistles echoing through the walls. I should've been out there with them.
Instead, I was here.
Tess looked up from her computer when I walked in. “Hartley. Right on time.”
“Yeah. Figured I should start things off right.”
“Good call.” She stood, already moving toward the treatment area. “Today we're starting with shoulder mobility and stability work, then we'll move to leg strengthening.” She paused. “It's going to hurt. A lot. You good with that?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let's go.”
She started me on resistance band work—external rotations that made my shoulder burn after the first set. I kept my breathing steady, focused on form, didn't complain when she added more resistance.
“Good. Ten more.” Tess stood beside me, watching my mechanics. “Keep your elbow tight to your side. I want controlled movement, not momentum.”
I adjusted, feeling the difference immediately. The burn intensified.
“That's it. Five more.”
I finished the set and lowered the band, shoulder trembling slightly.
“How's the pain?” she asked.
“Manageable.”
“On a scale.”
“Six.”
She made a note on her tablet. “Better. You're learning.” She switched out the band for a heavier resistance. “Same thing. Three sets of fifteen.”
The second set was harder. The third had me gritting my teeth. But I got through it without stopping, without asking for a break.
Tess moved me to the treatment table next. “Shoulder press. Light weight. I want to see your range of motion under load.”
She handed me a five-pound dumbbell that felt like fifty when I tried to press it overhead. My shoulder protested immediately, muscles shaking with the effort.
“Slow and controlled,” Tess said. “Full extension, then back down. Twelve reps.”
I pushed through it. The weight felt unstable, like my shoulder couldn't quite figure out how to support it properly. But I finished the set.
“Again. Three more sets.”
By the fourth set, my shoulder was on fire. But I didn't stop. Didn't complain. Just kept moving.
