My spine straightened. My breath steadied.
And when Gary glanced up through the chaos—through the screams and fists and flashing lights—I met his gaze with something hotter than hate. I met it with purpose.
My breath came in sharp, shallow bursts as I clung to the edge of my seat, eyes locked on the storm unfolding just beyond the glass. Nick moved like a man possessed—each punch, each dodge, a declaration. Blood smeared across his cheekbone, and still, he didn’t falter. He stood his ground, an immovable force in a world intent on breaking him.
His teammates surged in around him, a flurry of black and silver, forming a shield against Gary and Jake’s ambush. But it wasn’t enough. The air crackled with violence. The arena roared—a single, monstrous sound that drowned out everything else, everything but the thundering of my heart.
Nick moved with brutal precision, his body coiled and honed like he’d been waiting for this exact moment his entire life. Every strike landed with purpose. Every blow he took only fueled the fire behind his eyes. When Jake went down hard, sprawled out on the ice, the crowd lost its mind—screams, cheers, curses blending into white noise.
But I didn’t cheer. I couldn’t.
Because even as Nick stood victorious, there was no relief. Only fury. Only the sharp edge of everything we’d been fighting against rushing in to test us all over again.
Gary launched himself forward—and my lungs seized. Predator. That was what he looked like. That was what he was.
Nick turned to meet him, and time fractured—just for a moment—as their gazes locked. Rage, history, betrayal… it all collided in that single glance. Years of unfinished war crackled in the air between them like lightning about to strike.
And when it did—when they clashed again in a blur of fists and tangled limbs—I felt it deep in my bones.
This wasn’t about hockey. It never had been.
It was about everything.
But even in the middle of it all, through the madness and the flashing lights and the chaos of bodies grappling for dominance, Nick found me.
Somehow, impossibly—he found me.
Our eyes met through the storm, and the world fell away. The noise dulled. The fear quieted. All that existed in that heartbeat was him—bruised, bloodied, and still burning.
And then he nodded.
A single, sharp movement.
But it said everything.
I’ve got you.
We’re in this.
I’m not letting go.
The air caught in my throat, and something inside me splintered open—hope breaking through the fear like a blade through frost.
Referees finally tore through the chaos, whistles blaring as they pried the fighters apart, forcing order back onto the ice. But even as they dragged Nick away—his chest heaving, his eyes still blazing—he never looked away from me.
“Stay strong,” I whispered, the words trembling on my lips.
Not just for him—but for us.
Chapter 30
Nick
I slammed the locker room door so hard the metal shook, the echo ricocheting off the walls like a warning shot. I didn’t care who heard it. The only thing running through my head was him. Gary. That smug son of a bitch and the filth that came out of his mouth.
“Guess you like sharing, Maddox. Bet she’ll crawl back to me once you’re done with her.”
I saw red.
