Fucking beautiful.
My lips pull at both sides, mirroring a Cheshire cat smile. Rudy skates past the Hammers d-man, Buckley, who’s furiousthat he fell for Rudy’s deke and could do nothing but watch him take the shot, giving us the lead we need to secure the win.
The home crowd cheers for a solid minute to show their love and appreciation for number twenty-four.
Rudy skates past Buckley, blowing him a kiss, and the crowd bursts out in applause and cheers.
I’m still grinning—right until Rudy’s face changes.
He should be moving to his mark.
Instead, his body locks, the hockey stick hanging loose in his hand. His gaze focuses straight into the crowd like a hand reaches out and grabs him by the neck.
A cold prickle slides down my spine.
I know he’s not basking in the glory.
He knows when to stop.
The crowd roars behind me. Hayes is being blocked in by two of The Hammers next to our net, but the puck is nowhere near my captain.
I push on my skates to help him, but the two goons disperse as I approach, and when Hayes’s eyes widen, my head snaps back in understanding.
I turn in time to see Buckley charging for Rudy.
A distraction.
“Rudy!” I call out to him as loud as I can.
Rudy doesn’t turn.
Doesn’t brace.
He’s a statue.
Buckley slams into Rudy with a force that punches the air out of the stadium. Rudy’s body lifts before spinning in midair like a ragdoll. His helmet smashes against the boards, a sickening crack echoing louder than the crowd’s collective gasp.
Then silence.
My breath stops as Rudy drops to the ice in a heap. For a heartbeat, it’s Jack all over again—blood, silence, helplessness.
Then the world falls back into place.
Yelling, screaming, and booing hits me from every angle as a medical team rushes onto the ice to get to Rudy.
Oliver and Austin whizz past me, both heading for Buckley as the home crowd hollers in fury. Hayes is already kneeling beside Rudy before the stretcher gets to them.
Rudy doesn’t move.
And as they’re carrying him off the ice, all I can do is stare and pray I’m not watching someone else I love die.
I tune into the chaos and find the refs have Oliver and Austin held back.
Buckley skates away, wiping his lip. When he spits blood on Jack’s sign, a rage I’ve never known ignites my entire body. Before I know it, I eat the distance and launch myself at Buckley, both of us colliding to the ground.
Rudy regainsconsciousness soon after he’s carted off the ice, but says he has a headache, so Briar insists he go to the hospital. Now we’re waiting for him to be checked out.
A growl rips from deep within me as I thump my fist into my thigh.
