The time it would take before the media died enough for Hux to cover for me, let me out if I was at my luckiest. If we weren't and we needed to do a full press conference, then I’d be an hour or more.
Every minute here ate into my time with her.
“Head in the game, Coach.” Shannon dipped his chin, looking up into my eyes, though he kept his voice low, thank fuck. “Don’t you drop out on us when we need you.”
I glared at him. “Get your ass out on the ice before I decide to bench you for the rest of the game, Incarcsen. Or they’ll be calling you the Seatinator rather than the Incarcenator.”
Shannon grinned. “There’s the asshole we love.”
I was too relieved to see the smart ass smiling back at me, all cocky and white toothed, that I let the comment slide. My palms slapped together hard enough to sting. “Remmeber the plays! You know who your target is.”
The linesman shot me a dirty look, but I really didn’t have any fucks left to give him. I cheered with the rest of the crowd when Hux and Shannon took the puck down our end and scored flawlessly in seconds.
“That’s how you do it!” I hollered, knowing my voice would be raw for Sia. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d heard it, nor the last. I hoped to hell she found it sexy. I’d never thought to ask.
“I wanna be like them when I grow up.” Knox hung over the gate until I knocked his pads away.
“You are. But play goods and don’t earn yourself a penalty from the bench," I muttered, still watching the players.
My mind registered Knox’s surprised sound, but all I could do was watch Hux slam his competitor into the barrier helmet first.
“Not his fault. Come on,” I yelled, defending his inexcusable actions when the ref and I both knew he had no real reason for it.
Hey, it was part of the damn job. If I didn’t stand up for my boys, who would?
“Thanks.” Hux yanked off his helmet and ruffled his hair as Knox took his place on the ice.
Eight minutes to go.
“You shouldn’t be in there at all.” I glared at him.
“Yeah.” Hux shrugged. “But Knox has it.” He nodded to the younger man who worked with Shannon as though they had been playing together as long as the rest of the team.
I blinked, and my focus shifted off the teams on the ice entirely. “Did you just earn yourself a penalty for no good reason so we could share some ass space, captain?"
Hux watched me. “How are you, Ward?”
My throat worked hard. “I’m counting how many laps you’ll be doing tomorrow. Suicides. Every. Damn—”
“There’s no training tomorrow,” Hux said softly.
“There will be for you.”
“Have you called her?”
I froze. “There’s a game on.” The reminder hit me hard.
Three minutes to go.
Jesus frigid Christ. Where the hell was my attention? The score still had the same deficit in the opposite direction as it had before Hux screwed with my night.
I watched Knox and Incarsen banter it out on the ice for another breath. “I haven’t called her.” I held up my hands. The ref ignored me. The puck slid out from underneath Shannon. I could hear him cursing from where I stood as his opposite whizzed across the ice, heading straight for our goals. “Fuck.”
“Valentine’s there.”
“He’s not Solace.”
“No.” Hux considered. “He’s himself.”
