“Yes, Coach,” we replied in unison.
He turned on his heel to leave, shaking his head and muttering, “Fucking amateur hour in here.”
Cole stood, tossing his shoulder pads over his head, and then he addressed the team. “I think by now we know he’s not bluffing. So let’s make those bruises worth it and walk out of here with a win!”
A cheer rang out, and the rest of us rose to our feet, suiting up with a renewed sense of determination.
Hitting the ice for the third period, I took a few laps and got into position for the face-off. The ref dropped the puck, and Cole was quick to win it back to his brother. An up-pass to Dylan at the blue line, and we were in the offensive zone, ready to go to work and take the lead.
Unfortunately for us, the Pythons weren’t going down without a fight, and their six-eight enforcer checked Dylan behind the net, separating him from the puck, and soon the action was moving in the opposite direction, toward our own goalie.
Busting my ass, I skated hard on the backcheck, supporting the defense against the opposing team’s rush, but despite slamming the puck carrier into the boards, he was able to dump it deep, allowing the Pythons to set up possession in our zone.
Letting Crew and Jagger take care of business down low, I floated near the point, keeping an eye on the Pythons defensemen standing guard at the blueline. We attempted to break up their passes but were unsuccessful, and they cycled the puck with ease, searching for the perfect opportunity to fire it toward the net.
Stuck in the defensive zone, our shift extended past the typical thirty to forty-five seconds, and by the time it approached two minutes of ice time, we were on dead legs, barely able to move.
Our opponents took full advantage, changing on the fly to bring in fresh bodies. Like sharks smelling blood in the water, they were circling for the kill.
You could feel it in the air; a goal was inevitable if we couldn’t clear the zone.
Thighs burning, it felt as though I was skating through a sea of molasses instead of cutting across smooth ice, and I couldn’t break up the pass to the man I was covering. He moved along the blue line, and I positioned myself to take away any potential pass to the slot as Cole pressured him. Pulling his stick back, like he was about to take a slapshot, he brought the blade down, sending it to his defensive partner, who quickly sent a wrist shot careening toward the net.
With Coach’s threat looming, I put my body directly in front of the fast-moving puck. Exhausted out of my mind, I didn’t even register the height of the shot. Not until pain exploded between my legs, stealing both my breath and my vision.
I dropped like a rock, my body torn between the need to puke or pass out. Agony unlike I’d ever known lit up my insides, radiating outward, and I wanted to fucking die.
Somewhere in the distance, I thought I heard the sharp sound of a whistle.
Then Jagger’s voice said, “Guess it’s a good thing you already have a kid because I don’t think you’ll be able to have any more.”
All I could manage was a weak whimper as I cupped my crotch with both hands.
Man down.
Chapter 17
Arizona
I know you won’t see this until after your game, but I wanted to let you know Hilda dropped by this afternoon. You’d have thought she moonlights as a forensic analyst with how she went through every inch of this place with a fine-toothed comb. She must not have found what she was looking for because she left in an even worse mood than when she got here, which I didn’t believe was possible. The good news is we’re in the clear for now.
The sports app says your game ended hours ago. Where are you?
So help me God, if you’re off with a woman while I’m risking everything so that you can get custody of your daughter, I’ll kill you with my bare hands. We had a deal.
Okay, I’m really starting to worry. Are you okay?
Goddammit, Levi, you better not be dead in a ditch somewhere.
Not a single one of my texts in the past eight hours had been marked as read, and it was coming up on 2 AM. With worst-case scenarios flashing before my eyes, I’d taken to pacing the first floor now that the kids were asleep.
I was seconds away from calling the cops to report the man missing when a knock sounded at the front door. And if I wasn’t mistaken, Levi was singing on the other side.
Had he been out getting drunk while I was here, out of my mind with worry?
Maybe I’d get to make good on that death threat I’d issued via text after all.
Moving as fast as my feet would carry me, I didn’t bother to check the peephole before flinging open the door.
