Page 156 of Breakaway Hearts

Before I skate away, a sign in the audience catches my eye. I don’t normally pay attention, whether they’re about how great we are or how much we suck, but this one says ‘Trevor ’ in red glitter, and my chest goes tight.

I don’t know the last name of the guy who hurt Madison, but I somehow know it’s him. It’s not the most uncommon name, but I could tell something was up when Mad was willingly missing a home game, no matter how excited she was to talk things through with her mom. And the way Jason was tense and distant for warmups and in the locker room after…I’d bet my future signing bonus the rapist’s name is Trevor Milligan.

Thank fuck she isn’t here. I never lead in hits and only join scrums to defend my teammates, at which point I’m all in, because you don’t touch the people I care about. But if I’m right and this is the asshole who hurt the woman I love…it’s best he can’t look at her.

My suspicions are confirmed when unshakeable, level-headed Gravy gets a penalty for cross-checking Milligan, and instead of being apologetic, he looks like he wishes he’d done more damage.

I face off against their tiniest center, send it to Alvarez, and check the guy so we can bring it to their side of the rink. Alvarez passes it back to me, I send it to Colt, and he shoots it in right through their goalie’s five-hole.

Our team, and most of the crowd, is ecstatic, but the opposing players are pissed and looking for blood.

I win the next faceoff, but they intercept it and send it to our net, missing it entirely, but there’s no icing call, so they try again. Milligan hits me from the back, which should be a penalty, but they’re not calling much tonight. Milligan puts himself in front of our net, and even as Gravy follows the puck, I watch him struggle not to react to his former teammate. I’m shoving against the asshole more aggressively than I would if he were any other player, but not enough for the refs to interfere. Just enough that he stops taunting Jason. So far, it’s nothing worth punching him for, just nicknames and insides to show familiarity and break through Jason’s shield, like he has no idea why they’re not friends anymore.

There’s fifteen seconds left in the penalty kill when the puck bounces off my stick, into the netting above the glass, which means another faceoff. It’s taking everything in me to keep my head in the game, to get this over with so I can go back to the locker room without becoming a murderer, find Madison, and hold her close.

But Milligan must follow the puck into the crowd, because, “Fuck, is that Maddie? Finch is looking fine, isn’t she?”

I glance up to confirm she’s there, and just like that, my urge to murder him for what he did to her is replaced by a fierce need to protect her at all costs.

“Don’t,” Jason warns, probably seeing the rage on my face.

Milligan turns midway through saying something about going to say hi to her after the game. Then gives me a knowing smile.

He looks down at my jersey and says, “I was wondering why she wasn’t wearing mine.”

“Or that loser’s.” I didn’t even realize another forward had come over, but he joins our conversation with the confidence of someone who knows they’re untouchable. “You said the bitch loved to share, right?”

And just like that, my gloves are off and my fist collides with the side of Milligan’s jaw.

He falls to the ground, but I don’t stop hitting him, I go down to his level and hit whatever I can reach through the little protective ball he’s put himself in. There’s blood on my hands, and I know I should stop, but I don’t, not until more of his teammates come to fight his fucking battles for him.

Before I know it, everyone on the ice is fighting. Even Vale, who came to pry me off Milligan, joins in until the referees separate us.

I look up to where Maddie was sitting and panic when I can’t find her. The refs are trying to send me down the tunnel, off the ice, but I’m fighting them, which I know is going to get me in trouble, but I won’t go until I see her.

“Dude, stop fighting them, it’s over.” Mike tries to calm me down.

“I’ve got her,” Jason assures me. His lip is split from his scuffle with the asshole who made the sharing comment, but the refs are all on me, so he manages to get off the ice, and I finally let them take me.

Chapter Seventy

Madison

Might as well have fun

Itake a deep breath as I walk into the arena. It’s not like Trevor can get to me through the boards. He probably won’t even be able to see me, but Owen usually looks up at me whenever he scores, and Trevor doesn’t deserve to take that smile away from him.

“I thought you weren’t coming!” Tab says, getting to her feet when she spots me.

“Change of plans,” I say loosely, but she greets me with a hug, like she somehow knows I need a little more support today.

Bree and Sav are there too, with Mrs. Benson and Liv the row beneath us…a crowd of people Trevor wouldn’t risk doing anything to me in front of.

“How’s it going so far?” I see they’re setting up for a penalty kill.

“We’re up, but #7 just pissed Jason off enough to draw a penalty when they haven’t been calling anything.”

I look down and see the back of #7’s jersey says Milligan.