Beauty and the Basher (Frostbitten #1)

Prologue

On Ice

The ice in the Rink was still clean from the Zamboni’s earlier path, except for the bloodstain near the scorekeeper’s bench.

The blood had soaked into the ice, creating an uneven, rippled effect on the otherwise smooth surface.

Thin tracks left by a wheeled stretcher led away from the stain, disappearing near the boards.

Typically, the Rink at Bellford University was loud and raucous, filled with the sound of cheering fans, shouting hockey players, the thunderous noise of applause, or the elegant fullness of music playing through the speakers for a figure skater’s program.

Tonight, though, it was silent.

There had been no one there to witness the gruesome scene at the Rink. Only a single figure skater who had arrived after, his face white with shock when he saw the horror. Then there were the paramedics, the police.

Now, it was silent again.

In the hours and days to come, there would be many questions. How had this happened? It had been such a good year for the team. A promising one. Everyone was expecting them to win the Frozen Four after last year’s narrow and disappointing defeat. Now that was all in jeopardy.

There would be answers, eventually. It wouldn’t take the police long to figure out what had happened. People would come forward and talk. There would be more tears, and noise would eventually return to the Rink.

Now, though, it stayed silent.

It was almost deserted. Barriers of police tape cordoned off all entrances, and campus security cars squatted like steel-and-aluminum sentinels.

Only one other person remained by the Rink, and that was only because the police hadn’t called him in for his statement. They would soon. He had come back to the Rink after going to the hospital, hoping and hoping that he hadn’t been too late.

The figure skater stood outside, his face still pale in shock, his hands and clothes stained red with blood. When he had entered the rink and seen what had happened, he had run forward on the ice, slipping, and done everything he could to stop the bleeding.

He’d been there in the ambulance, huddled to the side while the paramedics did what they could.

Now, back at the scene of the crime, he could only hope that it would be enough.