The Secret Play (Pucking Daddies #3)

21. Casey

Chapter 21

Casey

T he moment I stepped into the locker room the next morning, I knew it wasn’t going to be a normal day.

The atmosphere was different—heavy, charged, the kind of tension that prickled at the back of your neck. I felt like prey. Conversations stopped mid-sentence as I walked in, and I caught the briefest flicker of glances exchanged before heads turned away. It was like high school all over again, only this time, the rumors were about me, as if I was finally one of the popular kids.

Is this how they always felt? No wonder they were dicks to everyone else.

Rumors always traveled fast in locker rooms, but this one had taken on a life of its own, spreading like wildfire through the arena. I’d always heard that saying about the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and I was Coach. It doesn’t get much bigger than that. Whitney had done her best to contain it, but some fires couldn’t be extinguished with words alone.

I stopped Luke, who dodged my gaze as he tried to walk by. But once I stepped in front of him, he couldn’t avoid me. “Hey. What’s going on?”

“Uh, nothing, Coach.”

“Don’t give me that. Why is everyone?—”

“McConnell!”

I turned just in time to see Nico storming toward me, his jaw tight and his fists clenched. He knew everything. Somehow, he knew.

“Nico,” I started, holding up a hand. “Let’s?—”

Before I could finish, he slammed me into the lockers with enough force to rattle the metal. My breath hitched, and for a second, I was too stunned to respond. The pain in my shoulder didn’t register, but I knew it would soon. No one took a hit from Nico without feeling it for days after.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he spat, his face inches from mine.

“Nico, calm down?—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down,” he snapped. “You’ve been lying to me. Lying to all of us. We’re supposed to be a team, Coach! How the fuck do you justify lying to us?”

“I haven’t?—”

“Don’t lie to me,” he said, his voice cold. “I know about Gemma.”

The words hit like a punch to the gut, harder than the shove into the lockers. It wasn’t even the words themselves. It was the disappointment in them. I knew how Nico felt about me—it was the same as a lot of the guys felt about me. I was a father figure to them, whether I wanted the role or not. That was why I held myself to a higher standard than other coaches did. I had to be someone they looked up to.

And now, Nico thought I failed him in the worst way.

“She’s my sister!” Nico continued, his voice rising. “My baby sister! And you—what, you thought you could keep this a secret? That no one would figure it out?”

“Nico, it’s not like that,” I said quickly.

“Bullshit!” he shouted, shoving me again for good measure. The back of my head knocked against the cold metal. “You think I’m stupid? A redhead, a kid conceived the night of the masquerade, you asking me about the mask she wore—how long did you think it would take me to put it together?”

I didn’t know what to say. I’d been so careful, so sure that we could keep this quiet, but in hindsight, it was obvious. Of course, Nico had figured it out. He wasn’t just a teammate—he was family, and that connection made him sharper than I’d given him credit for. I deserved whatever he said or did to me. I just wished the rest of the team wasn’t here to see this. They didn’t need to see us fight.

Given he was Gemma’s brother, I didn’t want this fight to get any worse, either. Locker room fights were notoriously bad because every surface in a locker room is hard. Metal, wood, tile, none of that was good to the human body. That was why I always made the guys take their grievances out on the ice, if things got too heated in the locker room.

No chance of that happening now.

“You’re supposed to be better than this,” Nico said, his voice trembling with anger. “I looked up to you, Coach. We all do. But now you’re just—what, another guy who couldn’t keep it in his pants? Just another schmuck like every other asshole out there? Who are you anymore?”

I winced, the words cutting deeper than I wanted to admit. I’d started to wonder about that myself. Worse, the players watched us, hanging on his every word. Whatever this was, it would not help the team. I had to get him out of here.

“You’re too old for her,” Nico snarled bitterly. “She’s young, Coach. She’s got her whole life ahead of her, and you?—”

“Nico, stop.”

“Why the hell should I?” he shot back. “Because you don’t like hearing the truth?”

“Because this isn’t the place for it,” I said, stepping away from the lockers. “Come to my office. Now.”

I was relieved when he followed instead of taking the chance to catch me with my guard down. But I trusted Nico—locker slams aside. He was a good man, and he wouldn’t attack me from behind. I hoped.

The walk to my office was tense, Nico trailing behind me with barely restrained fury. I felt the weight of his glare on my back the entire way, and by the time we stepped inside, my own frustration simmered.

How dare he attack me in front of the team?

I couldn’t just let that shit slide. If I did that, the team was lost. I shut the door and turned to face him, my hands on my hips. But what I saw on his face wasn’t anger anymore. It was pain. I’d hurt Nico, and that took the steam out of me. “How did you figure it out?”

His jaw clenched. “Seamus.”

I closed my eyes and sighed. Of course. I should have known. He’d been out most of the season with the flu and was just coming back. He had been trained for the clergy before joining the team, so ice cream was his only vice. Perfect for helping him regain some of the weight he lost with the flu. I’d told him to eat as much of it as he could, which made this my fault.

How the hell had I missed him being there? Because I was too messed up about Gemma to pay attention to anyone else. So, it was doubly my fault.

I shook my head at myself. “Seamus was at Sprinkles, wasn’t he? He saw us?”

Nico nodded once.

“All right. Let’s get this out in the open.”

“Yeah, let’s,” he said, crossing his arms.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself before I spoke. “Yes, I’ve been seeing Gemma. According to her, Winnie is my daughter. And I know it in my bones. She even has almost the same birthmark as me.”

Nico’s jaw tightened, his knuckles white where they gripped his arms.

“But it’s not what you think,” I continued. “I didn’t know about Winnie, Nico. The night we met at the masquerade, I didn’t know Gemma was your sister. When we met again here, I didn’t know about Winnie—I didn’t know about anything until recently.”

“And you didn’t recognize Gemma when you saw her again? Are you screwing that many girls that you can’t keep up with them? You’re just like the rest of them, aren’t you?”

“The night at the masquerade…we didn’t share names. We called each other by our mask colors. I was Red, she was Blue. We kept our masks on during the sex?—”

He held his hand up to quiet me down. “That’s enough. I don’t need more details about that. She’s my sister.”

“Understood.” I had to change the topic or he’d shut down. I read it on his face. “If I’d known, Nico, I would’ve done things differently.”

“Would you?”

“Yes,” I said firmly. “I’m not proud of how this happened, but I care about her, Nico. I care about both of them.”

“That’s not the point,” he said, his voice rising again. “You knew the rules, Coach. No fraternizing with family. You drilled it into all of us from day one, and now you’re the one breaking the rules. You’re a hypocrite.”

I flinched, guilt twisting in my gut. “I know.”

“You’re supposed to be better than this, better than all of us,” he said again, his voice cracking slightly. “You were like a father to me, Coach. To all the guys. And you’re banging my baby sister? You were the guy we looked up to, the guy we trusted to set the example. And now?—”

He broke off, shaking his head as he paced the room.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

He stopped, turning to face me with a look of pure disbelief. “Sorry? That’s all you’ve got?”

“I don’t know what else to say. What could I say that would make you feel better about any of this?”

“You could’ve told me about you and Gemma,” he said, his voice trembling. “You could’ve trusted me. But instead, you snuck around behind my back, like a rat.” He glared at me, part rage, part pain.

I had no defense, so I remained silent. He was right. The past aside, I had broken the rules. I had started seeing Gemma, knowing full well it was against the rules. I deserved whatever came next.

He shook his head in disgust. “You’re not the man I thought you were.”

And that hurt worse than any punishment my boss could dole out. Because Nico was right.

I’d been a different man since the moment I met Gemma all those years ago. Something had shifted in me after that night. I was more confident with women, more self-assured on the ice. Still played things safe, but I wasn’t afraid to do a little free-falling every now and then. And now that she was back in the picture, I had broken all the rules for her.

Gemma had changed me completely. But I had fallen for her. There was no excuse for how I’d gotten there, but maybe if he knew that, then he’d understand. “Nico, I?—”

Without another word, Nico turned and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

I sank into my chair. His words rang in my head. You’re not the man I thought you were. It wasn’t just Nico’s anger that stung—it was the truth behind it. I’d let him down. I’d let the team down. And worst of all, I’d let myself down. I didn’t regret anything with Gemma—I only regretted how I’d mishandled the situation.

A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts, and Whitney stepped in, her expression worried. She leaned against the doorframe. “I tried.”

“Tried what?”

“To stop the rumor,” she said. “But it’s out of control, Casey. Everyone’s talking about it, and now that Nico ran off at the mouth and Gemma’s name is in the mix…”

I held up a hand, cutting her off. “I get it. This is bad.”

Whitney hesitated, then stepped closer. “Look, I know this is a mess, but you’ve got to fix it. The guys are pissed. Nico isn’t the only one who’s disappointed in you. It’s the team, and soon enough, it’ll be Matthew. You know how he feels about this kind of thing. That’s why it’s in everyone’s contracts. Family is off-limits.”

I nodded slowly. This really was going all the way to the top, whether I liked it or not. “I’ll fix it.”

“How?”

“I don’t know yet,” I admitted. “But I will.”

Whitney sighed, giving me a small, sympathetic smile. “You’d better. Because this team can’t afford to fall apart—not with the playoffs coming up. We might be up for the Cup, and you know as well as I do, nothing can stand in the way of that where Matthew is concerned.”

She left without another word, and I was alone again. I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling as the guilt churned in my chest.

Nico was right. They all were. I’d broken the rules. I’d let my feelings for Gemma cloud my judgment, and now the entire team was paying the price. Team cohesion was everything, and I’d been the one to tear it apart. How could I live with that?

As much as I hated myself for hurting the team, I couldn’t bring myself to regret what I’d done. Because the truth was, I loved her. I loved them both. Gemma was wonderful, and Winnie was amazing. How could anyone regret coming into their lives?

I didn’t know how to reconcile that happiness with the responsibilities I had toward the team. But somehow, I had to figure it out. If I didn’t, I was going to lose everything. I could survive losing my career. I had a good number of trophies under me and a clean track record. The professional coach-to-educational institution coach was alive and well. There were other opportunities, too. I just had to reach out and find them. Headhunters were always emailing me, calling me. Financially, I’d survive this.

But the team? Nico? I had to make things right with them. I just wasn’t sure how.