Chapter 38 River
River
I barely register the door to the locker room slamming shut behind me with a metallic clang that echoes through the large space. My blood is still running hot, adrenaline pulsing through every vein like wildfire.
My jaw throbs from where Zane slammed me into the boards. My ribs burn with every inhale. But none of that pain touches the warmth flooding me at the image of Callie and Nora wearing my jersey. It’s one I’ll carry for far longer than any bruise Zane leaves on my body.
He’s standing in front of his locker, peeling off his gear at a maddeningly slow pace, like he’s trying to wait me out.
As if he knows I’m coming.
Well, guess what?
He’s right about that.
The restraint I forced myself to keep during the game is long gone.
“Do you want to tell me what the hell that was out there?” I snap, striding on my skates toward him, not bothering to mask my fury.
Zane barely blinks as he tosses his gloves into his locker. “Not sure what you’re talking about, Thompson.”
Bullshit.
We both know he spent the entire game fucking with me.
“Do you really think you’re proving something by cheap-shotting me in front of your daughter?”
That jab lands exactly how I mean it to, and his smirk falters.
“That’s right,” he says, jaw tightening as he thumps his chest. “My daughter.”
The entire locker room stills as the chatter around us fades. The guys are all watching now, sensing something volatile building, but none of them step in to stop it from spilling over.
My hands curl into fists at my sides. “I never said Nora wasn’t yours. Maybe if you acted like she mattered, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
Zane’s eyes flash. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Do you think you’re better than me?”
I don’t blink. “That’s not even a question. I know I’m better.”
He swallows up the space between us. Adrenaline surges through me, pounding in my ears like a war drum.
“Come on, man,” he says, his voice low and cutting. “Do you really believe she wants you? She came to you because she had nowhere else to go. You were just the first warm body she found.”
My vision tunnels, the edges going dark, my jaw ticking as I fight the urge to rearrange his smug face.
“She was desperate,” he continues, each word slow and deliberate, twisting in me like a blade. “And you were convenient. Nothing more.”
He’s hitting exactly where it’ll hurt me most, in that dark corner of my mind I try to ignore. The part that wonders if he’s right. I need Callie to choose me because she wants me and what we’re building is real. Not as a last resort because I happened to be standing there.
Zane’s lip curls. “You’re not her savior. You’re just a pit stop. A quick fix until she wakes up and realizes you’ll never be enough for her. Or my daughter.”
I don’t feel my arm move, but the crack of my fist connecting with his jaw echoes through the room like a gunshot.
Zane stumbles back, slamming into the lockers.
And still, I’m not sure it was enough.
Movement erupts around us. Zane’s back on his feet in seconds, fury written in every line of his face. Before he can lunge, Steele’s in his way, shoving him hard against the lockers.
“Shut your fucking mouth. That’s the mother of your child you’re talking about. Show some goddamn respect.”
Jax and Knox lock their arms around my body from behind, dragging me back before I can make another mistake. Oliver’s right there with them, muttering curses, ready to step in if it blows up again.
Laiken’s got Zane pinned, one arm looped around his shoulders, holding him in place with a calm that somehow feels more dangerous than rage. “Don’t even think about it, dumbass,” he grumbles.
“What the hell is going on in here?” Coach booms from across the locker room.
No one responds.
A heavy silence descends over the room. It’s the kind that hums with barely restrained violence.
When seconds tick by, Coach swears under his breath before storming out without waiting for an explanation.
Laiken doesn’t release Zane right away. “You done?” he asks, his tone low but deadly.
Zane jerks his head in a clipped nod before shrugging out of Laiken’s hold. Blood drips from his split lip as he straightens, wiping it away with the back of his hand. His furious glare never deviates from mine.
“If you were ever my friend,” he says, voice quiet as it drips venom, “you’ll back the fuck off.”
I slowly shake my head. “That’s not going to happen. Unless Callie looks me in the eye and says she doesn’t want this, I’m all-in.”
The words hit harder than I intend, and they’re more honest than I’m ready to admit.
The locker room goes still.
Even Laiken looks rattled by the declaration.
Zane’s jaw flexes as his mouth twists into a sneer. “Have it your fucking way.”
He turns away, peeling off the rest of his gear before stalking toward the showers.
At the edge of the tiled space, he pauses and glances back.
“Just realize that she’s with you because you’re safe and easy.
You’re the kind of guy she can use to steady herself until she’s ready for the real thing. And trust me, you’re not it.”
He steps into the steam, the sting of his words hanging in the room.
“What a prick,” Knox mutters, breaking the tension.
Oliver exhales, dragging a hand through his hair. “Honestly, I’m surprised he even noticed you and Callie. He’s so fucking wrapped up in himself, I doubt he sees anything that’s not in the mirror.”
Steele steps closer and asks, “Are you okay?”
Nope. Not even close.
Instead of admitting that, I nod and drop down onto the bench, the last of the adrenaline draining from my system. My breath continues to come hard and fast. Every muscle in my body feels strung tight, like I’m one wrong word away from spiraling out of control.
Still, there’s no part of me that regrets it.
I’d do it all over again.
I’d take the punch.
The hit.
The fallout.
The whole damn mess.
Zane didn’t fight for Callie and Nora when it mattered.
I sure as hell won’t make the same mistake.