Chapter 11
TYLER
Going to the rink at midnight was an old habit of mine. It was also a bad habit. I’d slowed way down years ago, but it was still my go-to when things were a mess in my head. And things were definitely a mess nowadays.
My phone buzzed as I was parking.
Nolan calling.
I frowned, answering. “Dude. It’s late here. You’re an hour earlier than us. Is everything okay?”
He was quiet for a beat before he sighed. “You’ve not been on social media or checked your messages?”
My heart went cold.
“I’m sorry, man. Word got out about Zoey. Someone took a picture of you holding her hand in the hospital. She’s sixteen, so some outlets will blur out her face and won’t print her name, but you know how people are. They’ll find her.”
The air around me shifted. “What?”
“I just got a call from Suze,” he continued. “She needs to know what our team should say. She couldn’t get a hold of you.” He sighed again. “Guess people will know why you switched to the Grays. They’ll stop making up conspiracy theories.”
I’d barely paid attention to what was being said, needing all my focus for either my family or the new team. Gossip hadn’t made the list of things for me to worry about.
“Ty?”
“Yeah.” I tried again, my voice coming out raw. “Shit.”
“I know.”
“Shit!” I pounded the steering wheel and closed my eyes, leaning back in my seat to breathe. I just had to breathe. One fucking breath at a time. “She’s a kid. They’re—”
“The story’s going to break in the morning. They’re making the rounds tonight for comment. I’m sure your new team’s PR will be blowing up your phone soon.”
I cursed.
“I know I just delivered a nightmare to you, but how’s it going outside of that? Are you vibing with your new team?”
He was helping me get a lid on myself by switching to an easier topic. Hockey. “It’s going. They’re pretty tight, but they seem open to working with me. They’re nice. There’s one that’s standoffish.”
“Bruge?”
“How’d you guess?”
“He’s their enforcer. Once he lets you in, it’ll be all good. And Griff, he will. You’re the player they need to get them into playoffs. They’ve been struggling. You know that.”
“That’s the goal.”
Headlights passed over my face, and I opened my eyes. Who could that be? No car should be in this back lot, unless it was the team’s PR person Nolan just mentioned.
“Ty? You still there?”
“Yeah.” But I was distracted now, because the SUV parked and a figure got out, her hand reaching up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. Rain Connors. I frowned. What was she doing here?
She hurried past where I was parked, not looking up.
If she had, she would’ve seen me since I’d backed into my spot.
I wasn’t hiding. But she just went straight for the back door I’d been intending to use.
She had some skates thrown over her shoulder, and if I was reading her correctly, she was frazzled.
Did her arrival here have anything to do with Zoey’s overdose being leaked? Was that why she was flustered?
But even as the thought entered my mind, I shoved it aside.
She didn’t know me or my family. She came from the NFL world.
She wouldn’t care enough about NHL gossip to leak something.
Or would she? Fuck. No. Nolan said it was someone at the hospital.
If she’d been there, I would’ve known. I think I would’ve…
My phone began buzzing. “Nolan, I’ve got to go. My new team’s owner is calling me.”
“Wait. What? Are you serious?”
“Yeah. He seems pretty hands-on, but not a bad guy. I’ll call you later.”
“Okay.” His tone grew hoarse. “We’re thinking of you over here. Pulling for Zoey too. Some of the guys were talking about doing an auction, a jersey we’ve all signed or something, to help fundraise some money for Skylar and Zoey. Let us know.”
I wasn’t surprised, just moved. Touched. That sounded exactly like something my old team would do. “I don’t need to ask. Do it, but could you do two jerseys? One to auction and one for Zoey? Otherwise, knowing Zoey, she’ll try to bid on it herself. I’ll pay for it.”
He barked out a laugh. “Will do, and no, you won’t.”
“Hey.”
“You know not to fight me on this. We got it.”
I gave in. I had other battles to tend to. “I’ll double the winning bid. Just let me know.”
“Will do. Take care. Love ya, man.”
“You too.” We hung up, and man, I missed my best friend and my old team something fierce right now.
But I didn’t have time to dwell because I’d missed the call from Mal Benoit, but now it came through again. I answered before the first ring stopped. “I heard.”
Mal Benoit sighed, the sound eerily similar to Nolan moments earlier.
“That’s what I was worried about. I just got notified myself.
The team will issue a statement, and I have ties to a reputable media outlet.
One of the editors is a friend of mine. We can’t control what the other outlets will say, but I promise that one will make it respectable.
She won’t print anything we don’t approve.
My personal opinion is that you loop her in, and then we hit hard, shaming the other outlets for violating your niece’s privacy.
Blurred faces and not printing her name doesn’t mean anything nowadays.
They all know that. You can also use this as a way to humanize what your family is going through. ”
I listened to everything he said, and he was right. That was the way to go, but I was still reeling. “Uh, yeah. That sounds good. When would she need to hear from me? How would that work?”
“She won’t beat the other outlets. Everyone’s printing in the morning, so as soon as possible, I’d imagine.”
I needed to skate. I needed to clear my head. Then I’d go into damage control and figure out how to break the news to Skylar. Shit. Her world was going to fall apart for the second time in a week. “I need an hour or two. I—I just need that time.”
“I’ll make the call. She’ll be on standby. She’s local. She can meet you somewhere too.”
That all sounded good. A private room where I could dictate which words were going to be used to set my family’s life on fire. Wonderful. “I’ll get back to you.”
Next, I called the night nurse on duty and asked if she could keep an eye on my sister.
“Will do. She was sleeping the last time I checked in there.”
“Good. If you can, don’t let her check her phone until I get there.”
After that, I turned my phone off. I needed to or I wouldn’t be able to think. This wasn’t my first rodeo. I needed to process my own shit, and then I’d figure out how to destroy everyone trying to hurt my family.
Heading inside, I expected the rink lights to be on, considering I’d seen the psych doctor with skates over her shoulder. But I hadn’t expected to find her in the middle of the ice, hands on her hips, her head tipped forward.
I slowed to a stop and watched.
Music started, and my ears perked. She used to be a figure skater? No... Those were hockey skates on her feet. She stood on them like they were another pair of shoes to her. She wasn’t some novice skater.
The music kicked up, and she pushed off, gliding forward.
She went straight to the end of the rink and flew around, completing a lap.
She wasn’t a figure skater.
I kept watching, and she kept going, and going, and going. She picked up speed in the first lap, and by the time she was doing her fourth, she was whipping around the rink as fast as any pro NHL player. Fuck. She was good. She was really good.
I stepped closer to the ice.
That pull was there, like a hook inside of me.
I knew her. I didn’t know how or when our paths crossed, but they had at some point.
Or was this something else? Like that shit some psychics talk about?
Did I know her from a past life or something?
Even as I considered that, I didn’t believe it.
No. No way. I knew her in this life, somehow.
On her next pass, she lifted her head and saw me. Her eyes widened, and I realized that’s what was messing with me. She was in serious pain. She hadn’t had time to mask it when she looked up.
That’s what had connected me to her. I didn’t actually know her, but somehow, I’d realized she was experiencing the same agony as my twin sister.
Rain careened to a stop, turning shortly so she didn’t fall—her chest heaving, her hair wild and free, and tears rolling down her face.
I pressed a hand to the partition separating us.
I let her see the storm inside of me, and after hesitating a second, she skated to stand on the other side. There was no reason to hide my pain. I couldn’t. She’d know what was going on in my life the next time she checked her phone, so what was the point?
Besides, I wanted her. This was more than just a crazy connection. A need to claim her pulsed in me, and I wasn’t second guessing it. I’d felt this way with a few other women, and I’d learned that the sooner I fucked them, the sooner we could all continue with our lives.
Those other women had also been in male-dominated professions, so maybe it was about that type.
Strong. Independent. I didn’t know. I just knew that when I got these feelings, the sex was fucking amazing, and with the shitstorm hitting my world right now, I could use an escape. Even if it was momentary and fleeting.
I showed her all of that.
I could see her warring with herself. It was too late to hide her sadness, and she knew it, but she considered it.
Her shoulders rose and she pondered, her eyes darting to my hand.
But then she looked back to my eyes, and it was like she decided to give in too.
Her eyes flashed, lust-filled and yearning.
I leaned in, resting my forehead on the partition beside my hand, and she bit her lip before she fitted her hand against mine. It was a perfect match. Or it would be.
I started for the rink door, and she skated to beat me there.
She was just stepping off the ice when I got to her side. “You okay with this?” I asked.
She’d been looking down to make sure she didn’t fall, and when her head lifted, her eyes were wide. Startled. “With what?”
I stepped into her, my hand cupping the back of her head. She made a squeaking sound.
“This,” I said as I pulled her against me, molding our bodies together. “I want you.” I tilted her head back so she could look all the way up at me, meeting my gaze.
Her hands lifted to my chest. “You want me?” She seemed a little dazed. “I…” She licked her lips, and the slight resistance was gone. She sagged into me. “I shouldn’t.”
Yeah. Fuck that.
I bent down, and my lips touched hers.