Chapter 79
PARKER
“You know you’ve ruined your career, right?”
I rear back as the words hit me, but I don’t give him the privilege of turning to look at him.
“No one is going to be able to take you seriously after this. A few weeks into a job you only got because of your connection to the team, and now you’re fucking one of the players?”
My teeth grind as anger burns red hot through my veins.
Mitchell has been itching to say something since the moment Linc kissed me on the ice a few days ago, but thankfully, we haven’t been alone since. Unfortunately for me, he’s managed to catch me alone in the trainers’ room while the team is getting ready for tonight’s game.
The arena is at full capacity, and the volume of the crowd is unbelievable. With every game the guys win, the busier and louder home games are becoming. Everyone is desperate to watch them go all the way this year, and they’re doing everything they can to support them.
It’s incredible to see, and even more exciting to be a part of it all.
“You have no idea, Mitchell,” I say, continuing to clean down the table I was just using.
The moments before a game are the calm before the storm. The second the guys hit the ice, we’re on full alert, waiting for the first sign of injury and treating everything we can to keep them out there doing what they do best.
His laughter bounces around the room.
I haven’t heard anything from Esme since I put my complaint in about his behavior, but I trust she’s doing her thing behind the scenes and that something will happen soon.
Worst case, he’ll be pulled in for a disciplinary for his behavior and then sent back to work. He’ll know immediately who put the complaint in, and I can only imagine how things will be between us after that. But then, there is the other option…
If others come forward, if there is more evidence than just my word, maybe, just maybe, there could be a successful outcome.
None of the guys like him. If they’re spoken to, none of them will have a good word to say. But will that be enough?
My fists curl. The desire to spin around and throw one into his ugly face is almost too much to bear.
My chest heaves as anger like I’ve never experienced before erupts inside me.
“Don’t tell me—Storm isn’t the first or the only one you’re fucking.”
Unable to keep my back to him any longer, I spin around.
A gasp falls from my lips when I discover just how close he’s standing.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I snap.
The laugh he barks out sends ice rushing through me.
This man is fucking unhinged.
I have been nothing but professional since my very first day here. But that doesn’t matter. Not to a misogynist asshole like him. The second he discovered I don’t have a penis hanging between my legs, he hated me. Nothing else mattered.
“Sure I do. I’ve been dealing with women like you my whole life. You think you can open your legs and it’ll get you wherever you want to be.”
“Is that why almost every member of the team here wants to be treated by me and not you?” I sneer.
I shouldn’t bait him, but I can’t help myself.
As much as I want to stand here and take it in the hope someone is listening, it’s just not in my nature to shut up while someone disrespects me like this.
He scoffs. “They don’t give a fuck about their treatment. They just want you.”
“Bullshit. Not a single one of the team has ever been disrespectful to me. You are the only one with a problem. What’s wrong, Mitchell? Jealous that I’m a better trainer than you’ll ever be? That athletes actually feel a difference after working with me?”
“You fucking bitch,” he roars, his face tomato red as he grabs my arm and throws me against the wall.
My shoulder screams in pain, but I don’t cower. I will never cower to this asshole.
“Fuck you,” I spit as he moves closer again. “I will not back down when I know I’m right.”
Mitchell suddenly releases me, but his grip was so tight that I lose my balance and go crashing down.
There’s some commotion, but I can’t latch onto anything before my head collides with the floor.
“Oh fuck,” someone bellows.
“Storm, no,” someone else cries.
“Get her on the table,” someone barks.
I hear it all happen, but it’s almost like a dream.
Suddenly, I’m weightless as warm, strong arms wrap around me.
“I’m okay,” I mumble, or at least I think I do. My body doesn’t feel like my own.
There’s more shouting, more arguing.
My head throbs. Keeping my eyes closed, I snuggle into something, needing to get away from it all.
“Parker? Babe?”
Warm hands cover my face, and I lean into it.
“Hey, pretty girl. It’s me. Everything’s okay.”
I relax the second I recognize his voice and finally open my eyes.
I’m pressed up against a green jersey, but it isn’t one that I know well. When I look up, I find Handsy's concerned face staring down at me.
“Babe, I’m here,” Linc says, gently turning my face to look at him.
The second my eyes lock on his, I burst into tears.
I don’t even know why. But the sight of him shatters something inside me.
Handsy passes me over, and Linc wraps me up in his arms, holding me while I cry.
There’s movement and voices on the other side of the room, but when I try to look, Linc shields me from it all.
“W-what’s happening?” I whisper, my voice barely audible.
“It’s just security escorting Mitchell out.”
Mitchell.
Shit.
My sobs come harder as I remember everything he said, what he was doing.
“It’s okay, babe. We’ve taken care of it. He’ll never step foot back in this arena again.” It isn’t until he says those words that I realize Linc is shaking.
Pulling my head from his padded chest, I look up at him.
His face is hard, his expression wrought, but he’s okay. There are no new bruises or cuts.
But I know my man better than that. Twisting a little, I reach for his right hand.
His knuckles are grazed and covered in blood.
“Linc, you shouldn’t have—”
“No one—and I mean fucking no one—talks to my girl like that. Hell, they shouldn’t be talking to any girl like that, but especially not one who belongs to me.”
If my head wasn’t banging so hard, I might swoon at those words. But as it is, I can barely register them.
Resting my head back against Linc, I let him hold me. It could be seconds or minutes that pass, I have no idea, but I startle when a familiar voice speaks.
“Guys, I need you out there,” Coach says hesitantly.
There are muttered agreements as the sound of their blade protectors tapping against the floor gets quieter as they leave.
Coach steps closer, his eyes on me before he glances up at Linc.
“I’ll have Reeves start in your place,” Coach explains, “but I’m going to need you out there tonight.”
“No, I—”
“Casey is on her way back here. She’ll take care of Parker. You have my word.”
“B-but—”
“It’s okay. You have to go.”
“Fuck that, Parker. You’re hurt. I don’t need to do anything but be with you.”
“I’m okay. Nothing a couple of Tylenol won’t fix.”
Linc gazes down at me, indecision warring in his eyes.
“Please, I want you to play. And I want you to win. Can you do that?” I squeeze his bloody hand. “Can you go out there and score a goal for me?”
“Fucking hell, babe,” he breathes before pressing a kiss on the top of my head.
Footsteps race toward us, and a few seconds later, Casey bursts into the room with her little sidekick.
“What’s happened? What’s wrong?” she asks breathlessly, as if she’s run all the way here.
“There was an incident,” Coach explains, “but I need Linc out there. Can you take care of Parker?”
“Yeah, of course. Linc, you go. I’ve got this.”
“No, I—”
“You have to,” I beg. “We can’t let that assho—” My eyes snag on Sutton staring at me with wide eyes. “Idiot win.”
“Men like that never win, Parker,” Coach assures me.
It takes a few more minutes, but eventually, Linc releases me and walks toward the door. Casey immediately hops up in his place and wraps her arms around my shoulder.
“I want a goal, remember?” I call.
“Anything for you, pretty girl,” Linc says before forcing himself to walk away.
Silence settles between us all for a few moments before Sutton breaks it with a song.
“Lincoln and Parker sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”
Casey, Coach, and I all fall about laughing. It makes my head hurt worse, but fuck, it does good things to my heart.
“Parker, I hate to ask this. But…we’re a man down. Jarad isn’t going to be able to cover—”
“I’ve got it, Coach. Just give me a few minutes to sort myself out. You can count on me.”
“I know I can.”
The roar of the crowd echoes through the room.
“I’d better get out there,” Coach says, taking a step back. “I’m sorry, Parker. I never want a single member of my team to go through anything like that. I—I didn’t know—”
“It’s okay, Coach,” I say, forcing a smile. “Onwards and upwards, right?”
His expression softens as he hears the words he used to say to us as kids when a game didn’t go our way, or school was hard.
“Yeah,” he muses. “Onwards and upwards. For what it’s worth, Parker. I just need you to know how much of an asset you are to this team. The guys love you, and the number of injuries is down. Don’t let anything that as—idiot said get to you. It was all lies.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate that.”
There’s another cheer from the crowd.
“Go, Coach,” Sutton demands. “You can’t win a game from in here.”
Coach nods before rushing from the room.
“Well,” Casey muses. “I feel like I might have missed something.”
Another laugh erupts from me. “I’ll tell you everything later,” I say, shooting a look at Sutton.
“Ugh, adult talk.” She groans. “We can still watch the game, right?”
“Of course. Let me get some painkillers and we’ll head right out.”
“Out?” Sutton asks excitedly. “As in, down the tunnel?”
“Uh…” I hesitate, because I don’t know if I can really take them down with me.
“Yeah, of course,” Casey says for me. “Just this once, though.”
“Oh my god,” she squeals. “We’ll be right in the action. Hurry, Parker, we need to get out there. We can’t miss anything.”
With a laugh, I slip off the table and walk into the office. The sight of Mitchell’s messy desk exactly as he left it gives me pause. I shouldn’t feel guilty that he’s lost his job. That’s on him though, not me.
After swallowing some tablets, I give myself a little talking to and head out.
As much as I don’t need the noise of the crowd right now. I need to be out there. I need Linc to see me and know that I’m okay, so he can play without worrying.
But more than that, I need to be out there for me.
This is my job. My career. And despite what one pathetic little man might think, I’m damn good at it.
With my head held high and my shoulders back, I walk out of the room and toward the ice with my girls at my side.
We’re barely there five seconds before Linc looks up and finds me. Relief instantly floods his face. He shakes his head, silently chastising me for coming out here, but before he takes off for the next puck drop, he blows me a kiss and mouths that he loves me.
And just like that, it’s business as usual.