47. Griffin
T his game is a fucking shit show It has been fight after fight, and Everest has been sent to the penalty box twice already.
We’re in the last period tied two to two, and Harden is flying down the ice coveting the puck, on the way to try and put us back in the lead with Bishop.
Except the captain of the other team is a royal prick, and I’m pretty sure he’s got a hard-on for hurting my two best friends tonight.
One of his players flies toward Harden, making him skid and turn, thinking he’s going for the puck, but instead he just slams Harden right into the boards.
“Motherfucker,” I roar, smashing my fist against my goalpost, as Everest jumps to his feet in the sin bin and starts mouthing off at the ref.
The rest of the Flyers on the ice rush to Harden’s aid, but it isn’t necessary.
Harden already has the guy off him, pressed against the boards with his hand around his throat, before any of them can reach him.
He manages a few blows before the ref is pulling them apart, but still I mark the prick who started it with a death glare.
Harden is heaving when he skates away, his eyes moving straight to mine, and I try my best to sign something to check on how he’s doing.
I know what I’m signing doesn’t make any sense, thanks to my gloves, but still he nods anyway, before shifting his focus to Aurora, who, when I look her way, is watching him worriedly.
She’s no stranger to fights during games, not after all the years she’s attended them, but I know they get to her.
She’s on her feet, with Reign’s girl comforting her, and Harden skates over, pressing his hand against the plexiglass with everyone watching.
Word probably hasn’t spread that far about their little display on campus today, but it will now, as everyone watches her raise her hand and place it against his.
I don’t see what else he does, but whatever it is has her smiling, the tension leaking from her shoulders, as Aubree rolls her eyes at the two of them.
When Everest makes it back on the ice, the first thing he does is find the guy who went after Harden and takes him to the ground, punching him repeatedly until the guy is bleeding.
He gets sent straight back to the sin bin and we end up losing the game, making Coach pissed at us, but in my opinion, it was worth it.
When we hit the locker room, the mood is somber, and Everest is quick to head straight to the showers so he can get outside to meet Aurora.
He made Aubree promise not to leave her side until we got back, when we dropped her off out front earlier.
Clearly, even after the veiled threat he made, he still doesn’t trust her to listen to him.
Me on the other hand, I take my time, hanging back from the rest of the team so I can check in on Harden.
Only when I’m sure no one is paying us any attention, do I nudge him gently, knowing he can take it through his uniform, and he brings his stare to mine. “You good, baby?” I ask, savoring the small tug at the side of his mouth at my term of endearment, and he nods.
Knowing I won’t get much more out of him, not here at least, I accept his nod as being good enough, and follow him to our lockers.
He moves at the same pace I do, slowly taking off his skates and tugging off his jersey, before he rips open his locker.
Dropping onto the bench beside him, I do the same, ignoring the after game defeat around me, and just looking forward to going home and getting in bed.
There is no post-game afterparty tonight, considering we are throwing a Halloween party tomorrow, and I’m beyond grateful. Most of the team make their way to the showers, as Harden reaches for his phone, and I pull off my jersey and base layer, as he lets out a sharp curse.
“What’s wrong?” I ask instantly, pushing back to my feet and erasing the small bit of space between us, and he tilts his phone toward me so I can read the most recent text message.
Caden - Jason MIA
I read it three times, before I look back up at him in confusion. “Were we watching him?” I ask, having not spoken to him about Jason since he confirmed he put him in the hospital, and I thought that was the end of it, but I guess not.
Harden nods, pulling back his phone and typing out a response to Caden Miles that I don’t see, before angrily throwing the phone back into his locker.
“I wouldn’t worry, he’s probably just crawled back into whatever hole he came out from, to lick his wounds,” I tell him, and he nods again.
We both make quick work of showering faster than usual, especially when Everest glares at us to hurry up, and twenty-minutes later we are all exiting the arena. It doesn’t take us long to locate the girls, and to our surprise, Alexander Reign is leaning against his car between them.
“‘Sup, peasants,” he grins, as we move toward him, one of his hands protectively wrapped around Aubree’s waist.
“Reign,” Everest grunts, his stare trailing over Aurora from head to toe, and I watch as Alexander tracks his eyes.
“You let either of these idiots nail your little sister yet?” he asks, tilting his head to the side to assess his reaction, and Everest’s jaw hardens.
“Don’t be a wanker, Reign,” Aurora scoffs, sending an elbow into his stomach, but the British billionaire doesn’t even flinch.
“Do be a wanker, little Gray, I’m sure they would appreciate it,” he drawls, and her eyes widen, but before any of us can say anything, Aubree comes to the rescue.
“Alright, come on, Prince Charming, let’s go.” She smiles apologetically, shoving him toward the car door, and he obeys instantly, opening it for her and winking at us as he does it.
“I’ll be sure to tell Archer you said hello,” he adds, before slamming the door and rounding the car so he can get in himself.
We all watch him leave before Everest grunts, “Come on, let’s go.”
He goes to reach for Aurora before he remembers himself, and then stomps off in a mood, leaving us with no choice but to follow.
It doesn’t take us long to walk back to the house, and it’s still dark, so I’m not sure where Bishop has gone since the game, but clearly he didn’t come home.
The lack of light means we almost miss it, almost.
We reach the front door when Harden freezes, cocking his head toward the garage. “What’s up, Haze?” I ask, following his stare and finding the garage door slightly ajar.
No response comes, but he storms off the porch, heading for the garage, and doesn’t pause before ripping up the door with enough force to almost break it in half.
However, when we get a look inside, I see why.
Harden’s car is a complete wreck. All the windows have been smashed, the outside vandalized with spray paint, and the inside has been completely destroyed.
“What the fuck?” Everest shouts, finally gripping Aurora and pulling her against him, eyes flying wide, scanning the street.
“Jason?” I say out loud to Harden in question, pulling Everest’s attention back to me.
“What the fuck do you mean, Jason?” His question has Aurora sinking into his embrace, looking between Harden and me in question.
“Apparently he’s MIA,” I snap back, filling in the blanks, as Harden stares at his car in blank fury. “Do we need to call the police?” I ask, already knowing the answer, but Harden shakes his head and pulls out his phone.
He snaps a picture of the car and fires it off in a text, no doubt to Caden, and from the way his eyes dance back and forth across the screen, I can tell he doesn’t wait long for a response. We watch as a few more texts are sent back and forth, before he closes his phone and looks back at us.
Get her out of here. He signs quickly, his body shaking with anger. I don’t care if it’s a hotel or you go all the way fucking home, just get her out of here until we know it’s safe.
Everest’s eyes narrow in understanding, before he nods swiftly, and I dig into my bag until I find my car keys, tossing them at him. “Look after our girl, brother,” I start, his hold on her tightening, before I turn to Aurora. “Don’t leave his side, sweetheart, do you understand me?”
She nods, panic filling her stare, yet still she asks, “Is this really necessary?”
I open my mouth to respond, but Harden beats me to it.
“Anything is necessary to keep you safe,” he grits out, surprising all three of us, and tears fill her eyes.
“You two don’t leave each other’s side,” she demands in return, and I nod, leaning down for a brief kiss, before Harden does the same.
It only takes one more nod for Everest to take her after that.
Harden and I watch them until they are gone, before I turn back to him. “So, what’s the plan?”
Caden is on the way. He signs.
By the time Caden arrives with his right hand, Bobby, Harden has practically walked a hole in the ground of the garage.
He hasn’t said a fucking word since he signed that he was on his way, he looks so close to breaking point that I want to find Jason and fucking set fire to the cunt.
Caden doesn’t hesitate swinging his car into my now vacant space in the driveway, stepping out before the engine has even stopped, while surveying the damage to Harden’s car with a blank mask.
“That fucking prick,” Bobby curses, trailing his eyes over the car with a shake of his head, but Caden turns his attention back to Harden.
“Where’s your girl?” he asks, and I half wonder how the fuck he learned about the two of them, until I remember he would have seen Aurora last week at The Underground.
Everest got her out of here, she’s safe. Harden signs, and Caden nods, and it’s only now that I see the two of them have a true understanding of one another, something I have never noticed before.
“Come on then, we need to clear the house.” Caden doesn’t wait for us to respond, just makes his way to our porch, presuming we will follow.