Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Rebel Arena, Freedom
Robyn
I didn’t know that on the edge of your seat was literally a thing, until I’m sitting quite literally on the edge of my seat watching the shootout this Saturday night in Rebel Arena.
The lights are bright. The air is cold and biting. And the pressure is high.
I am bundled up warmly in a pea-green woolen coat over my long purple dress. My hands, which are covered in fluffy gloves, are stuffed in my coat pockets against the chill. I burrow my nose in Eden’s gray scarf, which is wound around my neck, taking a deep sniff of his delicious vanilla scent.
I perch, stiff with nerves and excitement, watching the players of both the Bay Rebels and the Colorado Avalanche, the Avs, huddling together on the ice.
The Bay Rebels have tied.
What the press are surprised about is that the Bay Rebels have managed to tie, since the Avs are one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
D’Angelo, Shay, and the rest of the team have played like fucking gods to hold them to a tie.
After the shock that Shay and D’Angelo went through on Thursday night, the Avs thought that this would be an easy win. After all, this wasn’t something that could be hidden from the rival team.
I feared that the Bay Rebels would be a mess.
Shay refused to leave Eden’s side for strategy meetings or practice, no matter what Dad threatened him with, spending the last few days in hospital with his brother.
Meanwhile, D’Angelo hasn’t slept for longer than a snatched half an hour here and there on the hard hospital chairs or between practice. He helped Eden to field the cops’ questions, while I worked out how to field the press’.
Yet not only has D’Angelo led Shay and the rest of the team to a tie but also to tying the first two rounds of the shootout.
Now, they have to play the third.
This is the Bay Rebels’ final chance to break the tie and win.
Every player who has taken a turn on both sides has scored each time.
No one has made a mistake.
They’ve been flawless under the pressure.
Hockey may be a team sport, but there is something thrilling about watching each player show off their individual skills like this.
It’s a one on one battle.
Zach, as goalie, is pale. He looks like he’s suddenly been called to enlist in a war.
I’ve heard shootouts called a chess match with pucks instead of pawns.
Zach may disagree, since in chess you don’t usually have to dive desperately to defend against pawns that are hit at you at over hundred miles per hour.
Dad and Fleet are standing close together behind the glass, looking even tenser, as if they’re moments from dragging on a pair of skates and jumping onto the ice to take a shot for the team themselves.
“You’ve got this!” I yell, before losing my balance on the cold metal of the bench and tumbling forward.
Eden grasps me by the arm and catches me before I can fall on my face in front of the thousands in the arena, millions at home, and the press.
I blush. “Thanks.” Then I notice the wince that Eden can’t hide, as he drops his hold on me and holds his side. “Are you okay?”
Eden is the reason that we’re sitting on the bench and not pressing our noses up to the glass like I’m desperate to.
I grimace at the sight of Eden’s purple and swollen eye. His lip is busted. He’s holding himself stiffly, which I bet is because of the pain in his chest.
He is still looking immaculate with slicked back hair, as well as being dressed in his game night suit.
He insisted on that.
He is attending this evening against medical advice. As I have now learned, however, Eden is the most stubborn out of any of us.
He merely gave D’Angelo this long, silent stare.
D’Angelo lost the staring contest.
I have a feeling that I don’t really know Eden at all. And that he could out-dom his mentor.
Cody is standing near Fleet, however, along with Noah, the team nurse. Michael has given them both clear instructions of what to watch out for with Eden.
I wouldn’t have been able to keep my brother away from Eden anyway. Cody remained on the other side of the hospital bed to Shay throughout Eden’s stay in hospital.
With the deep shadows underneath Cody’s eyes, he appears to have slept as little as D’Angelo has.
I’m only now realizing how deep his friendship runs with Eden.
Cody glances around at us. His smile is tighter than normal. He assesses Eden carefully.
I wave, which is our signal that I will check in with Eden for him and call him over if I am concerned at all.
Satisfied, Cody turns back to the rink.
Eden nudges his thigh closer to mine. He has made sure to be within sight of one of us since we got him back, as if he imagines that if he doesn’t, he may be taken or we will be.
My heart breaks.
I hope that therapy will help but seriously, is it any wonder that he feels in danger?
“Pain rating three.” Eden touches his side. “The rib is only fractured. I will tell Cody if the rating rises higher. I took my meds.”
“Don’t say only.” My voice catches at the thought of Eden being shot with that tranquilizer dart.
He could have died.
He shrugs. “It’s nothing. What matters is that I am here with you. I almost wasn’t ever again. At least, not as me. Also, I’m D’Angelo’s PA. I take my job seriously.”
I feel sick. I could have lost him. We all could.
It would have wrecked us.
Would any of us have recovered?
Eden has worked his way into my heart and soul.
Does he understand how important he is to me? To all of us? He binds us together with his steady care, love, and cups of tea.
Eden says PA with a glow of pride and a defiance that I don’t understand.
A shadow lies behind his eyes that makes my heart ache. I am sure that he will tell me when he is ready.
Eden spoke to his brother this morning alone in the library. Shay’s eyes were red rimmed afterward. He has stuck close to his brother ever since, refusing to be more than a step away from him.
Eden isn’t the only one who has been shaken by this.
The Avs have already taken…and made…their first shot.
Grayson moves forward to take his first shot on goal.
My breathing speeds up.
The atmosphere in the arena is electric.
“Come on,” I whisper.
Grayson skates forward. He fakes a shot, before suddenly shifting to his backhand and confusing the goalie.
Then he raises his stick and scores between the goalie’s legs.
“Yes!” I grin.
The audience cheer.
Eden is watching with a serious, quiet intensity.
He doesn’t smile.
He has been like this since we found him.
I am fucking worried.
I hope that what we intend to do tonight will bring back his beautiful smile.
I nearly had a heart attack, when I was in the back of Cody’s car with Shay searching for Eden, and Shay received a call from a number that he didn’t recognize.
“Answer.” Adrenaline raced through me. “It could be someone who is searching for Eden.”
“Or Blythe.” Shay answered the call, raising the phone to his ear with shaking hands.
“Shay.” Eden’s voice was raspy.
“Dee!” Shay jolted.
His startled, tormented gaze met mine.
Cody glanced in the rear-view mirror at us with desperate hope. “Where is he? Get him to tell you where he is. I’m driving there now. Fuck, I’m…”
“Where are you, bro? Do you know?” Shay asked, trying to sound calmer than he was, despite the tremors wracking him. “Who is crying?”
“Charles,” Eden replied. “Don’t kill him when you arrive. I just saved him.”
Fear shot through me.
Saved him? What from?
“Are you hurt?” I demanded, more loudly. “Where are you?
“Heaven Cottage.” Eden coughed.
Panic surged through me. Why was he ignoring answering whether he was hurt? Why was he coughing?
What the hell was going on?
“I know Heaven Cottage.” Cody took the next turn down the mountain road at breakneck speed.
“It’s isolated, down by the beach. There is a stretch of sea, which is good for surfing around there.
Most people don’t know about it. Keep him on one line, then call D’Angelo with the other and tell him. D’Angelo will coordinate.”
I was so fucking grateful for my brother. He could think more clearly than I could. From the moment that I returned and discovered that the man I loved was kidnapped, I had been existing in a fog of fear, panic, and rage.
I could barely think and function.
All I wanted to do was fucking scream.
I nodded, pulling out my phone.
But then, my brow furrowed. “What’s that sound?”
“Dee,” Shay was cradling the phone to his ear like it was his twin and he was terrified that he’d be parted from him if the connection was broken, “hold on, we’re coming to get you. Just hold on. Keep talking to me. Robyn wants to know what the sound is.”
“Fire,” Eden replied. “Our freedom.”
When we arrived, I learned what he meant.
While Shay threw himself into Eden’s arms and sobbed, holding onto him like he never intended to let go of his brother ever again, Heine looked up at Cody and me and told us in a disturbingly flat voice that he had burned down the house with Blythe in it to rescue Eden and escape his abusive Mistress.
I didn’t believe a word that he said.
For some reason, I was certain that he was covering for Eden.
When I met Eden’s dark gaze, I should have been shocked how far Eden would go to protect us.
Instead, I was more shocked that he hadn’t left Heine inside to burn as well. That whatever had happened inside that house, Heine was now willing to take responsibility and go to jail for Eden.
When D’Angelo arrived with the cops, I half expected it to be a trick and Heine would change his story.
Only, he didn’t.
He met D’Angelo’s gaze. “I’m sorry.” Then he turned to the cops. “Cuff me then. Don’t be boring.”
My job as PR Director has not been boring since I took over. Dad should give me a raise or a bonus for dealing with the mess that’s left behind when the boss of the team is arrested.
For once, it’s not D’Angelo or Shay who are the PR nightmares.
The press headlines have been brutal.