Chapter 49
TRISTAN
None of us liked playing without Cole.
The thought hammered through my skull as I pushed harder down the ice, my thighs burning with the effort. If Alek was our commander, Cole was our spear, as brilliant on the ice as he was difficult off it.
Now, we were down our coach and a star player, and it showed in every gap, every missed opportunity.
Rami sent the puck skidding toward me, and I caught the pass, racing to the opposing goal.
My breath came hard and fast inside my helmet.
Without Cole, we had to be spot on in our teamwork.
There was no room for the sort of brilliant unpredictability Cole thrived in.
Without Coach, we couldn’t hold ourselves together as a team.
I danced around an opposing player, feeling the scrape of his stick against my shin guards, and wound up for the wrist shot. My focus narrowed to the weight of the puck, the angle of the goal, the goalie’s position.
I fired.
The puck pinged off the goalpost with a metallic clang that made my stomach drop.
Fuck!
Andrzej whipped around and slammed it in on the rebound, but before we could celebrate, he was crushed against the boards by two defenders.
Shit! I joined the fray, only for Rami to haul me off by my shoulders. “Not worth it,” he grunted in my ear as the refs descended upon us.
We won 2-1.
It sucked.
“Good game, good game, good game.” The litany of Coach Caruso congratulating us grated on my nerves as we filed into the locker room. “Baptiste,” he said when I passed him, “you’re up for press today.”
Well, fuck.
I changed quickly, my aching muscles protesting. The press room was too bright, too loud, too everything as the adrenaline from the game wore off. Haruto was already there, looking as happy as I felt. We took our places beside Coach Caruso, and I forced my expression into blank professionalism.
“Tough game,” a journalist said, his recorder thrust forward. “How are you all doing without Cole Carter and Aleksandr Novikov?”
Caruso leaned forward to take the mic, and I wondered how he’d handle the question. “The team’s been through a lot of change in a short period, but they’re excellent players, they’re resilient, and I’m confident we can go all the way this year.”
“Tristan, you and Cole were close. Do you have anything to say about his absence?”
Fuck. No, I didn’t have anything I wanted to add about the fact that Cole Carter was a fucking martyr, and I hated that he’d sacrificed himself, and so had Alek, and now, we were all paying the price.
“Cole’s a strong player, and he’ll be missed, but we have a great team, and I’m proud to be a Marauder.”
Coach Caruso’s warm approval washed over me. I didn’t want to like him, didn’t want to compare him to Alek, but I liked the way he ran the team, despite myself. It only made the hole Alek left feel bigger.
By the time I got back to Alek’s, it was almost eleven.
Me
You doing okay?
Cole
No.
But I’m not drinking, if that’s what you’re asking.
Me
It’s not what I was asking.
The living room was warm, softly lit by a single lamp that cast everything in amber.
Alek had rustled up some blankets to toss over the backs of his couches and added rugs to cover the bare tiles.
The apartment looked more inviting than it used to.
I wondered if he was trying to make it more comfortable for Eva.
Eva looked up from where she was curled up against Alek on the couch, wearing an oversized grey sweatshirt I didn’t recognize—probably one of his.
She balanced her laptop on her knees, and her hair was pulled into a messy knot on top of her head.
She looked soft and sleepy and perfect. Her feet were bare, and suddenly, I understood the new rugs.
Alek had his reading glasses on, one arm stretched along the back of the couch behind her shoulders, his other hand holding a book. He looked up at me over the top of his frames.
“Good game,” he murmured. “And well done at the presser.”
His quiet approval meant more to me than anything Coach Caruso had said, maybe more than the win we’d barely eked out.
I dropped my gear by the door and crossed to the couch, suddenly exhausted down to my bones. “Thanks.”
Eva’s eyes darted over me, as if she were checking for injuries. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I ran my hand over my cornrows, still damp from my shower after the game. “Just weird without Cole there.”
She scooted closer to Alek and then patted the couch beside her. I sat, and she immediately shifted closer, her warmth pressing into my side. The tension I’d been carrying since the opening faceoff slowly unwound.
“How’s he doing?” Alek asked, over her head.
Eva tensed but didn’t say anything.
“He’s unhappy, but—”
Eva whimpered.
“I know, kitten,” I said, nuzzling her hair and tugging her against me. “But it’s not for long. Jed Carter’s going to jail.”
“You think the team will take Cole back?” she asked.
“No,” Alek said, his chest lifting and falling in a deep sigh. “But I might be able to get him a tryout with an affiliate, which could give him an eventual shot at the NHL.”
We sat in silence for too fucking long while Eva aimlessly clicked through her spreadsheets, no longer truly working.
“Ready for bed?” I asked Eva, even if my gaze flicked to Alek.
She nodded, saving whatever she’d been working on and closing her laptop. When she stood and stretched, the sweatshirt rode up to reveal a strip of soft skin above her sleep shorts.
“My room,” Alek called as I walked toward the guest room. His voice was casual, but I caught the tension in his hands as he gripped his book, like he was still trying to figure out how to navigate this too.
I kept walking, trailing Eva into Alek’s bedroom instead.
She stripped the sweatshirt off, revealing a cute camisole and sleep shorts, and I made a show of looking at her as lasciviously as possible as I changed into pajama pants, hoping to elicit a giggle and lighten the weight still sitting on my chest.
When she laughed, I pumped my fist in victory then cuddled up against her.
“Dork,” she teased affectionately and climbed into bed.
I followed, pulling her against me and burying my face in her hair, inhaling the vanilla and orange scent from her lotion. “Any luck with the information Dr. Parker provided?”
“I’m trying to build a timeline,” Eva said sleepily. “Big financial events in Carter Industries, times when Carter’s approached people to rig games, when those buildings change hands. There’s a pattern. I just need to find it.”
“You’re so fucking clever,” I said, squeezing her tighter.
The mattress dipped as Alek slid in on her other side. Eva sighed softly, a sound of pure contentment, and snuggled deeper between us.
To my dismay, my phone buzzed. I slammed my hand on the bedside table to pick it up. My brother’s face filled the screen.
“Cedric, hi,” I rasped, apparently closer to sleep than I thought.
Eva pulled the covers up to her neck. “Who’s that?” my brother asked, his voice light. “Am I interrupting anything?”
“I’m his girlfriend. Eva,” she said with a sleepy smile, and my heart stopped. My girlfriend. I must have had hearts in my eyes, because my brother laughed.
“Nice to meet you,” Cedric said, his expression softening. “I hope we get to speak in person soon. You mean a lot to Tristan.”
Eva melted against me.
“I won’t keep you long then.” Cedric paused, his eyes narrowing. “Wait—that’s not the hockey house.”
I looked to my right at Alek, who shrugged one bare shoulder, his expression unreadable. I guess I needed to have this conversation eventually.
Slowly, I panned the phone over the bed, catching Eva, who was curled up to my chest, her hand resting over my heart, and then Alek, who had one hand under his head as he scrolled on his phone, bare to his waist, where the covers hit.
Cedric’s mouth opened then closed again. “I’m not going to lecture you,” he said. “Especially not with Coach laying right there.”
My eyes flicked to Alek, who was so studiously ignoring me, I knew he was hanging on every word.
“He resigned,” Eva said in a near whisper. “I don’t think any of us need a lecture on what this relationship could cost us.”
Her hand crept across the covers to squeeze Alek’s. He caught her fingers without looking away from his phone, tangling them together.
Cedric studied me through the phone for long moments then nodded sharply.
“We can talk later. I called because apparently, some Russian oligarch is pissed at Jedediah Carter and flew directly to DC to lobby against him. They want the FCC to revoke the broadcasting licenses for Carter Industries’ cable channels. ”
I sat up straighter, one arm wrapping around Eva to keep her in place. “Do you have any idea why?”
Cedric shrugged. “Jed Carter’s a high roller—too rich for my blood. But he must have done something pretty extraordinary for this lobbying effort. This is a lot of political capital to spend.”
“Do you think that’s why he ,needed the ten million right away?” Eva asked as she worked her way through the implications. “If the broadcasting licenses are at risk, his whole media empire could collapse.”
“Tristan, what the fuck are you getting yourself into?” my brother asked, his voice carrying an edge of concern. “This isn’t—” He cut himself off, shaking his head. “This isn’t why—”
“I know,” I offered softly, well aware of all the sacrifices he’d made so I could play hockey, including his own dreams. “But we have to stop him before he hurts anyone else.”
Cedric swallowed. “I expect you to tell me what the fuck is going on sometime when you’re not with your girlfriend and your—” he stumbled then grinned despite himself, “and your latest boytoy.”
Alek snorted softly.
“I’ll see if I can get any more information about the dude who’s pissed at Carter,” he said. “Ma says hi, by the way.”
Oh shit. We didn’t keep secrets from our parents. Guess I could expect a call from my mother about my relationship too.
When I hung up, Eva’s peal of laughter lightened the tension. “Tristan and his boytoy,” she giggled, elbowing Alek in his ribs.
To my surprise, he cracked a genuine smile—rare and beautiful—and gathered her closer. “Boytoy,” he murmured, mock-offended.
Eva yawned, and Alek pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Sleep, malyshka.”
She nodded against his chest, already drifting off.
I tightened my arm around her waist and let my eyes fall closed, Alek’s steady breathing on the other side of her lulling me toward sleep.
Cole’s absence pressed on my chest.
Soon, I vowed.