Silence reigns around the table, but Kynan, Cruce, and Saint wordlessly indicate that Mollie should provide the answer.
I slowly turn to the woman I love, already feeling a scowl forming.
With a hard glint in her eye and a stubborn tilt to her chin, she states, “You won’t be there. You have a game.”
I jerk in surprise. It’s true I have a game tonight, but I already talked to Coach Perron—told him I wouldn’t be able to play and the reason why. I can’t say as he was happy with it, but he wasn’t about to fire me from the team.
Besides… we’re playing the Winnipeg Rebels. They were at the bottom of the league last season, and they don’t pose a threat.
“I’m not playing tonight,” I push out between clenched teeth, offended she wouldn’t assume I’d be there for her.
“Oh yes, Kane, you are,” she snaps. “There is no reason for you to be there.”
“The woman I love is putting herself in danger, and you don’t think there’s a reason I should be there?” I snarl incredulously.
She waves me off with an eye roll that only infuriates me. “I’m going to be perfectly safe. Besides, what about all that talk in New York on Sunday about how hockey is your job, and how important it is. You hockey players leave your women and babies to do your job without thinking twice about it. And you know why… because the women are as much a part of the team as the men, and we support your duties. We’re team players, just as much as you are. So I’m telling you now—you are going to that game and you will play your ass off.”
I’m stunned that she called me out on the carpet like that. I’m also strangely proud of her. My heart swells with more love for her knowing she considers herself a part of this team, too.
I glance across the table at the men. They’re all smirking over Mollie dressing me down.
“Let’s reschedule the meeting for a day I don’t have a game,” I throw out, knowing it’s a lame shot.
Kynan shakes his head. “We have to do this while he’s amenable, and he doesn’t suspect a setup. If we cancel, he’ll get skittish.”
Mollie leans over, places a hand on my cheek, and looks me dead in the eye. “We’re doing this today, Kane, and I’ll be perfectly safe and well protected. But more than that, if you’re there, you’ll only make me even more nervous because I’ll be worrying about you worrying about me.”
Fuck, I hate that she put this on me.
“Listen, Kane,” Kynan interjects in a tone firmly projecting that he’s the final voice of reason. “Your game isn’t until seven. I understand you’ll be warming up about the time this goes down. It’s all going to be over before the game even starts. The second we have handcuffs on him, I will personally call you.”
“And I’ll catch an Uber to the arena,” Mollie says. “Hopefully, I’ll be there before the puck drops.”
“Actually,” Kynan apologetically breaks in. “You’ll more than likely have to go to the police station to give a statement. But you should be there before the end of the game.”
I scan the men around the table. Kynan, Cruce, Saint—they all have confident, determined expressions. I trust them.
When I scrutinize Mollie, she appears just as determined.
God, I fucking love her. If anything happened to her, I’d be destroyed.
But I have to do the one thing that will utterly and unequivocally prove my love and devotion. I have to move past my fear… and simply trust her.
“Okay,” I say, leaning over to kiss her. “We’ll do it your way.”
?
A lot of planning and activity goes into game day. We don’t just show up, get dressed, and hop onto the ice.
Often, we’ll have a light skate practice followed by a healthy, but energy-carb loaded, team meal. After, some players will meditate while others do an activity like a stationary bike to stay loose and warm.
Others still will hang out in the family lounge, doing something mindless like playing Xbox, to avoid game jitters.
Whatever the ritual, we’ll all congregate back in the locker room right around the time this shit with Matthew starts to go down. I’m about to go crazy, out of my mind, and there’s no way I can focus on anything else.
I’m usually the guy who likes to keep on the move, stay loose, so I can often be found on a stationary bike before a game. Today, though, it’s 4:45, and I’m sitting on the bench in front of my cubby, blankly staring at my jersey.
Mollie should be on her way to the restaurant. Cruce, Saint, and Kynan will already be there and set up. I talked to her about ten minutes ago, and it had felt like the last conversation we’d ever have. Most of it was her reassuring me that everything would be okay.