“Fucking bullshit,” I mutter as I skate toward the box.
Sitting down, I throw my stick down and then my gloves in complete frustration. This is bullshit! Leaning on my legs, I suck in a deep breath, looking up at the clock to see how much time we have left. Nine minutes. I get comfortable and allow myself to cool down a bit. But once I look out at the ice, my blood pressure rockets through the damn roof.
The Bullies are doing great, sending the puck out of the zone. But when it gets caught in the boards, Baylor rushes the puck, looking back to see where Jace is and also to find Kuntz and McMinn. But then two guys come in, squishing her between them as they all three fight for the puck. Jace comes over, trying to get the puck while Kuntz and McMinn watch the goal. But then I see one of the guys digging his elbow into Baylor’s neck, and I fucking lose it.
“Look at this shit!” I yell at the ref who is standing by the box, but he is ignoring me. “That’s allowed? He’s basically choking her!”
Baylor doesn’t take it though, she’s throwing elbows too, but she isn’t getting anywhere. Finally, Kuntz rushes in and checks the guy in the chest with his stick, but the other guy gets the puck, sending it up to his forward, who has another player with him. Before Kuntz can get back to man the net, McMinn is alone and the one player does a sick pass through McMinn’s legs to the other player, who sends it over Shane’s shoulder to the back of the goal.
Fuck.
Opening the box door, I skate toward the bench as Coach yells, “Sinclair! What the hell? That’s on you!”
“What? They are beating the shit out of Moore, and no one is calling shit,” I yell back, and I feel her gaze on me but I ignore it. “I’m not gonna stand around… No, we aren’t going to stand around while they hurt our teammate.”
Grabbing me by my jersey, he yanks me up to the tips of my skates. “She can handle her own. You worry about you and that fucking puck, or I’ll sit your ass on this bench so quick, you won’t know what happened!”
“We are a team! I look out for my team,” I yell back, my voice breaking a bit.
I’m out of breath and I’m fucking pissed. Rage is in his eyes, and I know mine mirror his. I don’t know if he is really that mad at me or mad at the situation. I’m sure it’s the latter because when he lets me go and shakes his head; he then bends down to check on Baylor as I take a seat beside Jace, who is between us.
Leaning on the boards, she calls over to me, “I got this, Sinclair. I’m good.”
“They are gunning for you,” I snap back, looking over at her. She looks tired and her lipstick is smeared.
And it isn’t my fault.
“They are. It’s bullshit and no one is calling shit,” Jace says, sucking in deep breaths.
“I’m fine, guys, I swear,” she promises. “Everyone always guns for me, but I can take care of myself.”
“But you don’t have to,” I roar back, and her eyes go wide as mine bore into hers. “We are a team.”
“But it’s costing us. If I need you, I’ll holler for you,” she says, and I shake my head.
“No, that’s bullshit,” I bellow, venom in my voice. “I don’t know who you’ve played with before, but on this team, we look out for our own.”
“Fucking right,” Jace adds, and most of the guys all nod.
Nodding, she swallows hard before looking back at the ice. My blood is boiling, we are down by a goal, and I swear, one more person touches her, I’m going for blood. I’ve played rough games, even dealt with my fair share of guys trying to take me out, but this is beyond anything I’ve ever seen. It’s like they want to hurt her, which I can’t even fathom. Yeah, she is fucking amazing and she can skate circles around most of these dicks, but really? Their jealousy is that bad that they want to hurt her?
What the hell?
Obviously though, these guys weren’t raised like me because as Baylor’s line and mine hit the ice, they gun for her again. They pin her against the boards, and I watch as she fights for the puck. I sink my teeth so hard into my mouthguard, I’m sure my teeth are gonna shatter. But I stay back, watching as she fights, and now, she’s being just as ruthless as they are, which makes me proud. When she gets the puck under control, she sends it out just as Jace is rushing the net. But he drops it back to Markus, who somehow puts it to the back of the net, tying the game.
As all of us join up to congratulate each other, she nods. “See! They are so worried about me, if we stay in position, we can catch them off guard. Way to go, Markus.”
That doesn’t seem right to me, though. She’s basically suggesting we use her as bait, and I don’t like that.
She may be as strong as an ox, but I have to protect her.
Lining up again, Baylor wins the puck when it drops, sending it back to me, and I send it to Kuntz as we skate past the blue line. When he sends it back to me, I look up to see her hauling ass to the net, her stick is down, her eyes are on me, and she’s ready. Sending it up quickly, I fully expect her to send it to the back of the next.
But what I didn’t see was the two-hundred-pound defenseman.
And then everything happens so fast.
I’m not sure what he hits her with, his shoulder or elbow, but she goes flying back like she weighs nothing, hitting the ice hard, her helmet sliding against the ice. I spot Jace and Markus waling on the guy, and then all of a sudden, the benches clear out and it’s utter chaos.