“What the hell was that?” My uncle's voice calls from behind me.
“Nothing,” I look at him, shaking my head. “Sorry.”
He stares at me for a moment, his gaze hard, the muscle in his jaw tightening and then he looks back out at the rink.
He has every right to be pissed, but so do I. And Aiden Scott has had it coming for quite some time now. I glance over at the other bench. I could easily hop the boards and be over to him in a few strides.
“Wait until he’s back on the ice.” Shaw says, bumping into me, as if he can see me formulating a chaotic plan inside my head. “There are too many of them over there.”
The blood whooshes past my ears and I glance at Shaw. He gives me a knowing look, bobbing his head before releasing my arm. He pats the top of my shoulder. “Just wait ‘til he’s back out again.”
I’m on the edge of my seat, my hands resting on the top of the boards as I stare out onto the ice, watching as play commences again. We end up scoring, just before I head out for my next shift.
The rage simmers inside, a steady boil to the blood in my veins as I push harder, hitting a few of their guys just on sheer principle. I glance over at Aiden as I’m heading back to the bench for the next guy to come out. Aiden’s about to hop over the boards when we lock eyes. He pushes his tongue against the side of his cheek and winks as his skates hit the ice.
Motherfucker.
Their team ices the puck and play momentarily stops. Aiden’s skates hit the ice.
“FORD! COME ON!” Volkov yells for me, slapping his stick against the boards.
“Better go, pretty boy,” Aiden calls over to me as he starts to skate backwards. “Tell J to give me a call after she’s done with you. You’ll get bored with her and I’d gladly reminder her what a good fuck actually looks like.” He winks at me.
That’s it. That’s all it takes for my self control to go directly out the fucking window. It’s like he’s asking for someone to put him on a stretcher and I am more than happy to deliver.
I charge at him, my blades cutting into the ice as I rush toward him. He’s laughing maniacally and doesn’t even bother to dodge me. Instead, he takes the hit, but he stands his ground.
My gloves are somehow already on the ice and I grab the front of his jersey and his chest protector, holding him right where I want him.
“Aww, you gonna defend her honor?” He smiles right before I drive my fist into his face. His head whips to the side, blood flying onto the ice before he looks back at me. “You motherfucker,” he snaps. His teeth are covered in blood, except one of the front teeth is now missing.
He comes at me and we’re both throwing punches. Both of our helmets end up on the ice and I manage to keep him far enough away that he can’t quite get a good hit on me. I hit him in the jaw and then in the side of his torso.
“Break it up!” One of the refs yells at us, but I can’t stop now.
Aiden stumbles backward as I hit him in the face once more and I go down with him, landing on top of him. Just as I’m about to hit him again, I’m hauled up, ripped away from his body. “Enough!”
Aiden lies there for a second, his eyes a bit out of focus and I don’t get a good look at him as I’m pushed away. Adrenaline courses through me and I can’t feel my hand. I look down at it and just from the first sight, I know it’s broken.
“Get him out of here,” the ref barks at our bench as he pushes me over to them. Theo pulls open the door and I stumble onto the bench. I don’t know where the hell my gloves, helmet, or stick are.
Coaches Ford and Frost both look at me, their eyes widening slightly as they look down at my hand. “Get him in the back. He’s lucky if they don’t throw him out of the game,” Coach Ford orders Gabe, one of the athletic trainers.
My legs are wobbly and my heart pounds harder as I blindly walk toward the tunnel. Gabe meets me there and falls in step with me as we head back to the dressing room. Dr. Herr, one of the team doctors, meets us at the end of the hall with an icepack.
“What the hell happened, Matty?”
I shake my head, tasting the tinge of metal on my tongue. “Motherfucker kept running his mouth.”
Dr. Herr clicks his tongue. “Guess he deserved it then.”
“Oh, he did,” I say, my breathing erratic as I sit down in my stall. “Shit,” I mumble, the throbbing starting as I look down at my hand.
“Yeah,” Dr. Herr agrees, his face wincing. “That’s definitely broken.”
Gabe shakes his head. “Let me help you get your gear off and we’ll get someone to take you to the emergency room.”
“What about the game? The period isn’t over yet.”