“Red, please don’t?—”
“Tyler.” I look him dead in the eye. “Where. Is. He.”
He stares at me, and I can see him weighing his options. Either try to physically remove me from the arena, refuse to tell me, or just accept that this is happening.
With a tilt of his head, he motions toward the cluster of players. “Middle of the group. Eleven.”
"Hold her." I unbuckle the carrier and hand Harper to Tyler, who automatically takes her.
"Nora, don't?—"
But I’m already walking. Not toward the ice, but along therubber matting near the far bench. One of the players has noticed the commotion and is skating over to me—the C on his upper left chest is the first thing I notice.Reaper.
He steps off the ice onto the matting and pulls his helmet off. Dark hair, sweat—damn, that face I recognize from the team photo on the website. The face I’ve now seen up close, with no shield, no distance, no glass.
“Can I help you?” His tone is dismissive; he’s barely looking at me. “Puck bunnies stay in the lobby, sweetheart.”
"You're Reaper."
"That's ‘Captain’ to you." He's already turning away to yell over at Tyler. "Tyler, control your?—"
I step directly into his path. "Look at me when I'm talking to you."
"Excuse me?"
"You've been using Tyler as your personal punching bag. Cross-checking him, hitting him dirty, generally making his life hell because you're threatened by how good he is." My voice is calm, steady. "So here's what's going to happen. You're going to leave him alone."
Reaper actually laughs. "Or what? Somegirlis going to lecture me?"
"Or I'm going to make it my personal mission to ensure everyone, the team, the league,andthe media, knows exactly what kind of captain you are. The kind who beats up his own teammates because he can't handle the competition."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"I know Tyler came home yesterday with bruised ribs, a split lip, and marks all over his back from your stick. I know you've been doing this for months. And I know your coach is too weak to stop you." I step closer. "But I'm not your coach. And I'm not afraid of you."
The entire team is watching now, dead silent. Tyler's got Harper in his arms, his face pale, and I can see Liam and Danny exchanging looks.
"You need to leave," Reaper says, but there's something uncertain in his voice now. "This is a team practice."
"Beat up someone who can fight back, youcoward."
His face flushes red. "What did you just call me?"
"You heard me. You're a bully and a coward, picking on someone who can't fight back without risking his career. So here's your chance." I spread my arms. "Take a swing. Hit me instead. I'm right here."
"I'm not going to hit a woman?—"
"Then stop hitting Tyler."
The silence in the arena is deafening. Even Coach is listening in, watching but not intervening, as usual.
Reaper's jaw clenches. "You don't understand hockey?—"
"I understand assault. And that's what you're doing. Assaulting your teammate. In front of witnesses. Repeatedly."
"Nora—" Tyler's voice is behind me, pleading. I hadn’t even noticed he’d followed me over with Harper still in his arms.
I ignore him, keeping my eyes locked on Reaper. "Leave him alone. Or I promise you, everyone will know exactly what you've been doing. The bruises are documented. I have photos. Timestamps. Medical evidence, if we need it."