Page 4 of Doc Defence

“Shit,” she swore. “Get on your feet.”

Frost was already moving before she finished speaking. He had figured out what she had. It would be a bad plan to deliver a shock to a man effectively lying in a puddle of water if they were all kneeling in the same puddle, and it would be far safer if they had their shoes or, in his case, skates on the ice, to insulate them from the electricity she was about to fire into Aiden’s heart.

Once he was up, he didn’t hesitate, he reached back down for her, grabbed either side of her waist and had her on her feet in less than a second. Feeling her breath hitch under his hands, he let go of her immediately, stepping back out of her personal space.

“Everyone clear.” She glanced around Aiden, making sure no one was touching him and everyone was on their feet.

“Shocking.” She pressed the button.

Frost winced when Aiden’s body arched up from the ice. He didn’t know if that was a good or bad sign.

The doctor dropped to her knees and began pumping on the young man’s chest. “Come on, big boy. You’re too young for this. Let this be an arrhythmia from the ice biscuit hitting you.”

Frost blinked at her words. What the hell was an ice biscuit? Did she mean puck?

The doctor used her whole body weight to do CPR. “Come on. Breathe, damm you,” she muttered.

Frost frowned. Had he heard a groan from Aiden, or was it wishful thinking? He stared at the fallen player harder. He was only twenty-five, so young that his face was unlined. This couldn’t be the end for him. He stared harder, sure this time Aiden’s eyelids flickered.

“Come on,” the doctor said again.

A shuddering gasp wracked Aiden’s body, and his eyes opened.

Doc stopped pressing on the player’s chest, and her fingers flew to his neck before she sat back on her heels. Taking a relieved breath, she pushed some of the red curls, that had escaped from her ponytail with her exertions, back behind her ear.

A moan left Aiden’s lips before he croaked out, “What happened? Was there a truck on the ice?”

A laugh burst from the doctor, and Frost found he liked the noise. It wasn’t fake, it was a deep, genuine belly laugh, with no thought for how she looked while doing it.

He sighed as he thought about his girlfriend, Star, whose real name was Patricia, and her fake giggles.

When he first met her, he had been captivated. She was ten years younger than him, stunningly beautiful and full of energy and light. But he was now tired of everything being for the camera as Star documented her life—or ‘brand’ as she liked to put it—for the masses online who followed her every move.

Frost couldn’t remember ever having seen Star genuinely laugh. Everything she did was calculated to look good on camera, as every moment of her day was filmed, and her giggle was a tinkling noise, with a hand carefully placed over her lips to look cute.

He had definitely found it alluring at first, but now it was irritating, as he had seen how long she spent looking in the mirror and perfecting every gesture.

He had figured their relationship would be over when he told her he was leaving Canada, but Star announced after a discussion with her team—yes, she had a whole team: publicity, hype, hair, make-up and stylist—that a trip for a few months to another country was exactly what her brand needed so she would go with him.

So here he was, stuck in a foreign country with Star, who he should have broken up with before he left Canada.

His attention snapped back to the doctor. Now he studied her face, he could see she was close to his age, with a small crinkle of crow’s feet at the corner of her eyes when she smiled.

“Nah, mate. No truck, just two hundred Joules straight through the heart,” the doctor said as she reached out and patted Aiden on the shoulder. “Stay down, mate. We need to take you off the ice and to the hospital.”

“No. I’m fine. I can play.” Aiden began to struggle to sit up.

Coach Morgan stopped him. “Listen to Doc. You died there, son. The only place you’re going is the hospital.” His gruff voice didn’t leave any room for argument.

“I need to get up. My wife’s here. My child’s here. They need to see I’m okay,” Aiden pleaded.

Coach Morgan glanced between Aiden and Doc, who grimaced and gave a small shake of her head.

“Aiden. You need to stay down. You can wave to everyone. But listen to Doc’s advice and stay down. The stretcher is on its way,” Coach Morgan growled at him, then looked up at the players surrounding them. “Break ranks, let his family see him.”

The players skated backwards, allowing the silent crowd to see that Aiden was conscious. He raised his hand and waved, and a roar echoed around the arena as everyone leapt to their feet and began to applaud.

The guys with the stretcher arrived and loaded Aiden onto it, with the help of a few of the players and the Doc, who made sure the defibrillator stayed attached to him as they moved. She slipped on the ice, and without thinking, Frost quickly skated forward to grab her before she could fall.

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