Page 51 of Doc Defence

“Great. Since then, I’ve been a defenceman on five different teams. And I retired from the Vancouver Vultures at the end of the last season.” He gave her the short summary as he felt the longer one would bore her.

“You came to Australia for a documentary?” she supplied.

“Yeah. I couldn’t play another season in the NHL. I’m getting slower, and things that didn’t used to hurt were hurting. I love the game, but I knew it was time to stop and coming here gave me a little bit more ice time before the end of my career.” Frost’s voice sounded wistful.

“Until Jax. He looked like he was out to get you.”

“Yeah, he was. We had some bad blood. We used to play on the same team. He always thought I stole his position. But the reality was, he got caught up in the fanfare that can surround the game. The drinking, the women, and the endorsement deals. His game suffered. I got a position in the first pair, and he didn’t. He’s never forgiven me.”

“So he broke your leg so badly that you’ll never play again?” Hel sounded angry, and she was scowling.

“Yeah. He finally got ‘revenge’ on me for taking his position by ending my career.”

“What a shithead!” Hel exclaimed.

“Yup,” Frost agreed. He hoped he would never see Jax again, as when he thought of the other man, his blood boiled.

“Will there be any repercussions for him?”

Frost said bitterly. “Nothing that will pay for him ruining the end of my career.”

“Shit,” Hel muttered.

“Total shit,” Frost agreed.

They both fell silent, and Frost stared out through the front windscreen with unseeing eyes. He still couldn’t believe fifteen years of playing professional ice hockey was over.

Frost started in surprise when Hel drew into a parking space, turned the engine off and swivelled in her seat to face him. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn’t even noticed her pull into the parking lot.

“I won’t be long.” Hel took her seat belt off and grabbed her phone from him.

He shook himself out of his self-pity to reply, “Thanks, I’m not even going to try and insist I come. I don’t think I’d make it the whole way without eating shit.” A smile quirked at the corner of his lips as he used the phrase she had uttered that first day on the ice.

CHAPTER 18

HEL

ThefirstthingFrostsaid to Hel when she climbed back into the car, having loaded the shopping into the boot and handed him two takeaway bags, was, “I Googled Creekside Lodge.”

“Okay,” Hel said, distracted as she put her seat belt on.

“Do you know what the top review said?”

Hel shook her head. She didn’t know for sure what it said, but she had a good idea, as the hotel didn’t have the best reputation in the area. But it was cheap and close to work.

“It said I wouldn’t let my dog stay here.” Frost read out from his phone screen.

“Oh.” Hel pulled out of the parking spot, keeping her eyes on the road. If she met his piercing green gaze, she was likely to say something stupid like ‘I’d love to stay in your spare room,’ and ‘If you could walk around in that singlet, that would be great.’ Although she hoped it was a clean one, as the one he was wearing was pretty gross.

Then, she would get time to examine his tattoos. Maybe he would show them to her, like he tried to while high, maybe—Hel put the brakes on her runaway thoughts.

Nope, she would not be examining his tattoos or muscles, as she would not be staying at his house.

“This person said they got fleas, and the one after said it was actually bedbugs.” Frost continued reading, unaware of her internal inappropriate thoughts.

Hel blanched. “Did you say bedbugs?”

“Yeah. Hang on, let me check a few more. Bedbugs, bedbugs and more bedbugs reports.” Frost scrolled through the reviews.

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