Page 61 of Rush the Edge

Several pucks into the net later, I drop to the ice to stretch.

There’s a group of girls behind me that are trying to get my attention, but my focus is elsewhere.Where are you, little devil?

A sick feeling fills my gut.

What if she fainted again?

I shake my head. River came home mid-morning. She doesn’t need me.

With my glove on, I punch the ice and pair it with a growl.

“Well, that was stupid,” Malaki says from somewhere nearby. “Save the punching for the game. The ice is our friend.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see that he starts to pet the ice.

I ignore him, but in true Malaki fashion, he doesn’t get the hint.

“Where were you last night? I came home, and the door was wide open.”

I grunt. “None of your business.”

Amusement slides onto his face. “Were you with your little girlfriend?”

My brows knit together with anger. “You’re pissing me off.”

He grins. “I know.”

I play better when I’m angry.

The entire team knows that.

In fact, Coach sometimes will tell me to keep the chirping up on the ice because he knows I play harder.

Rising to my skates, I swipe my stick off the ice and begin to take off.

Malaki is right behind me.

“Or…” His words linger, and he lowers his voice. “You weren’t out at the casino, were you?”

I wiggle my jaw back and forth. “Did you go through my phone?”

Malaki’s brow furrows. “Not purposefully. It was on the counter, and a text came in.”

He comes from a place of worry, because he’s the only one on the team that knows about my situation. After saving my ass, he deserved to know. But fuck, it still pisses me off.

The other team takes the ice, and the crowd grows restless.

“I wasn’t at the casino,” I snap.

With irritation backing me, I snag a puck from Hart and fling it to the top left part of the net, hitting the bar to pop in behind Emory.

“Nice,” Emory says.

It was a nice shot, full of hot anger.

Malaki skates toward me again. “So you were with our little neighbor?”

“Whatever you’re implying, stop,” I say.

---