Page 50 of The Closed Off Captain

“Exactly.” I stare at her face, unable to look away from the damage to her beautiful face. “Chloe,” my voice stalls. I reach up a thumb and being careful not to touch her anywhere that she’s injured, run it gently over her cheekbone. Her eyes flare slightly; if I wasn’t standing so close, I wouldn’t have noticed. I would give anything to know what she’s thinking.

“Coftman, let’s go,” Coach calls out from right behind me. I don’t want to step away from her. I want to finish this moment with her. I also want to hit something, but I bury the useless anger. I refuse to take it out on Chloe, and I can’t hit the person who did this to her right now. “You need to stay with me until all this dies down.”

“What? No.”

“Chloe, she knows where you live. Things could get worse.”

She shakes her head. “Absolutely not.”

“Chloe,” I start.

“Coftman!” Coach barks out from behind me. Chloe gives me a quick glance and then steps around me. I turn around, crossing my arms over my chest. Coach stares at Chloe’s face with narrowed eyes but doesn’t say a word.

“I’m going to go check on the media room,” Chloe says and makes an escape.

Coach waits until she’s out of earshot before turning to me. “You gonna take care of that?” I nod. Whether fake or not, Chloe is mine to take care of. She got hurt because of me; she’s in this mess because of me. “Let’s go,” Coach says and heads into the locker room. I follow him in and don’t do anything to keep the scowl off my face. I listen to Coach, but my mind is a million miles away. When he finishes, we grab our gear and prepare to head out.

“What happened?” Sebastain asks.

I turn around to see Seb, Rico, and Aiden all waiting for me. “Jenny Prenderson.”

Rico frowns. “That chick that says you impregnated her?”

“Dude, this getting out of hand,” Seb says.

“What are you going to do about it?” That’s from Aiden.

“I’m going to pay her a visit.”

They all three watch me. “Not sure that’s a good idea,” Rico’s the first to say.

I cross my arms over my chest, pinning him with a look. “Pretty sure I didn’t ask you.”

“I’ll go with you.”

I look at Aiden. “You don’t need to.”

“Yeah, I do. Somebody needs to be there, so you’re not there with her alone. Otherwise, it’s her word against yours if she accuses you of something,” Aiden argues.

“I’ll be there too,” Rico adds.

“I’m not missing out,” Seb says.

I crack my neck. “You guys don’t need to come.”

“Yeah, we do. Aiden’s right,” Seb starts. “You shouldn’t be with her alone. Besides, what could get the point across that she shouldn't mess with our girl better than the four of us showing up.”

“Our girl?” I pin him with a dark look.

A slow smile crosses his face, and he throws a hand on my shoulder. “Congratulations, Cap.”

I move my shoulder, so his hand falls off. “What are you talking about?”

Seb grins. “Welcome to the dark side. You’ve officially fallen.”

I don’t bother giving him a response. “Aren’t you idiots supposed to be out on the ice?”

Seb’s grin grows as he faces the other two. “I always love the inspirational words from our captain.”

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