Page 186 of Gloves Off

Another pleasant pulse hits me.

The others exchange smiles.

“Don’t be smug,” I tell them, and they laugh. “It’s unbecoming.”

Rory sends the puck to Luca, and while Alexei buys him time, the rookie shoots the puck at the net. He misses, but Hayden passes it back to him. He tries again, aiming for the top corner of the net—and it goes in.

The arena explodes with a volume particular to two goals in quick succession, a delighted roar of surprise and gratitude. On the bench, the guys all jump up, and on the ice, the players surround Luca again, slapping him on the back, jostling him with big grins.

Alexei just wears that proud look again.

“The rookie’s pretty good, huh?” Pippa asks, and I smile.

“He’s incredible, with the right coaching.”

In the third period, the Storm are up three–nothing, with goals from Luca, Rory, and Hayden.

The thing about hockey, though, is that everything can change in a split second.

Alexei has the puck when a defenseman collides with him at speed, hitting Alexei’s head with his shoulder. Alexei’s head snaps back at an angle that makes fan gasp, before he drops.

Over the blood beating in my ears, the whistle blows. I’m on my feet, watching in horror as Rory and Hayden fly to Alexei’s side. He’s lying on the ice, not moving.

Fuck. Oh god. He’s not moving.

He’s not moving.

Rory shifts to let a doctor through. Blood runs down Alexei’s face onto the ice. His eyes are still closed. The arena is a deadly, horrifying quiet.

He’s still not moving.

I’m sprinting, pushing past people, until I’m in the arena concourse, rushing to the ice. No one stops me. I don’t even show my ID.

At the bench, someone blocks my path.

“Georgia.” Tate’s voice is quiet, eyes worried and serious. “No.”

“I need to get to him.” I’m shaking. I can’t breathe. My eyes stay glued to the group on the ice, waiting for a glimpse of him. Waiting for him to get up.

Get up,I pray.Open your eyes. Glare at me. Call me your wife. Call me Hellfire. Tell me I’m your everything.

“Let them do their jobs,” Tate says, eyes full of patient sympathy. “You can follow them to the hospital, but let them take care of this.”

Every cell in my body revolts, but he’s right. We keep family members out of the way during times like these because of how I’m feeling right now. Reckless, terrified, and desperate.

The arena is silent as Alexei is moved onto a stretcher andcarried off the ice, and my stomach hardens into a tight, cold block. It’s so much worse than two years ago.

I love him now. I can’t be without him. Seeing him like this makes that clear as day. I’ll stand by his side, watch him get hurt and take care of him after, even if it kills me.

CHAPTER 86

ALEXEI

My body hurts.

My head throbs, my back aches like something else, and stinging pain lances across my face. Did I get stitches? Feels like it.

The pain is nothing compared to how I feel when I open my eyes and see Georgia sitting in the chair beside my hospital bed, silently sobbing into her hands. Her shoulders shake, and my world collapses.

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