Page 122 of Shots Fired

It’s the only question I have.

“No. Thankfully, she wasn’t dragged into it.”

“Okay, that’s good,” I say on a long breath that frees my lungs a little more.

Coach’s hand tightens around the handle. “No, Archer, it isn’t good.” I can tell he’s speaking to me as Jon, Darcy’s stepdad. “You just set fire to team dynamics and have me questioning the direction of your moral compass.”

When he opens the door to a small office, Jack is sitting in a black leather chair, resting his forearms on the desk in front of him.

For the briefest moment, his eyes flick to mine, but if I’d blinked, I would’ve missed the contact or the anger behind them.

A night’s sleep doesn’t appear to have done anything to calm him down.

“Take a seat.” Coach rounds the desk and sits in his own chair on the other side. He pushes a keyboard away from him and mirrors Jack’s position while I drop down onto the seat next to my center.

“How long is this going to take?” Jack bites.

Pulling off his cap, Coach sets it down on the desk. “It’ll take as long as it takes. Practice is being run by Jensen right now.”

“Not a great first impression for Schneider,” Jack counters, and Coach lifts a brow.

“It’s not our new defenseman I’m worried about. Because if we don’t get this situation resolved, and fast, the GM is going to start dropping problematic players to the bench—or worse.”

“I’m happy to sit here and talk for as long as it takes,” I say, looking at Coach and then at Jack, who still won’t offer me proper eye contact.

“Look at me, Jack,” I tell him.

He scratches at his chin, eyes fixed on Coach. “I called Darcy a half hour ago because I needed to know the truth and I can’t trust a word that comes out of your mouth. She told me you guys were playing around for a while before she fell pregnant.” Finally, he gives me his attention. “Did you just marry her because you had gotten her pregnant? Because you knew the shit storm that would ensue and you wanted to get ahead of it with a shotgun wedding?”

He might as well have shot me instead, since his words blow me apart at the seams.

“That really and truly is what you think of me, isn’t it?”

He swipes his tongue across his bottom lip. “Well, this time, you couldn’t ‘fuck and flee,’ could you?”

I know what he’s referencing. Back in his rookie season, we got to talking one night on an away series. I told him that was what I did with women to avoid any kind of commitment.

I close my eyes to temper the gnawing cringe. “I’m a very different man now. Darcy has changed me.”

“A good man doesn’t lie to his friends and teammates,” he snips back.

I pull at the back of my neck, frustration coursing through me. The second Abbie’s name left my lips, I regretted it. Lying isn’t something I do, but I felt like I had no choice but to play along. “It’s not that black and white, Jack,” I reply.

“I swear to fucking God if you hurt my baby sister and leave her stranded with a baby, I will tear you limb from limb,” he growls so deep that I can hardly make out the words.

“Not going to happen,” I volley back. “I’m in love with her.”

Sitting back in his chair, Jack pokes his tongue into his cheek. “But you didn’t respect me enough to be straight from the outset? Apparently, everyone else knew, apart from a few guys on the team and me and Jon.”

I grip the metal handles on my chair so tightly that my knuckles turn white. “I respect you, Jack. I just don’t think everything has to be all of your business all the time. And do you blame me when you react like this? You’re like a fucking book; I can read you so easily.”

Coach shifts in his chair, anticipating that this conversation is heading nowhere other than south.

“We’re all personally involved in this, but the time for hashing out emotions isn’t now.” He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “What’s important right now is your professionalism. You are two of my most valuable players, andwe have had the best start to a season in a long fucking time. The GM and I do not want that fucking up.”

I clear my throat, arms folded across my chest. “My ability to be professional and friendly isn’t the issue here.”

“You’re precisely the issue!” Jack’s temper frays as he points to the center of his chest. “Do you know how humiliated I am? I thought we were friends. I thought we had each other’s backs.”

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