Page 30 of UnWholly Angels
They deliberately forced humiliation on me. As much as I hated it, Maya might not have as much freedom as I wanted to give her after this. It was the only way to ensure we were both safe when I couldn’t be by her side.
“Did you not see him in the stands?” I panicked, shooting my hand out toward the empty seats. Most of them murmured a no, while others looked like I’d seen a ghost, slowly skating backward to get away from the ‘invisible’ drama. The rest just shrugged it off and laughed. I looked crazy to them, probably, but I knew what I saw. I needed…I needed Maya.
“Sorry, man. I didn't mean to knock you down.” The rookie slapped my back hard, and my whole body tensed under it. “Nobody was there, Angel. You should go see Doc, make sure your head is okay.”
My eyes snapped shut in annoyance. I knew what I saw, and I wasn’t sure what bothered me more: the thought that my own team didn’t believe me, or the fact that I looked so goddamn weak right now. My chest tightened, and I pushed down the panic that festered inside me. The familiar jersey with an A splayed across the shoulder crossed my vision, our eyes meeting briefly.
“Why don’t you take ten?” Nick offered. My body already quivered, and I was spiraling from only one interaction with these fuckers. My next task would take me longer than ten minutes, and my head could wait. This was more important. My eyes locked on each member of my team and internally apologized for what I was going to do next. The next words thatI said must have seemed irrational after a small hit, but I didn’t really care.
“I have to go.” My abrupt movement caused some to glance at me in confusion, while the ones I was closer to had concern written all over their faces. Pumping my legs swiftly, I skated between all of the shocked faces, in an attempt to get to the locker room, when the coach forced me to a halt in front of him. Sweat lined along the crease in my forehead, and my shoulders slumped when he wouldn’t let me pass.
“You can’t just leave practice, Kingston. We have a huge game Saturday,” Coach roared. Normally, if things came up, he would chew us out and let us go, but he was right. Playoffs were right around the corner, and we needed to be at the top of our game to secure our spot. But I couldn’t let history repeat itself. I refused to abandon Maya ever again.Never again.This team was the most important thing in my life…well,wasthe most important. Now, it seemed minuscule when I looked at the bigger picture. Maya was back, and that was who I belonged to, which meant I had a duty to protect her, and Lorenzo was around here somewhere. Rocco should have sent someone less important today, because the only way he was leaving was in a body bag.Maya was and would always be my priority, then my team.
“Fine, respectfully, let me save everyone the trouble and do your job for you. Then we can all go,” I announced. The team moved in, the guys on the ice skating in circles or dumping water between the holes in their helmets. Shocked was an understatement, but the silence and wondering were loud and clear on everyone's faces. So, I continued as Coach gritted his teeth.
“Stryker!”
“Which one?” They asked in unison. It never ceased to make me chuckle when they did it, even as confusion lay plainly on their faces.
“Both. If you don’t fucking tighten up the defense, I’m going to clock your heads together,” I scoffed.
“Guttierez,” I called out, making sure he could hear me.
“Loud and clear,” he yelled from the net.
“For every goal we get, you end up letting in three, stay vigilant and focus, man. You play one of the toughest positions, and let's not forget the rate of injury. Stay a bit longer to practice, or I’ll spread you out and tie you to the goal post before every game.”
“Palmer!”
“Oh boy, am I in trouble, Captain?” The slight mock in Nick’s tone caused me to smirk. He knew exactly what he was doing, and normally, I would play into it.
“You need to work on how hard you’re giving and receiving hits. You get into your own head when someone zeros in. It doesn’t mean you have to fight, just don’t let anyone push you around, okay? The only focus you should have is getting the puck across that red line.”
He nodded, and my eyes flitted to the rookie. I’d been waiting for this moment to call Petrov out on his shit, not that he would listen anyway. Picked up by our GM recently, this kid was a whole new level of cocky, and coming from me, that was saying something. Rebuilding is what they call it. Bullshit. To be successful, you had to be willing to live and breathe hockey to get on our level. I made sure his eyes connected with mine as I spoke.
“To be honest, I don’t think you have the heart. You seem like you just want your fifteen minutes of fame. This is the real deal, and so many wouldkillto be where you are right now. Guidance and handholding are two different things. There's nobody to hold your hand here. So, if your heart isn’t one hundred percent in this, then let us know now, so that we can send you back and bring up someone who wants this. We are a family. We all need to work together as one unit to win.”
A chorus of ‘oh shits’ and mutters echoed around me, but I only shrugged my shoulders and skated around the coach. I stopped, not forgetting to lay into him while I had the chance. “You know better than anyone that hockey is my life. I have an emergency that I need to take care of. I have never asked for a day off and always work twice as hard. This rink has had my vomit on it more than once because of my dedication. That’s why you trust me to lead this team. I’m sorry, but I have to go, and if that means I’m benched next game, then so be it.”
“Who has you whipped, Kingston?” Coach laughed, but the tight grip he had on the clipboard had me grinning, knowing he was pissed beyond measure. I’d really pushed my luck today.
I locked my eyes on him and gave a half-hearted smile. “Someone I need to show up for. I can’t let my girl down again, Coach.” With a nod of approval, I headed to the locker room, thinking of how many ways I could detach that glassy eye from Lorenzo’s thick skull as I shed my gear and quickly replaced my skates with sneakers.
Not five minutes after throwing my T-shirt over my head, I found myself kicking in doors and looking past various food stands in the arena. My eyes scanned the area for him as I quickly pressed on Maya’s contact. She didn’t answer, and I just chalked it up to her still being upset, but she needed to tell me she was okay before I put a tracker so far up her ass she’d be trying to shit it out for a week. There was one other person I could try; it would give me piece of mind. My fingers flew to the contact, and I keyed in the message as fast as possible.
Riley
Go to Maya Right now.
I need to know she is safe.
Chloe
Be there in ten.
“Lorenzo!” I screamed, continuing to search the halls until my ears perked up, hearing a low whistle coming from the bathroom.
Bingo.
