Page 20 of The Pucks We Freeze
Cass finally broke the silence. “We should catch up later. Seriously. I wanna hear everything.”
“I’d like that,” I said, and for once, I meant it too.
She gave my arm a quick squeeze and nodded toward the kitchen. “I’m gonna grab a drink before the line gets stupid. Don’t disappear.”
As Cass turned away, I let out a slow breath, the tension in my chest finally loosening. The past still lingered here, scattered in pieces I hadn’t expected to feel again. Some were soft. Some still had edges. But for the first time since coming back, it didn’t feel like something I had run away from.
I drifted toward the hallway, the bass thumping behind me like a steady heartbeat. The air was thick with cologne, sweat, and the unmistakable scent of beer lingering in the walls. Voices floated ahead, low and serious, pulling me closer before I could think better of it.
I paused just outside the archway, half hidden beside a framed team photo. That was when I heard Kade’s voice, low and tense.
“I overheard Coach earlier,” he said. “He was talking about medical files going missing again. Said the trainer’s office was left unlocked last night.”
Talon muttered a curse under his breath. “You think someone’s targeting our guys?”
“I don’t think any of this is random,” Kade replied, quieter this time. “Not the weird shifts. The injuries. The hesitations.”
There was a pause. A shift in the air that made me hold my breath.
“You know she’s standing there, right?” Talon asked, dry and matter-of-fact.
Kade didn’t answer right away. Then, without turning around, he said, “She already knows more than most.”
My heart skipped, but I stepped forward. No point in pretending I hadn’t been listening.
Talon’s sharp gaze flicked over me. There was a beat of hesitation, like he was deciding whether to shut me out or let me in.
“She caught something in the photos from the game,” Kade said, like it was a fact, not a confession. “That shift where Gavin froze? She has it on camera. From the boards.”
Talon’s brow lifted slightly, his attention narrowing on me in a new way. “You see the hesitation?”
“And the bench,” I added quietly. “He was looking straight at it before he lost the puck. Like he was waiting for something.”
Talon exchanged a look with Kade, and something unspoken passed between them.
“We’ve got a window before the Frozen Four run,” Talon said. “If something’s brewing, we can’t let it spread. I’m going to reach out to someone. A friend of some friends, Reed Hendrix.”
I blinked. “Reed? You’re actually bringing him in?”
Talon glanced over at me. “You could say he owes me.”
“I didn’t think you’d go to him, but… it tracks. He’s the kind of guy who could crack a burner phone or wipe a hard drive before most people finish their coffee.”
Talon gave a satisfied nod, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. “That’s what I’m counting on.”
It was strange being in a room full of drunk, shouting people, and suddenly feeling like something way more serious was unraveling under all of it.
Kade stepped closer, his shoulder brushing mine. “I wasn’t going to bring you into this.”
“I’m already in it,” I said, my voice even. “And I want to help.”
Talon gave one firm nod, then turned away to make a call, already in motion.
Kade’s warm hand slid to the small of my back.
“Come on,” he murmured. “Let’s get some air.”
We moved through the crowd, past the stench of booze and bursts of laughter. Kade stayed close. His hand never left me, guiding me through the chaos, anchoring me.
