Page 67 of In the Danger Zone
I had never wanted to actuallykillsomeone before. On the ice I got angry, but neverbloodthirstyangry. Some guys got under my skin. Some guys pushed me too far, but I always made sure to push them back ten times harder. But no part of me had ever wanted to end their lives.
But Asher?
I wanted to destroy him. I wanted to get my hands around his throat and squeeze at him until he was begging for some mercy. Of course, I wouldn’t give it to him.
My eyes landed on the other side of the locker room. Asher was in the middle of putting his gear on. I stared at him. Right at him. Could he read my mind? Did he know that I was thinking about the many ways that I could murder him?
Who the fuck did he think he was? Daisy had already told me about the bullying. But until yesterday, I thought it was all verbal shit – because Asher just couldn’t keep that big mouth of his shut. That alone had been enough to make me wanna rip his head off. But putting his hands on her? Hurting her? Hitting her so hard that he fucking knocked her out and sent her right to the hospital?
I felt my breathing get faster as I imagined the scenario. Daisy, all alone, wanting nothing more than for someone to justhelpher. Except no one would until he already got his hands on her. When it was too late.
Stupid fucking prick. I couldn’t even do anything about it. I wanted to get my hands on him and punch him until he lost every last one of his teeth, but I didn’t want Daisy’s parents to get fucked with. Life wasn’t easy for them according to her. Her and her family didn’t have what I had. Most of my life I had been a little spoiled: my parents never struggled with money and had more than enough spare cash to put me through hockey training.
Daisy didn’t come from money and I didn’t give a single fuck about that. I didn’t need her to be anything that she wasn’t. She was the sweetest fucking girl in the world, and that was more than enough. Money didn’t mean shit when she was as perfect as she was.
I couldn’t let her parents struggle more than they already were, though. That was why I had dug out the check book my dad gave me when I turned eighteen. I figured ten thousand dollars would be enough to cover any money problems Daisy’s parents were having for a little while. All that was left to do was give it to her. Maybe she hadn’t even told them about me yet, but in my head, they were trusting me to look after their daughter. And that was exactly what I was going to do. I wasn’t gonna let anyone hurt her.
Butfuck. I still wanted to kill Asher. I had every right to kill him.
It wasn’t fair that I couldn’t do it. I closed my eyes.Daisy’s parents. I couldn’t do that to them. I couldn’t do that to her. They had all been through enough bullshit and pain. All thanks to Asher.
“You ready for tonight?” Tanner asked, taking me out of my thoughts.
“What?” I asked, a harshness in my voice.
Tanner eyed me up and down. “You okay? You look pissed.”
“I am pissed.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it.”
Tanner just shook his head. “Fight with your girl?”
“No. Just not in the best mood right now.”
“You worried about tonight?” Tanner’s voice lowered. “Panthers are doing real good this season. But we’re tougher than them.”
Nodding slowly, I pulled off my T-shirt, finally setting a tiny bit of my rage aside so that I could get ready for the game. “I’m not worried about tonight. Not even a little bit.”
“Good. We got this, dude.” Tanner gave my arm a sharp slap before taking a seat on the bench to get his gear on.
I sucked in a sharp breath, fully prepared to take all of my anger out on any opponent that looked at me funny.
Tonight was gonna be a bloodbath.
***
I had been sent to the penalty box twice already. Both times were for getting too rough. I had a feeling I’d be sent to the sin bin again, but fuck it. Every part of my body was burning with a new kind of rage I didn’t even know I could feel. The worst part was that I couldn’t even direct that rage at the guy who deserved it.
A few minutes later, I was finally back on the ice. A guy on the Panthers got too close to getting a one up on us and I was quick to barge my shoulder right into him. My eyes moved across the pure white below me, finding the puck a few meters away from me. Hudson was closer, just about to take a shot at the puck when I saw some commotion to my right.
Turning my head to the side, I saw Asher with his back to the boards. A whistle blew and the game came to a stop as I moved in closer and closer. Asher must have got himself into some shit as he threw his gloves to the ice.
All I heard were some muffled threats and a “fuck you” from Asher before one of the guys on the Panthers took a sudden swing. I literally smirked, watching as a fist collided with Asher’s jaw.
Another Panthers player got involved; he didn’t waste any time and tackled Asher to the ice. Fist after fist collided with Asher’s face. I moved in some more, my head tilting as the fans roared. They loved a good fight. And I loved being in one. But if I couldn’t be the one to kick Asher’s ass, the next best thing was to watch someone else do it.
