Page 78 of In the Danger Zone
Lifting my head up, I saw Holden staring down at a clipboard in his hand. Mason was by his side, looking a little confused as he stepped into the room and took a seat on the bench. My hands stayed on my laces, pulling at them nice and tight as Holden cleared his throat.
“Asher’s not gonna be playing tonight,” he continued.
Okay, that got my attention. My eyes narrowed quickly.
“Wait, what?” Hudson stood up. “Nobody mentioned this to me. Who’s gonna replace him?”
“We’re one man down tonight. This is all a bit last minute. The decision was only made a few hours ago,” Holden explained. “When Murph is back, he’ll give you more details. I don’t know the whole story. But from now on, Asher is no longer part of this team. We’ll be starting Mason as left defenseman tonight. Everyone good with that?”
“Sounds perfect to me. Congrats, Mason. You’re definitely a huge upgrade.” I nodded over at Asher’s new – and much more fucking tolerable – replacement.
“Hudson?” Holden asked, nodding at our captain. “You good with this?”
“Looks like I don’t have much say in the matter, anyway,” muttered Hudson. “I just don’t get why we had to let Asher go.”
Holden tapped the clipboard. “Look, I can’t give you all the details since I don’t know them. Murph is the one who made this decision. He called me to make sure I did this before the game tonight. I wish I had more information for you guys. Murph is gonna give you all a run down when he gets back. Just sit tight and play the game like you usually would, okay?”
Thankfuck. Someone had actually done something. Fucking finally. I’d thank Murph properly when he got back.
We could get a new defenseman eventually. Hell, I’d do Asher’s fucking job along with mine if it meant I didn’t have to see him again.
That was good news. Good news for Daisy especially. I was more than ready to get my hands on Asher and end his life, but I couldn’t do it without Daisy and her parents getting caught in the crossfire.
That was something that still pissed me off. I hated not having control over that. I hissed, tugging at the laces on my right skate until they were secured. All I wanted to do was get out on the ice already. Adrenaline was pumping through me as I thought about Asher taking the easy way out. No punishment from me…
Lucky him.
“Alright, let’s get out there,” Holden announced. “Come on. Move it.”
The game was about to start and I stood up, ready to kick ass and somehow get rid of any of the frustration that I was feeling. Just because Asher was out didn’t mean I still wasn’t holding on to all of that anger he had been responsible for. Hudson began to lead the guys outside, leaving me alone with Holden. He nodded at me as he stood in the doorway.
“Are you good to play tonight?” he asked.
“I’m just glad Murph listened to me and kicked that prick off the team,” I told him.
“Like I said, I don’t know the whole story. Murph didn’t tell me everything, but he did mention your name. It had something to do with your girl. I don’t know all the details. I don’t need to know. But that email really shook Murph up…”
Okay, now I was confused. I frowned. “Wait, what email?”
“You don’t know about it?”
“About what?”
“Just talk to her about it. It’s probably easier that way. I don’t even know what it was about. I just know that whatever was in it really pissed Murph off. There was no way he was gonna keep Asher on the team after tonight.” Holden looked down at his clipboard, tapping his finger against it. “Alright, look, we gotta get out there. I wanna see you kicking ass tonight, okay?”
Holden gave me a smack to the arm before he started to walk down the hallway. I had no idea what the hell he was on about. Murph would have given me the answers I wanted.
Whatever. I had a game to win. I’d talk to Daisy about it all after. She’d be there in the stands, watching me play, and the thought just made me exit the locker room faster. But I had only just turned the corner when someone placed a hand on my shoulder.
Turning around, I saw a miserable looking Asher standing there.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I demanded, stepping up to him. “Holden told us he wanted nothing to fucking do with you. This isn’t your team anymore, asshole. Leave before I make you.”
“I need to talk to you,” Asher said, his voice low.
“Not fuckin’ interested,” I muttered, getting ready to turn around and walk down the long hallway and to the ice.
“It’s about Daisy.”
