Page 322 of Playing the Pucking Game
My head throbs. Keeping my eyes closed, I snuggle into something, needing to get away from it all.
“Parker? Babe?”
Warm hands cover my face, and I lean into it.
“Hey, pretty girl. It’s me. Everything’s okay.”
I relax the second I recognize his voice and finally open my eyes.
I’m pressed up against a green jersey, but it isn’t one that I know well. When I look up, I find Handsy's concerned face staring down at me.
“Babe, I’m here,” Linc says, gently turning my face to look at him.
The second my eyes lock on his, I burst into tears.
I don’t even know why. But the sight of him shatters something inside me.
Handsy passes me over, and Linc wraps me up in his arms, holding me while I cry.
There’s movement and voices on the other side of the room, but when I try to look, Linc shields me from it all.
“W-what’s happening?” I whisper, my voice barely audible.
“It’s just security escorting Mitchell out.”
Mitchell.
Shit.
My sobs come harder as I remember everything he said, what he was doing.
“It’s okay, babe. We’ve taken care of it. He’ll never step foot back in this arena again.” It isn’t until he says those words that I realize Linc is shaking.
Pulling my head from his padded chest, I look up at him.
His face is hard, his expression wrought, but he’s okay. There are no new bruises or cuts.
But I know my man better than that. Twisting a little, I reach for his right hand.
His knuckles are grazed and covered in blood.
“Linc, you shouldn’t have?—”
“No one—and I mean fucking no one—talks to my girl like that. Hell, they shouldn’t be talking to any girl like that, but especially not one who belongs to me.”
If my head wasn’t banging so hard, I might swoon at those words. But as it is, I can barely register them.
Resting my head back against Linc, I let him hold me. It could be seconds or minutes that pass, I have no idea, but I startle when a familiar voice speaks.
“Guys, I need you out there,” Coach says hesitantly.
There are muttered agreements as the sound of their blade protectors tapping against the floor gets quieter as they leave.
Coach steps closer, his eyes on me before he glances up at Linc.
“I’ll have Reeves start in your place,” Coach explains, “but I’m going to need you out there tonight.”
“No, I?—”
