Page 124 of My Brother's Enemy
“You should be stretching if you’re going to stand here.”
I grunted at Bruge.
“Coach is starting my line.”
“What?” Now he had my attention. Bruge was our enforcer. “Why’s he doing that?”
“Why do you think?” He went back to watching Montreal’s captain. “Same as with Boston. Both teams know what’s going to happen.”
“What if he doesn’t fight?”
Bruge laughed. “Are you kidding me? I could make him fight me right now.”
I smirked. “Do it.”
Bruge shook his head. “I’ve got a feeling Connors has no idea what’s in store for him tonight.”
“What was that?” The guy we were speaking about had skated past us but now pivoted back in a tight circle. I’d been dealing with his assholery all my life but knowing how he’d treated Rain growing up just made me angrier.
Before Bruge could say anything, I was in Connors’s face. “Step the fuck back, Connors. We can say whatever we want about you until that puck drops.”
“Oooh. Big guy, huh? You’re so tough now?” he taunted.
The crowd noticed what was going on and began cheering. Boos broke out as well. They wanted blood, and we were in our hometown. They wanted Connors’s blood specifically. The sport was brutal sometimes.
“Okay. Enough of this.” A ref was between us in no time, his hands up. “Save it for the game. Get back to warmups.”
“How’s my sister? She still a brat like she always was?”
I saw red. Reaching for him, I tried to yank his jersey since the fucker didn’t have his helmet. I wanted him close so when I hit him, it would land. I didn’t want him to be able to skate out of the way.
The crowd went nuts.
“Hey! Stop it. Both of you.” Two more refs got between us and shoved us away from each other.
“Keep fucking talking,” I told him. “Keep doing it.”
“Dude.” Sunny skated over, shoving me back. “You’re mic’d. Are you crazy?”
Shit. I’d forgotten. What a game to be mic’d up.
Connors was laughing. He craned his neck around the ref and his teammates that had come over to help. “I have a better question. How’syoursister doing? I’m in town for the holidays. Maybe I’ll give her a call. See how she’s doing myself.”
I went for him again.
“Fuck. Griffin. Stop.” Sunny and Jesse both helped the ref push me back.
I needed to get my shit together. If I didn’t, the refs were going to give me a penalty before the game even started.
Daniel continued laughing, loud and caustic-sounding, then suddenly it dried up. His eyes got unnaturally big, and he froze in place. His gaze moved past me.
I looked, cursing when I saw that Rain had stepped out into the bench along with a couple of the other assistant coaches. Her eyes were on her brother, but they held no fear. She wasn’t shaking or trembling. She’d told me she could compartmentalize, and I was seeing it in action. Her chin lifted, and her eyes were cool. Rock solid.
She took in the scene before her eyes returned to her brother. “Still the bully, I see. You have two little girls, Danny. Do ’em a favor. Grow up for them.”
Rage transformed Daniel’s face. His nostrils flared. He looked like a bull about ready to charge, and he lunged for her. But there were too many people between him and Rain—me, Bruge, Sunny, Jesse, three refs, two of Daniel’s own teammates, and now Meester and Brick as well.
“You shut up about them. They’ll never meet you?—”
