Page 52 of My Brother's Enemy
He still seemed uncertain, but then he was off.
Sunny nudged me with his glove. “What was that about? You need to see Rain? You could probably just call her. She’s chill. She’ll answer.”
I shook it off. “It’s nothing.”
He continued to stare at me, so I gave him a shrug. “Just a question. I can ask it tomorrow. It’s no big deal.”
I bent down to double check my skates. I couldn’t keep playing with my arm pad or I was going to mess it up. Benny did a good job getting our equipment ready for us and keeping it exactly the way we wanted. I didn’t want to make his job more stressful by fucking something up and asking for a replacement.
The team was on edge, and I knew it was because of me. Everyone knew about the tension between me and the Connors brothers, and we’d begun our round of games against the eastern teams. Tonight I’d face Dane. He was first line, too, so we’d be spending a lot of time playing against each other. At least this was a home game, so not many Boston fans would be heckling me, but I wasn’t stupid. The ones who were here would beloud and proud. They hated me. So far, the Grays fans hadn’t experienced true hate for one of their players.
They were about to.
Coach Hines came into the locker room before warmups. Everyone grew quiet because this was unusual. He cleared his throat. “Okay. So tonight’s a little abnormal for most of us. Having said that, we’re going to do the same thing we do every night. We go out there. We warm up. We pay attention to our team, and we keep it moving. Don’t let the fans get in your head. Don’t let the opposing team do the same. Got it? Warm up. Have fun. Laugh. Keep your minds clear. If you find yourself getting riled, you focus on the guy to your left and your right. You lean on each other.” He surveyed the team one more time before nodding. “All right, gents. Get out there.”
I readied myself.
As soon as I appeared, the crowd went from cheering and happy to an undercurrent of boos and loud heckling from the Boston fans. I ducked my head and concentrated on going through our usual routine.
Brick did his thing on the side for a moment, letting Meester have some time in the net. He skated over to me. “Seats are usually still half empty during this time, with people getting their drinks or whatever. But it looks like Boston made sure to get their asses camped for maximum chirping time on you. And the signs.” He whistled under his breath. “Taking the negative shit out of it, you gotta be impressed they hate you this much. They’re fans, except because you’re a rival, it goes the other way. If you ever joined their team?” He laughed to himself. “They’d be pissing themselves at how lucky they were to have you.”
I shook my head. “I’m used to it. Both Connors are assholes, but Dane isn’t as dirty as Daniel. Consider this the preshow before we get Montreal later on.”
“Yeah, but these are Boston fans. They raise ‘em different. That city and Philly.” He grimaced. “I really hate Philly fans.”
My grin came easier. “That’s the way they like it.”
He grunted before hitting my shoulder. “Don’t sweat it. We’re going to have fun tonight.”
I held up a glove. “You know it.”
He hit it with his before heading to the net for his turn.
Ray and Sunny both made sure to stay near me during warmups. I appreciated it. Judging by their dazed expressions under their helmets, they probably needed my protection more than the other way around. It made me smile. This was their taste of the real,passionatefans in the hockey world. Heckling was a normal part of the sport, but this was another level.
As we finished, Bruge came over. “Coach changed the starting line. Second line’s going out first.”
Ray cursed around his mouthpiece. “Are you shitting me?”
Bruge glanced his way, and Sunny came to join our circle.
“They’re starting their bruisers, so he wants us to meet them,” Bruge continued. “We’ll get the initial fight out of the way and then play hockey.”
Sunny swore. “They want a shit show, huh?” He bumped my shoulder. “All for you, Griff.”
To start the game with their fighters first? I glanced toward their bench, trying to get a read on their energy. A couple of them were standing to the side, talking and looking our way, but the rest were doing their usual pregame stuff. Was this really about me or was it something else?
Was this about Rain and the rest of the team didn’t know it? I found Dane, but he wasn’t part of the group talking and watching us. He was in line to hit the puck into the net. When it was his turn, he rounded behind the goal and came to join the other line. I got a glimpse of his face, and he looked normal. No unusual rage.
I shrugged to Sunny. “Guess we’ll find out.”
“We got your back.” Bruge moved in, making sure I heard him.
I gave him a nod, and we dispersed to do our thing.
When we left the ice, for the first time since Rain had told me her connection, I wondered if there was something more to it than I’d thought. I’d grown up hating Daniel Connors the most, but Dane was included. If she was one of the Connors too? Done. Simple as that. The loathing extended to her too, and it ramped up because she was in my world. She was in my space. She’d made me want to touch her. She’d made me want to open up in a way I never did. But she was dead to me now. I’d never sought her out before, but I knew the guys had noticed my newfound contempt for her.
A few had asked if there was something they should know. I didn’t want to fuck up her job, which would fuck up the team, and because I hadn’t decided yet whether I wanted her fired or not, I’d just told them there were things going on with my niece and I had a newfound loathing for all shrinks. They’d gone back to listening to her, attributing my issue to my family business. Only a couple of the younger guys remained wary around Rain, but as far as I’d noticed, she handled it just fine.
