Page 44

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

REECE

I was halfway through lacing up my skates when I saw Bishop coming toward me across the locker room with a look that could melt ice.

Jaw tight, eyes narrowed, fists clenched, like he was trying not to use them.

He stopped in front of me and didn’t say a word at first—just stared.

I stood up slowly, stretching my back, giving him a moment to cool whatever was boiling.

Didn’t work.

“The hell, Reece?” he barked, loud enough that a couple guys at the other end of the bench turned to look.

I blinked. “Good morning to you too.”

“Don’t screw with me. Why were there movers at your place yesterday? I want the truth.”

I wiped my hands on a towel, trying to keep it light. “Clearing out some stuff, that’s all.”

“For what? New furniture?” His nostrils flared.

“What’s it to you? My business is my own.”

“Your own? That’s not how friendship works.

I showed up to check in on you—like a friend does—and there’s a damn moving truck in your driveway and your front door wide open.

Claudia told me they were leaving. And I thought, This can’t be right , so I called up Jayce to see if she’d heard anything from Bree.

Nothing. I hung up with my wife and she called me back a half hour later telling me that you two broke up and Bree was moving back to her apartment.

What the actual fuck? Please tell me you didn’t do something stupid. ”

I stiffened. “It’s not like that. Sometimes relationships end. It’s life.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” His voice dropped, not in volume but weight. “You made her feel safe. Do you know how precious that is? And now you’re just sending her packing like she’s a damn rental?”

My pulse thudded. “You don’t know what’s going on?—”

“Then tell me!” He shoved his hand through his hair, frustration pouring off him. “Because from where I’m standing? It looks like you’re making the biggest mistake of your life. And dragging her through it.”

I tried to keep my voice steady. Fuck, where did he get off telling me how to live my life? “Living together was never supposed to be permanent. She did it to help me with Ma. I like my space.”

Bishop’s lip curled. “You like your space ?”

“You know what? Fuck you. I don’t owe you any explanations. It’s done. She’s out. Deal with it.”

“She’s out? Not just back at her place, but you broke it off completely.

” It wasn’t a question. He understood exactly what I was saying.

Yes, it made me an asshole. I pushed her away.

Lying to myself was never a good look, so I didn’t plan to start it now.

I’d known what I was doing. A spineless lowlife who didn’t have the guts to tell her how I was feeling.

Embarrassed that she’d seen me at my lowest. Ashamed that I took the easy way out.

Elyssa hurt me. Not Bree. And still I took it out on her by doubling down on our arrangement instead of asking her to stay .

I looked away, jaw tightening. The locker room had gone quiet around us. Even Jones was watching from across the room with his stick paused mid-tape.

“Bree’s been through hell, man,” Bishop said, softer now but still sharp. “She didn’t deserve it the first time. She sure as hell doesn’t deserve it from you.”

“I know.”

“Do you?” he shot back. “Because if you love her?—”

“I never said I loved her.”

Bishop shook his head. “That’s the lie you’re going with now? Like the rest of us don’t have eyes. You’re a great goalie, but swear to God, if you’re that good of an actor, then you should be in Hollywood.”

“Listen,” I tried to get him to calm down. “I get what you’re saying, but it’s just over.”

“And Benny? You good with dumping him too?”

“He’s not my kid.” I felt the hit of those words deep, right in the chest. Guilt coiled tight and hot.

I wanted Benny around. I wanted Claudia around.

I fucking wanted Bree to hold me while we slept and to wake up next to her.

But these were the rules of the contract that I set down.

What would admitting that I loved her change?

I pushed her away. Life got tough and I pushed her away to keep myself from getting hurt again, when I should’ve been holding on tight.

But it turned out I didn’t need her to hurt me.

I’d done such a great job of that all on my own.

Bishop crossed his arms. “That is the stupidest thing I think I’ve ever heard you say.

” He turned to go, then paused, glancing back at me over his shoulder.

“One of two things is going to happen here. That beautiful soul is either going to spend her life alone or some other man will be playing husband and a father to your family. Better decide if you really want that.”

Then he walked out, leaving me with the sting of truth and the sound of my heartbeat thudding against ribs that had just been cracked wide open.

By the time I hit the ice, the air in the rink felt heavier than usual.

Practice hadn’t even officially started and already, I could feel eyes on me—sharp, unforgiving, like pucks ready to fly.

I took my spot in the crease, dropped into position, and tried to shake off the conversation with Bishop.

But the silence in the rink wasn’t normal. It was loaded. Charged.

Coach blew the whistle, and the drills started. At first, it was nothing unusual. A warm-up skate, a couple of routine shots.

Then Jones came at me.

No warning. Just a missile slapshot that came screaming in at my left shoulder. I barely got the pad up in time.

“Watch it,” I barked, glaring at him through the cage.

He skated past like he hadn’t heard me. “Sorry, thought you could take it. Maybe I was wrong.”

Before I could fire back, Bishop and Bonner lined up for a two-on-one. They weren’t going easy.

“Light him up,” Antonov shouted to Bishop from his place on the defensive line, loud enough for me to hear. Hell, loud enough for everyone to hear.

And they did.

Shot after shot—snipers to the corners, cross-crease passes faster than they’d ever tried in scrimmages. One shot clipped my blocker and still went in. Another went straight to my gut, and even with the padding, it rattled my ribs.

“What the hell is this?” I snapped after another puck rang off the post.

Bonner skated past, smirking. “You play like you treat your woman, Reece—lazy and cold.”

That one hit harder than the puck. My fists clenched behind my stick.

“You all done?” I snapped. “Want to say something, say it to my face. Quit playing like jackasses. ”

Jones skated in front of my net and leaned on his stick like he was settling in.

“You want to know why we’re pissed, Reece?

Because we all saw what you had. We saw the way Bree looked at you.

Hell, she brought Benny to the locker room, man.

You let them in. And then you tossed them away without so much as a word. ”

“I didn’t toss them away.”

“Then why is she gone?” Bishop chided, gliding in behind the net.

I snapped my helmet off and shoved it against the net. “It wasn’t even real!” I shouted.

The skating stopped.

Deafening silence.

Jones crossed his arms. “You better start talking now. We all thought you and Bree were solid.”

“Coach laid down that ultimatum: get caught in a scandal, lose your spot on the team.”

They stared at me, waiting for more. I didn’t want to do this, but it seemed I had no choice.

“We were fuck buddies. But my mom’s cancer spread and her one fucking wish was to see me settled before she died.”

“Tell me you didn’t,” Jones said.

“I got the idea from one of Jaycee’s books that she left lying on the food table. I went to Bree with a proposition. I’d give her what she needed if she played my girlfriend for my mom.”

“What’d she need?” asked Bonner.

“Not your business. But it was only supposed to last until Ma passed. Well, Ma passed. So it’s over.”

Before I knew to brace myself, Antonov, who’d apparently still had a thing for Bree, stepped up, his eyes cold but sharp. “If you’re stupid enough to let her go, mark my words, she’ll be in my bed. Doesn’t matter how long it takes to wear her down. She’s mine.”

That line hit like a punch. The room fell quieter for a second, the tension rising.

The memory of Elyssa—the one I thought I’d loved—cheating on me with Russo flashed through my mind.

The betrayal, the heartbreak hit hard all over again.

Then the strangest thing happened. The vision of my ex-woman and ex-teammate morphed into Bree in Antonov’s bed. I snapped.

Without thinking, I lunged at Antonov. Fists clenched, rage boiling over.

Jones and Bonner jumped between us, grabbing my arms. “Reece, chill! This ain’t the fight.”

“Antonov, back off!” Bishop barked, pulling Antonov away.

Coach blew the whistle, calling us into center ice. The guys started skating off, but not before Bishop leaned in close and said, “Antonov’s not the right man for Bree. You want us to lay off? Fix it. Before it’s too late.”

Then he skated off without waiting for a reply.

I stepped back, breathing hard, eyes blazing. That moment broke something loose in me.

No woman went out of her way like Bree did if she wasn’t really in it.

I’d been a damn fool. It struck me how much I didn’t deserve her now.

Letting Elyssa live in my head rent free for all these years.

Getting in the way of my own happiness. My friends were right.

But even if I didn’t deserve her, I loved her. I loved Bree Michaels.

And I had to get her back.

After practice, and after a couple of rounds of liquid courage, I found myself outside Bree’s apartment complex. Buzzed her door. No answer.

Tried Claudia’s buzzer. “Hello?” she said.

“It’s me, Claudia. Is Bree there?”

“Baker,” she said softly. “No. She’s at work.”

“Where’s she working?” I asked.

“The place she could get in the fastest,” she said, and that gut punch was back with a vengeance .

“Thanks, Claudia.” My selfish actions had forced her back to that place. Spending her evenings working instead of playing with her boy, reading him stories, putting him to bed. The things she wanted to do. I’d be lucky if she ever talked to me again, let alone trust me.

“Don’t hurt her again.” Her softly worded command landed precisely where she meant it to.

Right. Hurting Bree again was the last thing I ever wanted to do.

I climbed back in my truck, heart pounding.

On to Slits.