Page 4 of No Shot (The Toronto Tundra #2)
Penn
“ Can someone please explain to me how visiting this old house is supposed to be fun?” I call out to no one in particular as we enter the brick mansion.
I mean, I ’ ll admit, the outside was a little impressive.
A gothic-looking castle in the middle of midtown Toronto?
That ’ s majestic as fuck, but still, this wouldn ’ t have been my first choice of activity.
“ Dude, pipe down, this was Cap ’ s idea,” Evan Norwood, our goalie, whispers to me, nudging his head toward our captain, who ’ s standing in line for tickets.
“ I think it could be kind of interesting. I ’ ve never been to a castle before.” Theo ’ s words echo off the walls of the great hall. It ’ s a massive room with multi-story paned glass windows and oak finishes all around.
“ Plus, I heard it ’ s haunted,” Max Dunn, a defenseman on our team, adds. Oh, here we go. This guy is a conspiracy theorist who thinks Reddit and Wikipedia are peer-reviewed sources.
“ There ’ s no way,” I object. Best to stop a Max train of thought before it gets too out of hand. Spinning around, I take in just how expansive the space is. It ’ s kind of—beautiful. Maybe this will be sort of cool.
“ Ma ’ am,” Max ’ s grating voice pipes up from next to me.
“ Excuse me, ma ’ am, you work here, right?
” The kind-looking woman gives a confused nod, eyeing the group of us.
I ’ m sure we don ’ t look like the usual crowd for a place like this.
Just a pack of towering, jacked athletes who look like they ’ ve never been to a museum in their lives.
“ Um, yes, yes, I do. Did you have a question?”
“ Yeah, uh, this place is fucking haunted right?” Max asks. A charmer that one…
“ Language.” Evan ’ s disappointment is evident in his tone and in the way he elbows Max in the ribs.
“ Ouf. ‘ Scuse me for asking a question and trying to learn more about this spectacular establishment. I do find it rather exquisite.” I swear I ’ m not hearing things, but he took on a sort of British accent toward the end, standing extra tall with his nose pointed in the air.
The guide, who has been watching all of our ridiculousness, finally responds. “ You ’ re quite right, dear. There have been many reports of guests seeing apparitions, hearing footsteps in the corridors, and even I find the underground tunnel to be quite unsettling.”
“ Sicckk,” Max replies with a pleased smirk. The older woman just nods, seizing her opportunity to move as far away from us as possible.
Haunted, huh? This is sounding better by the second. Scott joins us a moment later, holding out a handful of tickets. “ Alright, boys, we ready to expand our horizons here?”
We respond with a symphony of yeps, you bets, and sures as we each grab a ticket.
“ What ’ s with the extras, Cap?” I ask, noticing the additional two tickets he ’ s got. “ Some of the other guys coming? Did, uh, Jack change his mind or something?”
Okay, so I kind of miss him. It ’ d be nice if he were joining us. I ’ ve been shunning him for like, years at this point. He ’ s got to have noticed by now, right? I mean, on the ice, we talk if we must, but I totally have been giving him the silent treatment everywhere else.
Bet he misses me.
I ’ m a fucking delight.
“ No, Jack and Mia offered to babysit Kaia tonight, so Cami and her sister are coming. She ’ s picking her up now, they should be here any second.”
“ Sister, huh?” That gets Max ’ s attention again.
“ Be cordial, or so help me, I'll make you bag skate tomorrow until you ’ re crawling back to the bench. Got it?”
“ Aye-aye, Cap.” Max salutes, but when Scott turns toward the door, he winks at me and Theo.
This guy has no shame. I, however, will absolutely be on my best behavior.
I ’ ve been so good with sticking to my dry spell, if you don ’ t count the close fucking call at the bar the other night.
Damn, it took all my willpower not to jump into the Uber with her and keep the good times rolling.
When she left, I thought I ’ d never see her again. A shame, ‘ cus she was a riot and got my dick harder than it ’ s been in a long while, but when I saw her again this morning, I just short-circuited.
“ Alright, boys, why don ’ t you head that way.” He points down the corridor. “ We ’ re going to meet the tour guide at the Stables. Just head through the tunnel, and it should be labelled. I ’ m going to wait for the girls.”
As the group wanders off, I zip into the restroom for a quick leak. By the time I ’ m out, I ’ ve been abandoned by my teammates. Douches. Looking around the room, it ’ s full of tourists. Might as well find Scott, then. He ’ s got to be around here somewhere.
Right as I ’ m about to head down the staircase, my eyes catch sight of the entrance, and I spot the three of them. Scott, his wife, Cami, and— oh fuck —Grumpy, aka, the girl my dick can ’ t seem to stop fantasizing about.
I duck out of sight before she can spot me.
Holy shit.