Page 56 of One Good Puck (Denver Bashers #5)

Gavin

“ L et’s go, Williams,” I holler to Xander as he skates after a Wolves player in possession of the puck.

We’re nearing the end of the first period, and neither team has scored yet.

I glance over at where Abby and Emma are sitting behind the Bashers net. They’ve been gone for a while. I notice that Maya, Dakota, and Bella, who were sitting with them, are gone too. I wonder where they went off to.

One of the Nashville players hooks Xander, so the referee blows the whistle, stopping play.

Hank, the head of arena security, walks up to the bench.

“Sorry to interrupt you, Coach, but we’ve got an emergency. A kid just went missing a few minutes ago at the concession stand on the north end of the arena,” he says. “The entire place is on lockdown. No one’s going in or out until we find her.”

The players all turn to Hank.

“They’re going to show a picture of the kid on the JumboTron soon, but here’s a photo. ”

Hank holds up his phone. When I see Emma’s smiling face, my stomach plummets to my feet.

“Emma is missing?” I choke out.

Hank frowns. “You know her?”

“That’s my girlfriend’s kid.” I step over to Hank. “What happened?”

“Her mom said that her estranged dad snatched her up when she wasn’t looking.”

Rage fires through me. I clench my fists. That piece of shit. He kidnapped his own daughter.

I turn to Jason. “Can you take over for me? I need to go look for Emma.”

“Yeah, of course,” he says.

I dart out of the bench and jog through the tunnel. I dig my phone out of my pocket and call Abby.

“Hello?” Her voice is watery from crying.

“Abby, I just heard about Emma. Tell me everything that happened.”

“I took her to the concession stand to get a snack. She walked over to the condiments to put ketchup on her hot dog. I took my eyes off of her for one minute, and she was gone.”

Her voice breaks as she sobs. A lump lodges in my throat.

“I should have been watching her. If I had just been more careful…”

“Abby, listen to me. This isn’t your fault. It’s Levi’s fault.”

She sniffles and lets out another cry.

“We’re going to find her, Abby. I promise. The entire arena is working together to look for Emma. No one’s getting in or out until we find her. Okay? ”

My heart thrashes in my chest. Every muscle in my body is tense. Adrenaline is pumping through me like rocket fuel. I won’t rest until I find Emma.

“Okay. Thank you, Gavin.”

“I’m gonna let you go so I can look for her, but keep your phone on, okay?”

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you too.” I shove my phone back into the pocket of my suit pants and jog around the corner.

I bump into a guy and start apologizing.

“Sorry, I?—”

“Gavin? What the hell are you doing out here?” Alan frowns at me. “It’s the middle of the first period. You’re supposed to be coaching your team.”

I step around him. “Jason’s got it under control. My girlfriend’s kid is missing. I need to find her.”

I start to run off, but he runs after me. “Are you kidding me? Gavin, you’re in the middle of a game.”

I don’t respond. I just keep running until I feel Alan clap a hand on my shoulder, stopping me. I jerk out of his hold.

“I don’t give a shit what’s going on,” Alan bites. “Your job is to coach this team. Get back in there and fucking do it.”

I clench my jaw, pissed that Alan doesn’t seem to care that my girlfriend’s daughter is missing.

He wags his finger in my face. “If you want to keep your job, Gavin, you go back down there and coach your players.”

“Screw you, Alan. Fire me if you want. I’m going to look for Emma.”

I run off, ignoring him as he yells at me. I make my way through the arena, weaving through the crowds, ignoring the confused looks people give me.

I look over at the ice and see Emma’s smiling face on the JumboTron. I hear the announcer ask everyone to keep an eye out for her.

For minutes, I look for her face in the crowd, but I don’t see her.

I’m passing the Bashers merchandise store when I see a flash of glittery pink disappear around the corner. I push through the crowd to get over there. When I round the corner, I see Levi pulling Emma by the arm toward a dark hallway that leads to a stairwell.

“Hey! Stop right there!” I holler.

They’re about twenty feet from me, but I don’t miss the panic in Emma’s eyes when she sees me.

“Gavin!”

Levi turns and glares at me, then crouches down, picks Emma up, then starts to run.

She screams. “Gavin! Help!”

Adrenaline rockets through me. I pump my legs as fast as I can.

Seconds later, I catch up to them. I clamp my hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. Emma falls from his grip to the floor. She yelps.

Levi tries to pull out of my hold, but I use all my bodyweight to shove him against the wall. I brace my arm against his throat.

“Emma, are you okay?” I holler.

“Yeah.” She sniffles. She sounds so scared, and it’s breaking me.

Levi glares at me. “She’s my daughter. You have no right to take her from me. ”

“You kidnapped your own daughter. You traumatized her. What kind of a father are you?”

“Fuck you.”

He shoves me, but I grab him by his jacket and slam him against the wall. He yells out in pain.

“Don’t ever go near her again,” I growl.

Just then, I hear heavy footsteps behind me.

I turn and see a half-dozen security guards and officers appear.

When I let go of Levi, he slumps against the wall. The security guards swarm him and restrain him. A minute later, he’s cuffed and escorted away.

I turn around and see Emma, watching it all with wide, teary eyes. Her lips quiver, and my heart breaks. This poor kid.

She runs over to me, and I crouch down to hug her. She wraps her little arms tightly around my neck.

“You’re okay, kiddo. I’ve got you,” I whisper.

She sniffles. “Can I see my mom now?”

“Absolutely.”

I lift her and carry her through the crowd that’s formed around us. A couple of security guards tell everyone to give us space. I don’t make it far before I see Abby up ahead.

When she sees Emma in my arms, she races toward us.

“Emma!” she sobs as she runs up to us.

“Mom!”

I set Emma down. Abby hugs her arms around her, crying.

Tears burn in my eyes as I watch the two of them reunited after all the chaos and terror of the last twenty minutes.

“Mom, that guy from the Christmas tree farm took me,” Emma says, sniffling. “I told him I didn’t want to go with him, but he grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let me go. He said he was my dad.”

“Oh, honey.” Abby leans back, cradling Emma’s face in her hands. “I’m so sorry. That man…” She trails off, hesitating. “I’ll explain everything later when we’re at home.”

My heart aches for Emma. Poor kid is probably so confused on top of being terrified. But Abby’s right not to get into it right now. Not when Emma is this upset. Not in front of all these people.

“Gavin saved me,” Emma says, glancing up at me. Her hazel eyes are still puffy from crying. “He ran up and shoved the bad man, and I fell, but I was okay. Gavin pushed him against the wall and kept him from grabbing me again.”

Abby looks up at me, her eyes watery and her lips trembling. She stands up and hugs me tight.

“Thank you,” she whispers, her voice shaky. “Thank you for saving Emma.”

Emotion lodges in my throat. I hug Abby tight with one arm and Emma with the other. Relief crashes through me. I suddenly feel exhausted.

Around me, I hear people talking.

“Isn’t that the head coach of the Bashers?”

“He saved that little girl from some creep who snatched her at the concession stand.”

“He ditched the game to help that kid. He’s a hero.”

I feel the heat of everyone’s stare on me. That protectiveness flares up once more. I want to shield Abby and Emma from all of this.

I look at Abby. “Let’s go.”

I wrap my arms around them and lead them through the crowd toward one of the security officers.

“Ma’am, the police would like you to make a statement about everything that happened to your daughter,” he says before turning to me. “We’ll need one from you too, Coach Porter.”

“Of course,” I say. “We can go to my office. I don’t want them to have to do all that in front of a crowd,” I say to the security guard, then lead them to the other end of the arena.

By the time we’re finished talking to the police, the game has long been over and the arena is nearly empty.

Emma is sleeping on the small couch along the wall of my office.

Sophie came to my office as soon as she heard what happened and brought some ice cream to comfort Emma. She passed out right after eating it.

I cover her up with my suit jacket and ask to talk to the officer outside in the hallway.

“You stay with Emma,” I say to Abby. She sits next to Emma on the couch, gently stroking her hair.

I close my office door and turn to the officer. “What’s going to happen with Levi?”

“He’s been arrested and is being held at the city jail.

“Please tell me he’s going away for a long time for what he did.”

“I’m not a lawyer or a judge, but in my experience, people who commit this type of crime don’t just get a slap on the wrist. They’re sentenced pretty harshly. He’ll be charged with kidnapping and child endangerment, among other things.”

I let out a breath, relieved that he won’t be able to terrorize Abby and Emma again.

“That’s a relief to hear.”

The officer walks off. A second later, my office door opens, and Abby walks out. I swipe a chunk of her hair out of her face.

“How are you holding up?” I ask.

“I’m alright. I’m just glad that Emma’s getting some rest.”

“Me too.”

Abby’s hazel eyes fill with tears. She bites her wobbly bottom lip. “I don’t know what I would have done without you, Gavin. If you hadn’t been here…if Levi had gotten out of the arena with her…”

I pull her into a hug. “Hey. It’s okay.” I kiss her forehead. “It’s all okay.”

“I’m sorry this mess happened, Gavin. I’m sorry you had to leave in the middle of the game. And I’m sorry the Bashers lost tonight.”

“Abby, I don’t care about that.”

Yeah, I hate losing, but tonight’s game was the last thing on my mind. All I cared about was finding Emma and bringing her to Abby.

She shakes her head, fighting tears. “I’m sorry if you end up getting in trouble for all of this.”

I lean back, holding her face in my hands. “I’m not. I don’t care about anything except that Emma is safe.”

It’s the truth. If I end up getting fired by Alan because of how I left in the middle of the game, I’ll be pissed for sure. Being a hockey coach is a huge part of who I am, and I love it. But I don’t regret what I did. Emma and Abby are more important than all of it. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

“I told you that I’d be there for you always, Abby. I meant it.”

Emotion flashes in her eyes. She gives me a wobbly smile. “I love you,” she says in a soft voice.

“I love you too. ”

I kiss her softly.

“Let me take you home,” I say. I’ll deal with the fallout from Alan firing me tomorrow. Tonight, I just want to go home with Abby and Emma.

I scoop Emma, who’s still sleeping, into my arms. Together, Abby and I walk out of the arena and to my car.