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Soon, the crowd begins chanting and stomping their feet as the Rockets take to the ice to begin their pre-game warmups. The other team follows shortly after, only to be greeted by “boos.” The arena continues to fill up with fans, and the energy ramps up proportionately. It’s hard to stay focused when there is so much excitement, but I continue to keep my head on a swivel.
Aiden jumps into the players’ box and blows a kiss to Penny, who giggles and blows one back to her dad. Aiden is all smiles until his eyes lock with mine and he notices what I’m wearing. He simply mouths, “Payback,” before skating off. Eventually, the two teams leave the ice and return to their respective locker rooms for any last-minute pep talks from their coach.
Penny nudges me and tries to point inconspicuously at a woman with bleached blond hair, lips full of filler, cheek implants, and eyebrows plucked to perfection. “That’s Patricia.” I watch as Penny’s mother takes a seat butted up against the rope, but not actually in the section specifically for the players’ families. The woman in question gives me a small wave of her fingers and a malicious grin, letting me know that she has her eye on me as much as I do on her. Behind her sits David, who gives me a subtle nod that he’s got our back.
When the teams return, I watch as Aiden takes a knee and prays before skating around the rink and rallying the fans. With Georgia being part of “the Bible Belt,” it’s no surprise that the crowd goes wild when he does it. Aiden has done that before every game, and a part of me wonders if that’s why he’s so blessed. Maybe if I had the same results when I had prayed, I would be on speaking terms with God. For now, God and I have an understanding. If I don’t ask Him for anything, He can’t tell me “No.”
“Martha, does Aiden pray in front of everybody for attention?” I ask, wondering how much of it is for show. There has to be a reason for the display since he’s the only player on his team to do it, and a small part of me is curious if it’s genuine or simply a marketing ploy.
Penny is the first to answer, “It’s because he loves Jesus, Anna. Do you love Jesus?”
That is certainly a can of worms I hadn’t intended to open and am not ready to discuss with a six-year-old little girl, no matter how smart she is.
Martha notices my grimace and quickly interjects so that I don’t have to answer Penny. “Aiden prays before every game and thanks God afterward, win or lose. He’s even had beer cans thrown at him from the crowds before, along with jeers and threats. He doesn’t care. You asked if Aiden does it to get attention, and the answer is ‘Yes,’ but not for his sake. He does it to draw attention to the One who gave him the gift to play hockey in the first place.”
“So, God gets all the glory, and it has nothing to do with all the hard work Aiden has put in; the long practices, the injuries, or the sweat he’s poured onto that ice?” I retort.
I expect Martha or Reggie to get upset by my words, but they don’t. Martha reaches across Penny and squeezes my hand, looking me straight in the eye. “Yes, God gets the glory. God gives us each a gift, and it’s different for everybody. It’s what we do with that gift that’s important. Look at Swank. He’s had the same opportunities and the same talent, but between the two boys, who is the greater role model for young children? The man that prays? Or the man that parties? Who has had a bigger impact?” She pauses for effect before continuing with a motherly tone, “I’m going to leave you with one question to think about, Anna, and I don’t want or need an answer. Of all the players from both teams, who grabbed your attention and why?”
I could tell her that Aiden has always grabbed my attention, but then I truly take a moment to think about her question. Why hasn’t Swank captivated me in the same way? They’re both strikingly handsome and talented. The answer is clear. There is a goodness in Aiden that makes him shine brighter than everyone else.
True to her word, Martha lets the conversation drop, stands for the national anthem, and cheers Aiden on. I watch in awe as Aiden effortlessly takes control of the puck during the face-off, passing it to Swank. The two of them together on the ice make for an indomitable pair, which is expected since they’ve been playing together for more than two decades. The only gap in their dynamic duo was when Swank was drafted and Aiden finished school. When Aiden retires at the end of the season, Swank will be forced to either step up or follow suit.
A shiver racks my body, and it’s not from the chilly air inside the arena. It’s from the intense feeling of being watched as if I’m under a microscope. It finally gets the better of me, and I look over my shoulder toward Patricia, who is actually watching the game and not me. More specifically, her focus is solely on Aiden.
I continue to peruse the crowd in search of the source of my discomfort. Five rows above David are two men who look like they just stepped off the movie set of The Godfather and are staring intently at Penny and me. The malice in their eyes is pure evil, and I’ve seen it plenty of times before. You can’t be in my line of work and not encounter it. When David realizes I’m not looking at him, he follows my line of sight and moves in their direction. Recognizing they’ve been made, the two men leave with one of our bodyguards in pursuit.
I text the rest of the team a quick message about the situation and receive a reply back from Jeremy, who had witnessed the exchange and is already en route to back up his partner. After the encounter, I can no longer enjoy the game with the same level of enthusiasm, aware of the potential threat that’s looming.
Martha and Reggie can tell by my heightened state of awareness that something is very wrong and offer to leave early, but I shake my head. We need to wait until David and Jeremy return. I want all four of them around when it’s time for us to go, which can’t come soon enough.
The fourth quarter seems to drag on when all I want to do is leave and get Penny home to safety. Jeremy and David show up in the last two minutes of the game empty-handed and with grim faces, which doesn’t bode well. We’ll have to debrief later when Penny isn’t around.
Finally, the game ends with the sound of a loud buzzer and the Savannah Rockets beating the Jacksonville Jackals three to one. Aiden had landed himself in the penalty box once, while Swank managed to be there twice. The game was vicious, and the Jackals were certainly trying to take out the Rockets’ two best players. At one point, they had Aiden pinned up against the glass, punching him in the gut and leaving him with a cut over his left eye. Swank didn’t fare much better. Neither man fought back, allowing the other team to receive the penalty for fighting and making way for the Rockets to score the two extra points that won the game.
I grab Penny’s hand in mine, “It’s time to go.”
“But we always visit my dad after the game.” She sticks out her lower lip and pouts, which doesn’t work on me. I only relent when Martha provides me with a little more information.
“Anna, the families stay here until most of the fans have vacated, and then we’re all escorted to the tunnels by armed security personnel. We won’t be alone.”
I don’t like the situation, but it’s my job to protect my client in public. If it wasn’t for Penny being six, I’d be far more comfortable with the idea. I acquiesce, even though every fiber of my body screams for us to get out of here as soon as possible.
Just as Martha predicted, half a dozen police officers lead us downstairs, where we’re supposed to wait for the players to exit the locker room. One player is still in uniform, engaged in a conversation with Patricia of all people.
I can’t hear what Aiden is saying to her from where I’m standing, but Patricia’s expression is one of pure joy—the complete antithesis to the stone-cold look Aiden is sporting. Patricia kisses Aiden’s cheek before he heads into the locker room, oblivious to our arrival. She stops in her tracks when she sees us, but then a salacious grin forms on her lips. Patricia strides up to Penny, and I instinctively put myself between them.
Patricia leans forward and gets in my personal space, but I don’t flinch. Her whispered words do nothing to elicit a reaction from me. “He’s mine. I’ll do whatever it takes to get him back, and you can watch it from your gold-digging hole.” Then she turns down and smiles sweetly at Penny, who is scowling at her mother in return, “I’ll be seeing you real soon, Daughter of mine.”
Chapter nine
Aiden
The Jacksonville Jackals played like a team possessed tonight, which I found interesting because, at this point, they would have to win almost three-quarters of their remaining games for even a chance at the playoffs. Although it’s not impossible, it’s an unrealistic feat.
We’ve played this team countless times before, and never have I seen such hostility and targeting from them. They had me pinned up against the boards, taking cheap shots and nicking my eye. I tucked in and let them, hoping the linesman would blow the whistle and the official would assign a major penalty to the other team. The gamble worked, and we had an extra man on the ice long enough to score. Swank did the same.
As the buzzer sounds, the crowd goes wild with our win, and the noise is deafening in the arena. Foot stomps and loud chants fill the air with energy so thick I can almost taste it. I wave to my family, who are waving their hands wildly in the air and jumping up and down, hugging each other to celebrate the Rockets getting one step closer to the playoffs. The only person who doesn’t seem thrilled with the win is Anna. She’s busy scanning the crowd, and her body language is screaming that she would rather be anywhere other than here.
