Page 97 of Scarred

“Is that supposed to scare me?” The other player grins, trying to bait Kane before he skates away to the opposing team.

Stone is over in the corner talking very adamantly in a ref’s face about his inability to call goalie interference on this douchebag who’s been up my ass all night.

When no penalties are called, Stone skates away, clearly pissed at the miscall.

Flipping my mask up, I squirt my face and take a few in the mouth. It’s been one hell of a game, and every muscle in my body has been used tonight.

With ten minutes left, we’ve got a 3-1 lead, but the way their players are firing at me, I know things can go badly in seconds. They're getting pissed at all their shots not going in, and it shows. They’ve resorted to being in my space, blocking my views, and doing anything possible to break my concentration.

It’s really starting to piss me off, and if someone else on my team doesn’t kick their ass, next time I will.

Pushing my mask down, I crouch into position for the faceoff. My eyes track the puck as Stone wins the drop and shoots it down to Hayes, taking it to the other side of the rink.

As the minutes tick down, McCormick takes a shot, and it’s deflected off the goalpost. They do a good job at keeping control of the puck until a shot by Hayes is stopped by the opposing team, and they bring it back to my zone.

I drop to my knees in an instant, blocking the shot. Players scramble to the side of me to gain control of the puck. It’s a blur of blades scraping against each other and sticks fighting for the black disc in the middle of it all.

The other team gets a swing in, and I dive onto the puck, but the bastard earlier tries to kick it out from me as his stick hits the side of my helmet.

“Motherfucker,” Kane growls, grabbing the guy by his jersey and hauling him back.

All hell breaks loose as my guys step in to protect me, going for blood this time as a few punches are thrown and gloves are dropped.

It’s a known fact that if you mess with the goalie, you mess with the whole team. I’m a lot harder to replace if I get injured.

I think about joining in just for the fun, but it’s pretty clear from where I stand that they got it under control as I stand up and watch the chaos around me.

When the refs finally break it up, Stone, McCormick, and Kane head to the penalty box along with four on the opposing team.

I watch Foxx and Hayes release the guys they were holding back with a few choice words before they come my way.

“Well, that was fun,” Hayes grins.

“You good, Blade?” Foxx asks.

“Never better,” I grunt. “Let’s finish this game and send these fuckers home.”

“Let’s do it,” Hayes says, tapping his helmet to mine before Foxx does the same.

The rest of the game goes more smoothly now that most of their goons are in the box. Hayes gets a goal on the powerplay and by the time the clock runs out, we get a 4-1 win and two points added to our standings.

Thankfully, I don’t have press tonight, so after my ice bath and shower, I’m ready to get the hell out of here.

The need to see Luna is front and foremost in my mind, and for once, I don’t try to fight or second-guess it. I just accept that I have fucking missed her and need to see her.

I send a quick text to Mae to check in at home as I’m walking toward the exit. She responds immediately that Scar is out like a light next to her, and I smile at the adorable picture she sends before pocketing my phone.

Hoping Luna stayed with Savi and her brothers, I walk out the back entrance in search of her. Fans are lined up along the security fence, and when I see a couple of kids wearing my jersey, I take the time to sign a few things before walking over to where I see Knox and Savi.

My eyes scan the group, and when I see Luna talking to Travis, it takes everything in me not to scoop her up and kiss her right there in front of everybody.

That would cause questions, though, to answers I don’t have. I need to figure out what this is first before I get her family and friends involved.

“There’s our guy,” Knox grins, clapping me on the back. “You played one hell of a game tonight. You were locked in.”

“I wasn’t about to let those fuckers win,” I smirk.

“I thought there was a rule against touching the goalie?” I hear Luna’s voice and turn to see her focused on me. She has her arms crossed over her chest, and there's a flame to those green eyes.