AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I caught it just before it hit me upside the head. We were in Calgary, getting ready for morning skate before our game against the Flames. I glared at him, ready to rip his head off if he said a fucking word about me figure skating, but Hammer spoke up before anything else happened.
“Look like the same skates he always wears to me.” He grabbed the tape from me and sat down beside me to work on prepping his stick. Then he glanced over at Koz. “Looks like you could use a new pair, though. How long have you worn the same skates? They’re as beat up as your face was after scrapping with Shaw.”
Ghost snorted in laughter as he passed between us.
“What’s so fucking funny?” Koz demanded.
“Just remembering how your nose got rearranged,” Ghost said. “That was a good day. Hey, you should go with Engelland tonight. I bet he can rearrange the rest of your face.”
“How about I just rearrange your face right now?” Koz shot back.
“How about we all try to remember what we’re doing here,” Hammer said.
Koz sat back in his stall and shoved his headphones in his ears, sulking. Then he took out his book of Sudoku puzzles and started solving one. I’d never understood why, but puzzles and games like that always calmed him down. At least he had a trick for getting past things.
And at least he’d shut his trap before saying anything about me figure skating.
I taped up my socks and went back to getting myself ready for morning skate. Not even two minutes passed, though, and Jim Sutter came into the locker room.
That wasn’t normal.
At all.
He might drop in after a game every now and then, and he stopped by during morning skate or practices all the time. But in the time before a game, he was busy doing his thing, and he always left it to the players and coaches to get ready.
That couldn’t be a good sign, him being in here.
He headed over to Jonny, who was quietly putting on his gear in his corner of the room, the way he always did. Head down, focused on the task at hand, no joking about. Jim said something to him, and Jonny’s head shot up. Then they both looked over at me.
It had to be Cadence.
In no time, I was standing in front of Jonny’s stall next to Jim. “What is it? What happened?”
“I need the two of you to come into Bergy’s office for a minute, okay?”
That made it sound even worse. All the blood drained out of my head. I had to be white as my fucking jersey.
We got up and followed him into the coach’s office, and Jim shut the door. Bergy looked as worried as Jonny and I were. He was up and pacing behind his desk instead of sitting there like the perfect picture of calm he so often presented.
“Why don’t we all have a seat?” Jim suggested. The three of us glared at him, so he shook his head and kept talking. “Or not. I just got off the phone with Rachel. It seems that Cadence was attacked by the guy who’s been stalking her. Guy? Is that his name? He used to be her skating partner.”
I nodded grimly.
“It happened at the rink when she was giving Sophie a skating lesson.”
Without listening for more, Bergy pulled out his phone and started dialing, and Jonny punched the wall, sending a whiteboard and markers clattering to the ground.
“Hold on,” Jim said, holding up his hands. “Everyone’s going to be fine.”
“Going to be?” I croaked out. “Meaning they’re not fine now.”
“Sophie is completely unharmed. Scared, but that’s all. Cadence got her out of the rink and had her call nine-one-one while she took on the bastard on her own.”
“By herself?” Jonny repeated. “Where the fuck was the guy who works at the rink?”
“Guy hit him over the head with something and knocked him out. They said he was an older man, and likely couldn’t have put up much of a fight, anyway. He’s got a hell of a headache and might have a concussion, but he’s fine, otherwise.”
“Where was Paige?” Bergy demanded. “She’s supposed to be there during the lessons if I can’t be.”
