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“Yet I was benched, and nothing was done to Evan.”
“I’m sorry, man.”
The fight started when Evan called my mother a gold-digging slut. I’ve been ignoring that fucker’s snide comments all season, but I couldn’t allow him to talk about my mother like that. Whether it was my mother or father, I would have lost my shit the same way. My parents died in a boating accident when I was twelve and far too young to lose them.
“I’d kick the crap out of him all over again for what he said.”
“I just wish there’d been a witness to hear him.”
“God knows I wish that, too.”
By the time anyone came along I was on top of Evan, pulverizing his face with my fists and shouting at the top of my lungs that I’d kill his ass. It took three security guards and two of my teammates to get me off him.
When I’d cooled off I thought of all the other shit Evan had done to me, and I realized the asshole has been trying to screw with me and set me up so I’d get kicked off the team.
“What are you going to do about Evan?”
“I don’t know yet, but I have to do something. His problem isobviouslyme.I’m standing in his way because that motherfucker wants the same thing I want—to be captain of the Hawks.”
“It makes perfect sense.”
“It does. He’s the same age as me, plays the same position, and was the captain of his old team in L.A. for two seasons. Leading a team like the Hawks to victory in the Stanley Cup would make you a legend.”
“Not to mention the fact that your net worth and value will increase substantially,” Hunter points out.
“Exactly. It’s enough ammo to sabotage a fellow teammate—aka me—and get what you want.”
“It is.” Hunter’s expression takes on a serious edge. “You can’t allow him to mess with your career, Luc.”
“Rest assured I won’t.”
I’ve been one of the team’s alternate captains for the last three years. After the last captain retired, it was a given I’d get the full position but that changed when the Hawks were sold and Evan came along.
That was the beginning of my problems because the new owner, Shawn Jakobe, had it in for me before the ink was dry on his contract. He had a long-standing feud with my father back in the day, when they played on rival teams.
It was Jakobe who orchestrated Evan’s trade to the Hawks and set out to basically replace me with him.
And surprise, surprise, it was Jakobe who issued the order to not just bench me but also to strip me of the alternate captain position which he then gave to Evan.
I didn’t get the captain’s position when Jakobe first bought the team because he claimed he wanted to see me earn it. Now I’m nowhere close and everything seems to be stacked against me.
Hunter raises his brows and gives me a wild smirk. “I’m interested to see how long you plan to keep up this mutiny.”
“As long as I need to.” My voice is filled with venom. “The lesson needs to be learned.”
Those lessons kicked off yesterday when everyone realized I wouldn’t be traveling with them to Vancouver. That’s when the phone calls from Coach Donovan and other management officials descended upon me like a flock of wild birds.
Things then took off after lunchtime today when fans spotted me here in Vegas. I signed autographs, took pictures with them, and did everything to get my face out there.
Through the power of social media, within the hour word about where I was spread like hot lava spewing from a volcano.
“Just be careful.” Hunter nods. “I’m all for doling out punishment but there’s going to come a point when you have to talk to the coach. If you continue ignoring his calls this could all backfire on you.”
This is Hunter summoning his negotiator side, the thing I think I needed from him most when I asked him to come to Vegas with me.
“Don’t worry. I’ll figure things out.” I sound sure but truthfully, I don’t have a solid plan. “This trip was about shaking Jakobe up. Benching me was a show of his power to keep me in line.”
I’ve had several run-ins with Jakobe since he bought the team, so he considered the fight with Evan strike three.
