TheEnforcer_Kobo

by Steph

  Or maybe that was Will projecting. Since Monday night, he’d pretty much felt lost, like he’d had a chunk of himself cut out.

  And what’d you expect? That she was going to give up a great opportunity to stay here with your sorry ass as you wind down your second-rate career?

  Yeah, right.

  Shaking his head, he brought his focus back to where it should be—on Coach and his pre-game speech. Important game tonight. They needed these two points to get into second place in the division. Middle of the season and every point began to matter just a little bit more.

  No stupid penalties, especially with Bakersfield. Will had some history with the team. Will had been traded there three seasons ago, and he and the coach had butted heads almost immediately. It had been one of the most insanely frustrating times of his life. Coach Lamarche knew exactly which strings to pull to make Will lose his shit, and the bastard held a grudge.

  But tonight, Will couldn’t afford to let anything get to him. Had to prove, if only to himself, that he could be more than people expected.

  As Coach wrapped up his speech and the team rose to grab their sticks and helmets before heading down the hall to the ice, Jake stopped next to him, staring at him with a question in his eyes.

  “What’s up, Jake?”

  “You look…not yourself.”

  He pretty much didn’t feel like himself either, but apparently no one but Jake had noticed. Or they hadn’t wanted to take their lives in their hands and ask outright.

  But Jake got away with a lot of shit no one else could because the guy genuinely cared.

  “I’m good. Big game. How’re you feeling?”

  “I will heal. Eventually.”

  A slight scowl crossed his face but Jake wiped it away fast. If Will hadn’t been watching closely, he might’ve missed it. Now wasn’t the time to call Jake on it but he filed it away for later.

  “You,” Jake continued, “have problem. But this conversation will keep. Tonight,” he leaned close and lowered his voice, “you need to keep Lad in check. He can sometimes have wild streak. And Robbie sometimes needs good kick in the ass to get motivated after he makes bad play. And Tyler can be total dick when he is pissed off and will need to be put in his place.”

  By the time Jake finished, Will had a grin on his face, his first since Monday night when he’d had his heart ripped out of his chest.

  “You got it, Mom.”

  Jake gave him the finger as Will made his way out onto the ice.

  Take care of his teammates. That’s what an enforcer did. Too bad he couldn’t do the same for his heart.

  * * * * *

  Another slow Wednesday night for attendance meant another slow night for Jess. Tonight, she only had one group and, after the first period, they didn’t have much need for her so she chose a relatively crowded section and found a seat.

  She told herself she could just sit and watch the game. Neither Lori nor Bliss were there tonight and Mia was chatting away with a couple of players’ girlfriends who were closer to her own age.

  Which just made Jess feel even more lonely.

  You’re pathetic. It’s not like you got a divorce, for chrissake.

  And yet she still felt like part of her had been ripped away.

  What are you giving up?

  Lori’s question kept circling around her head. Drawing in a deep breath, she let her gaze find Will again. She didn’t have to work hard. She only had to glance at the ice and her gaze went right to him. Already, the first period had been chippy and a couple of players had gone after Will specifically.

  So far, he’d managed to stay out of the penalty box but she could tell he was getting pissed.

  By the middle of the second period, the score was still tied at zero and both teams had started to show cracks from frustration.

  Stupid penalties on both sides, a lot of shoving and shouting, and a few dirty hits from Bakersfield, one of which left Will on the ice on his knees for a few seconds as he caught his breath and had the audience on its feet, shouting at the ref.

  In front of her, a season ticket holder Jess recognized by face shouted, “Did you swallow your damn whistle or are you just blind?”

  Then he turned to her and shook his head. “Christ, it’s like they’ve been paid off or something. They’re letting Bakersfield get away with murder. Someone’s gonna get hurt out there.”

  Though she knew she shouldn’t bad-mouth the referees, especially not as a known member of the front office staff, she couldn’t help herself. “He’s calling an awful game tonight.”

  “I’m just waiting for Mac to take care of that little bastard, Branson,” the man’s wife chimed in. “He needs to step up here.”

  As play continued, Jess silently agreed. So far, Will had been steady as a rock. But he played without the spark she’d seen in him at the past few games. Was that her fault? Was their breakup, or whatever you wanted to call it, to blame?

  Or maybe he was just having a bad night and she was giving herself too much credit.

  But as the game wore on, and the game got uglier, she began to wonder if she hadn’t totally screwed them both.

  * * * * *

  At the end of the second intermission, as the team lined up to head back onto the ice, Will glanced up to find Cary stopped next to him.

  In his first game as an assistant coach, Cary had proved to be just as steady behind the bench as he’d been on it.

  And Will had forced himself to play the kind of game he thought Cary wanted, even though Bakersfield was taunting the shit out of him, trying to get him to retaliate.

  But now Cary looked at Will with a question in his eyes.

  “You’ve been pretty quiet the first two periods. We need you to shake things up.”

  Will’s eyebrows rose. That almost sounded like Cary wanted him to go out there and crack open some heads. But Will had been wrong before. Recently, he’d been pretty fucking wrong about a certain woman and that still stung. He didn’t need to get his wires crossed with Cary either.

  “You’re gonna need to spell it out, man. I don’t wanna get this wrong.”

  Cary didn’t blink as he leaned in a little closer. “Go out there and make Bakersfield regret their actions. It’s time to show them exactly how our enforcer takes care of things.”

  Well, would you look at that? Vindication of his skills should’ve been sweet. And maybe someday it would be.

  Will’s mouth curved in the ghost of a grin. “I think I can manage that.”

  “Good.” Cary nodded. “Just do it without getting hurt. Team needs you healthy.”

  “Do my best, Coach.”

  Cary’s grin was wider than Will’s. “Be still my heart.”

  Now Will rolled his eyes. “Don’t press your luck.”

  Cary clapped him on the shoulder. “Be smart, Mac. Be persistent but be ready to go when you get the chance. Don’t play into their expectations, because if you do, they’ll control the situation. And don’t break your damn hand on Branson’s hard head.”

  With a nod, Will headed out onto the ice for the third period.

  His first two shifts, he took a couple hard hits against the boards, but Cary’s words stuck with him.

  Don’t play into their expectations.

  On his third shift, as Branson charged the Redtails goal from the blue line, Will saw his chance. Branson had his head down, something every player learned not to do in peewees. Sure, sometimes you forgot. And sometimes you paid for it.

  Will skated at him full out as the crowd cheered. They could see the collision coming in the two seconds it took for him to cross the ice.

  And right before Will leveled Branson, he slowed just enough so he didn’t completely wreck the guy. He wasn’t out for blood, but it was time for payback.

  Branson went down hard, the crowd erupted in cheers, and Will snagged the puck as the guy sat on his ass on the ice, shaking his head and probably seeing stars.

  Another Bakersfield player immedia
tely tried to knock Will off the puck, but the guy was no match, not in size or determination. Skating toward the Redtails’ offensive end, Will passed to Tyler, whose line set up for a play on goal.

  The next few seconds were especially satisfying as the Bakersfield players scrambled to prevent the Redtails from scoring.

  And failed.

  Tyler passed to Robbie, who one-timed it straight to the back of the net.

  The crowd roared and jumped to its feet as the players on the ice jumped Robbie and knocked helmets before skating back to the bench for fist bumps before taking their seats on the bench as the lines changed.

  As soon as his ass hit the bench, Will felt a fist tap on his shoulder pads.

  “Nice work.” Cary leaned down to speak near his ear. “Expectations, Mac. Sometimes you gotta defy them.”

  * * * * *

  Jess sat on the edge of her seat as the seconds ticked away on the clock.

  The Redtails had the only goal of the game and less than two minutes remained on the clock.

  And after that hit Will had laid on Branson, he’d become a marked man. Any time he was on the ice, the Bakersfield players were all over him.

  She had no idea how he managed to maintain his cool. Another player would’ve gone off by now, drawing a stupid penalty. But Will hung tough. He took the abuse like he was oblivious to everything and kept his eyes on the prize.

  Bakersfield battled hard but their frustration was no match for the Redtails’ determination. And when the final buzzer sounded, she finally released the breath she swore she’d been holding for the last minute.

  As the opposing team made a quick exit from the ice, the Redtails gathered at center ice to salute the crowd.

  She saw only Will. He smiled as he knocked helmets with Shane then put his arm around Lad’s shoulders as they skated toward the hall to the locker rooms. He stopped just inside the boards, knocking gloves with his teammates as they stepped off the ice.

  And just before he left the ice himself, he looked up, his gaze circling the arena. Was she imagining things or was he looking for her?

  He heart pounded so hard, it hurt. Damn it.

  “Good game tonight. Your dad was right. I’m glad I came.”

  Startled by the voice from behind her, Jess turned in her seat. And found Victor Galiev in the row behind her.

  A genuine smile curving her lips, Jess held her hand out to the NHL scout. “Mr. Galiev, it’s nice to see you. It’s been a while.”

  “Yes, it has been.” His mouth curved in a wry grin. “And please, call me Vic. You make me feel old when you call me Mister. I’m forty, not eighty.”

  Jess nodded, knowing it’d be a hard habit to break. She’d known Vic for years. A former player who’d become her father’s protégé after retiring because of injuries, he’d moved on to scout for Washington a few years ago.

  “What are you doing in Reading? I had no idea you’d be here or I would’ve made a point to find you earlier.”

  “Oh, I’ve got my eyes on a couple of guys on both teams so figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. And I only remembered your dad telling me you worked here when I saw you sitting there. Your dad loves to brag about his brilliant daughter.”

  She rolled her eyes. “My dad’s a little biased, obviously.”

  “Of course he is. Doesn’t mean he’s wrong, though. You’re in marketing, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “More power to you. That stuff hurts my brain. But I guess it’s stable, huh? None of this traveling all over the country every other day, watching five, six games a week.”

  “Actually, that sounds pretty good to me.”

  Vic laughed. “Forgot who I was talking to. Should’ve known Doug Gardiner’s daughter would have hockey in her blood. A little surprised you haven’t been snapped up as a scout for the NWHL yet.”

  His comment made her smile freeze in place but he didn’t notice as he continued.

  “You’ve got a playoff team here again this year. They should get far. Hopefully Mozik’s injury won’t put him out for the season. Your D’s gonna miss him. Wasn’t expecting to see such control from MacDonald. That was a shocker. He’d getting a little old to be learning new tricks.”

  And now she had to bite her tongue against the urge to tell Vic to go fuck himself.

  Mac wasn’t old and he damn well had more control than anyone gave him credit for.

  Don’t let it get to you. He’s fishing.

  Holy shit. The realization hit her like a puck in the gut. He was absolutely fishing for information. From her.

  There was no way she was going to give him any. Not to use against her team.

  And dammit, it was her team.

  Not for long.

  Forcing a smile, she stood, holding her hand out to Vic. “It was so nice to see you again but I’ve gotta get going. I’ll tell Dad you said hi.”

  Vic nodded and shook. “Nice to see you, too, Jess. I’ll be sure to stop and say hi next time I’m in town.”

  Walking back to her office, she sat behind her desk for several long minutes as the arena cleared. Staring out into the empty office, she let the anger build.

  She didn’t even know why she felt so pissed off but it’d been building all night, making her feel like a soda that’d been shaken for hours.

  At least it’s better than feeling like you had your heart ripped out of your chest and then stomped on by some chauvinist pig.

  Which was totally unfair. Vic hadn’t meant anything derogatory with that comment about the NWHL. She was female. It was an easy assumption to make, that the NWHL might be interested in her skills. And yet…

  With a growl, she picked up her phone.

  “Hi, sweetheart, what’s going on? Everything okay?”

  “Hi, Daddy, nothing’s wrong. I’m just…” She sighed. “I saw Vic Galiev tonight.”

  “Oh? How’s he doing?”

  “Fine. He said to say hi.”

  Her dad paused. “That’s nice. But that’s not the only reason you called, is it?”

  She thought about her response for several long seconds. “No. I’m just…out of sorts. I haven’t told anyone yet,” except Will, of course, “but Philly offered me that job.”

  “Hey, honey, that’s great.” The pride in his voice didn’t ease her mood at all. “Seriously. I know you’ve been busting your ass for that move for a while.”

  “What if I don’t want it?”

  Her dad didn’t miss a beat. “Then don’t take it.”

  She snorted. Of course, that’s what he’d say. “What if this is my big break and I pass it up?”

  “Then I’d tell you there will be other opportunities, maybe better ones. Jess…are you still thinking about that scouting position? Did Vic say something—”

  “No…well, yes, he said something but it was nothing bad. Actually, he asked the same thing you had, if the NWHL had made me an offer.”

  “And that’s bad how?” Genuine confusion colored his tone. “You need to help me out here, sweetheart. I’m getting slow in my old age.”

  “You’re not old and it’s not you who has the problem. I have the problem. And I’m just not sure how to fix it.”

  “Well, then lay it out for me.”

  “What if there’s this guy I’ve been seeing? And what if I suddenly have this great opportunity that suddenly doesn’t seem so great anymore because I’d have to leave this guy behind? And what if I’m turning down an even bigger opportunity because I’m worried I’ll fail?”

  Silence from the other end that dragged on.

  “Dad, you still there?”

  “Didn’t we have this conversation last week?”

  A frustrated sigh slipped through. “Sort of. But…”

  “But what?”

  “What if I try to break that glass ceiling and find out I can’t hack it? What if—”

  “What if you’re absolutely amazing? What if you don’t do it and regret it for the rest of your life? And what
if you give up this man for your job and realize in one, two, five years that you should’ve given up the job?”

  He’s talking about Mom.

  From the other end, she heard her dad sigh. “I don’t have an answer for you, sweetheart. I can only encourage you not to make the same mistakes I did. If you’ve found the right guy or even who you think might be the right guy, you need to give it a shot. Because sometimes you only get one.

  “And if you don’t take your shot at something you love, you will most certainly fail.”

  * * * * *

  “Dude, you’re a fucking wet blanket. You kicked ass and took names tonight. You should be tearing a hole through this place. What the hell’s wrong with you?”

  Derek sat next to him at the bar and clinked his beer bottle against Will’s before taking another swallow. Most of the team was here tonight, hanging out around the pool table, being fawned over by a group of younger women in tight jeans, tighter shirts, and high heels.

  Will had absolutely no interest. He’d only come because the guys had insisted they’d wanted to buy him drinks and that had seemed like a great idea at the time. Now, though, watching the younger guys drink, laugh, and hook up…

  He just felt old because what he really wanted was to be snuggled up on a couch watching TV or making out with Jess.

  But he’d fucked that up royally.

  And he must be pretty damn pitiful because even usually clueless Derek had noticed. Or he’d pulled the short straw and the rest of the guys had sent him as the sacrificial lamb to check on him.

  He’d been nursing the one beer since they’d arrived an hour ago so Will was clear-eyed when he turned to Derek.

  Who was surprisingly just as lucid.

  “Why aren’t you halfway to being plastered?”

  Derek shrugged, his gaze flashing away for a second. “I’m driving. Doesn’t matter. And stop trying to deflect.”

  “I’m not deflecting. I’m just…not in the mood.”

  “You and Miss Jess have a fight, huh?”

  What the hell? Did everyone know they’d been dating?

  Derek huffed out a laugh. “Dude, everyone knew. We’re not totally oblivious. So what’d you do?”

  “Why do you automatically assume—shit, no, you’re right.” Will sighed and turned his chair so he could look straight at Derek. “I fucked up and I’m not quite sure how to fix it short of groveling. And I’m not opposed to that but…”