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My spidey sense was going off, and I didn't like it. I wanted to check in on my mom and Natalie, but with it being minutes to game time, all phones had to be locked up.
I tapped my feet on the rubberized floor while I shook my head, trying to ignore the feeling that something was wrong.
"Calm the fuck down," Carter snapped at me. "It's only the Fury. You know they've been dogshit all season."
While I tried to stop moving, that anxious energy seemed to be building in me. I hissed, "It's not them."
He looked me in the eye. "You need to fucking focus. Got it, man?"
"I know."
Hockey was way too fast anymore, and I had a job to do. I was there to score and create havoc. The game was too fast, and the last thing I wanted to do was go in for a hip check and land on the other team's bench with a mistimed hit.
Then I realized there were two people on the bench that should have their phones on them. Lutzsy and the trainer. Dr. Yani wouldn't risk pulling out his cell unless he needed to get extra hands on deck in an emergency. But Lutzsy was another matter.
That would have to wait. It was time to get out on the ice for warm-ups.
I walked onto the ice. I skated around on our side, and as soon as I did, Scuba slapped me on the butt with his stick. Which only meant one thing, I had to get him back. I chased him and got him back.
But it wasn't until he took his stick tip and twisted the back of my jersey that I could finally settle down and focus on the game.
I took a couple wide steps, and Carter skated by singing Taylor Swift's “You Belong To Me.” It was such a weird song to see him singing along to. But he only sang in warmups when he wanted me to loosen up.
After that, I forgot my desperate need to see if Natalie was ok.
Chapter 31
Natalie
Standing in front of a crazy man, I tried to stay still as if he would forget that I was there. I still couldn’t believe he must have followed us to the rink when he was supposed to be at work.
He stepped close to me. "Speak, woman, or has a cat caught your tongue?"
"I'm Annette's friend, and she asked me to take Eric to hockey practice."
The anger that flashed in his eyes made things even worse. Yet all he did was fold his arms across his chest and say, "Bullshit."
I raised an eyebrow.
How was my answer bullshit? It would be one thing if I took Eric to a movie theater and tried to claim that we went to hockey practice. But we were literally standing at an ice rink.
Maybe he didn't believe that Eric played hockey or that Annette might have friends that he didn't know about.
Yet after spending time in the shelter, I knew Annette was a stronger woman than ever. She made friends and life skills. Plus, she was now making money on her own. Hopefully, that meant she might be strong enough to leave him for good.
He smacked me across the face. It was loud, and it stung. The gasp from my mouth as it swung to the side was so damn audible that everyone was looking at us.
I brought my hand to my face and took a deep breath. I wasn't sure what I could do.
That's when Chuck, the shelter's bus driver, and two guys that I didn't recognize came up. All three of them got in between me and Luke.
Luke screamed, "This bitch kidnapped my son."
One of the dads said, "We will not have that kind of language in front of our kids."
If I wasn't scared for my life, I might have laughed at the idea of swearing around kids at a hockey rink. I'd heard enough swear words to fill a lifetime, especially at the professional levels. But there were young kids, like Eric, who should have their ears protected.
I noticed that some of the moms near me had their cameras on us, and it seemed like one or two were on the phone. Hopefully calling in the authorities, but I didn't like the fact that I was being confused for a kidnapper.
