Page 141 of Scarred

The red light turns on, and the buzzer rings out across the stadium as I surge to my feet with the rest of the crowd.

Cayden flips up his mask, and I see a small smile play on his lips as he takes this brief break to hydrate himself. He’s still on full alert as his eyes scan the ice. His tense body language tells me he’s not breathing a sigh of relief yet.

If I’ve learned anything from watching hockey, it’s that two minutes is enough to go from winning to losing. All it takes is seconds to turn the game around.

Pushing his mask down, he gets in position as the ref drops the puck. The Vipers center takes control, but Cross is on him as he slams him into the boards, knocking the puck loose.

Hayes manages to set it free and pass it to Foxx, but their opponent is right there to intercept.

My eyes flick to the scoreboard as I stand up with the crowd around me.

Sixty seconds left.

The clock starts ticking down the seconds, and the fans go wild, amping up the energy in the arena to support their team.

The Vipers get a breakaway, and the stadium forgets to breathe as Cayden crouches down and tracks the puck.

When the stick connects and sends the black disc flying in the air, thousands of eyes track it, but only one pair matters.

Cayden drops into a butterfly and blocks the right side of the net with his body. The puck ricochets off his shoulder, and before he can get back up on his skates, a rebound hit has him diving with his glove to the other side just as the buzzer goes off to signal the end of the third period.

Getting up on his skates, Cayden drops the puck from his glove, and the roar of the fans echoes off the walls as the rest of the Bolts players rush to the net to swarm Cayden, giving Bayside a 1-0 win.

His eyes find mine through the bodies surrounding him.

Twenty thousand people are screaming his name and celebrating the man who just carried them through one of the hardest battles of the year.

But he isn’t looking at any of them.

He’s looking at me.

As if I’m the only one he needs to see…the place he wants to land after the chaos.

My fingers curl around the number forty jersey I’m wearing when I realize that the most terrifying thing about falling for Cayden Blade isn’t breaking through the walls around his heart.

It’s realizing he now owns mine.

His smile stays on his face as he skates with the team to the tunnel. Once he disappears inside my phone dings a couple of minutes later as I’m gathering my things.

Cayden

Don’t leave your seat. I’ve sent Bobby to come and get you.

Before I can respond, a guy with brown and blue eyes appears by my side wearing a Bolts collared shirt.

“Miss Bennett?” He asks with a hint of southern drawl.

“You must be Bobby,” I smile. “Cayden just texted me you were coming.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he grins, sending a blush to his cheeks. He’s young and couldn’t be more than twenty.

“Please call me Luna. We are too close in age for the ma’am part,” I chuckle.

“Guess it’s just a habit,” he says nervously, walking up the aisle steps as I follow him.

He leads me to an elevator once we hit the main level, and it’s a short ride down before the doors open again.

The number forty with Blade written across the back comes into view before Cayden turns at the sound of the elevator doors opening.