Much as I tried, I couldn’t cross the ice in time. I watched it happen like it was in slow motion. Morrison sped to the net and made a half-assed attempt to stop inches before he hit the crease. He slammed into Ty, bringing him down as he toppled over.

I waited for a penalty call that didn’t come. He was going to get away with it.

Not on my watch.

51. bad blood

CHAPTER 51

BAD BLOOD

Bailey

I hadn’t wanted to take my eyes off the game, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I’d rushed to the bathroom and couldn’t have been gone for more than two minutes. But when I returned, every member of both teams on the ice was involved in a massive altercation. They yelled and pointed and gestured at each other while the referees stood in the middle, holding players back.

One of those players was Chase. He and Luke were having words—again. Other guys sniped back and forth, not all that worked up, but Chase’s face was twisted in anger, and he was gesturing wildly.

Heart racing, I hurried down the stairs and sank back into my seat beside Siobhan. I tried to time my bathroom break with Chase’s shift change, but apparently, I’d fallen short.

“What happened?” I grabbed my half of the blue and purple plaid blanket we huddled under together for warmth, covering my legs with it.

Shiv nodded to the scrum. “Your ex took a run at Ty.”

My stomach clenched. Of course he did.

“Is Ty okay?” I asked, eyes still glued to Chase. My chest was tight, my breath shallow. What would he do? There was no way he’d let Luke get away with lowbrow action like that.

The ref leaned in and said something to him. Chase shook his head and responded with what looked like a no.

“Yeah, he got knocked for a loop, but he seems fine.” She pointed to the far corner of the ice, where Ty was trash talking Mendez.

Goalies answered to other goalies, but Mendez was soft-spoken and probably not to blame for anything. While some of the players were amped up and reveling in the chaos, Mendez was mostly still and speaking calmly, like he just wanted to get back in the net.

My gaze snapped back to Chase, whose movements weren’t quite so irate. He was still yelling at Luke, but the referee wasn’t straining to hold him back anymore.

“But it’s the principle at this point,” Siobhan added, pulling her hands into the sleeves of her red Falcons hoodie.

“It really is,” I agreed with a nod.

Goalies were off limits. Everyone knew that. Add that to the cheap hit on Dallas, and it wasn’t surprising that Chase wanted to tear off Luke’s head.