INICIAR SESIÓNI locked eyes with Kade in the dim hallway light and said the words that changed everything.
"Kade, I am done playing nice. I will help you take down your old man. Whatever it takes."He froze, searching my face like he expected me to crack a smile and back out. "Evan, you serious? This is not some game. My father ruins lives. He already tried to end yours.""Serious as a heart attack," I shot back, voice flat. No smile. No hesitation. The golden boy they all knewMy phone would not stop buzzing with alerts the second I walked into my apartment. "Christian, if you came to yell, do it quick," I said as he pushed past me into the living room. He slammed the door shut. "Yell? I want to shake sense into you, Evan. Captain of the Blades drops gloves like some rookie thug? Media calls it the outburst of the year. Your clean image is trash now."I dropped onto the couch. "Clean image paid bills. Real life costs more. What do the headlines say?"Christian paced fast. "Headlines scream everything. Golden boy turns beast. Captain loses control for teammate. They dig into your past. Sponsors already call me. One says your face on their product looks bad now.""Bad for them," I replied. "I slept fine. Kade needed backup. End of story.""End of story?" Christian stopped and pointed at me. "You ruined months of work. We built you as the face. No scandals. No fights. Now papers call you violent. All fo
I could not stand there another second watching Kade take those hits. "Enough," I yelled and jumped the boards. My gloves hit the ice with a slap that echoed. The star captain who never fought was done watching. Briggs turned my way, surprised. "Captain himself? This will be quick."I skated straight at him. "Quick for you. You touched my teammate too much."Kade spat blood near the logo. "Evan, no. This is my mess. Stay out.""Stay out?" I answered. "Not when Viktor forces it and this goon destroys you. I end it now."Viktor screamed from the bench. "Evan, what are you doing? That is not you.""Not the old me," I shot back. "New me protects his own." I dropped my shoulder and slammed Briggs hard.Briggs laughed. "Protector now? Cute." He swung heavy but I ducked and landed one on his jaw."Feel that?" I said. "That is for every cheap shot on Kade."Kade yelled, "Evan, refs coming. Do not get
The bus rolled into Toronto and the city lights hit me like a challenge I could not ignore. "Welcome back to the lion's den," I said as we stepped off into the cold night air near the arena. Kade bumped my shoulder. "Feels different this time. Bigger stakes. Montreal always plays dirty but tonight we hit back first."Coach gathered us quick in the locker room. "Boys, this rivalry game is no joke. Sellout crowd. Montreal wants blood. We give them sweat and wins. Evan, you set the tone?"I nodded sharp. "We play smart but mean. No mercy on the ice. Kade, you ready to shut down their top line?""Ready," Kade answered. "They talk big but we skate faster. Keep the puck moving quick and they fold."The guys chimed in fast. Jake taped his stick. "Heard Montreal trash talked us all week. Said we are soft since the last loss.""Soft?" Rico laughed. "They will eat those words. We came to Toronto to remind them who owns the ice."
The puck dropped and Viktor screamed from the bench. "Kade, switch with Jake now. Take the enforcer. Show what you got."I whipped my head toward the bench. "Viktor, what the hell? That guy is built to kill. Do not force this."Viktor ignored me, voice raw. "Kade needs this. He broke my arm. Now he faces real pain. Switch. That is an order from the bench."Kade skated over fast, breathing hard. "You serious, Viktor? This Montreal hired goon is six foot six. He targets heads.""Targets heads," Viktor shot back with a nasty grin. "Perfect for you. Get out there. Refuse and I tell Coach you quit on us."Coach looked confused but the line change happened quick. Kade lined up against the enforcer, a mountain of a man named Briggs with scars all over his face.Briggs laughed low. "Little Kade. Heard you like cheap shots. Tonight I return them double."Kade gripped his stick tight. "Bring it. I do not back down."From
The door crashed open and there she stood, eyes blazing with the same rage tearing me apart. "You," I spat, stepping close enough to feel her breath hit my face. "After everything, you still look at me like I'm the enemy."Her hands shoved my chest hard. "Enemy? You destroyed us! I trusted you with my heart and you handed it back in pieces. Don't you dare act like the victim here."I grabbed her wrists, not gentle, not soft. The grief hit like a wave, mixing with the anger until I could not tell them apart. "You think I wanted this? Every night I lie awake seeing his face, the blood, knowing we both failed him. And you? You ran straight to him behind my back."She yanked free but did not step away. Her voice cracked. "Failed him? You pushed him away first! Always so damn sure you knew best. I went to him because you shut me out. Now he's gone and we're left with nothing but this mess."Words flew fast between us. My pulse hammered. "Noth
I locked eyes with Kade in the dim hallway light and said the words that changed everything. "Kade, I am done playing nice. I will help you take down your old man. Whatever it takes."He froze, searching my face like he expected me to crack a smile and back out. "Evan, you serious? This is not some game. My father ruins lives. He already tried to end yours.""Serious as a heart attack," I shot back, voice flat. No smile. No hesitation. The golden boy they all knew had died somewhere in the last twenty four hours. "He crossed lines that cannot get uncrossed. You point, I pull the trigger. We end him."Kade ran a hand through his hair, pacing two steps then back. "You do not know what you are signing up for. He has people everywhere. Money. Power. One wrong move and we both disappear.""Let him try," I said, stepping closer. My tone stayed ice cold. "I lost too much already. That man took shots at everything I care about. Now we hit back h
The second I stepped back onto Toronto ice after Montreal I knew the line between hate and need had already blurred too far.Practices felt completely different now. Every drill Coach paired us together on purpose. Kade and I circled each other like fighters waiting for the bell. His gray eyes foll
The second Kade slammed that Montreal player into the boards I knew the night would end with us destroying each other.The road game turned nasty fast. Cheap shots flew from every Montreal jersey. Late in the third one of their big forwards lined me up with his elbow high ready to take my head off.
The second Coach Harlan said my name that morning I knew Kade Volkov was about to become my personal nightmare.Practice ran us into the ground. We skated hard lines and battle drills until my legs burned. Guys were still buzzing from last nights win but the new guy moved through it all like he had
The second Kade Volkov stepped onto my ice I knew he was going to wreck my entire world.The Scotiabank Arena thundered around me as I glided out for warm ups. Twenty eight years old and captain of the Toronto Blades. The C on my jersey felt heavier than usual tonight. Fans screamed my name from ev







