Page 228 of Sin Bin

Her friendship.

But most of all…her love.

MEADOW

An electric thrill shot up Meadow’s spine when she locked eyes with Logan. Her heart was racing so fast, she thought it would take flight and soar right out of her chest.

The sellout crowd was screaming and roaring like maniacs, showing their appreciation for the team and the dazzling fireworks display.

All of that faded away as Meadow and Logan stared at each other. The connection lasted for the span of three heartbeats before he patted his heart, grinned and skated off.

A few minutes later, Scarlett sang the national anthem and nearly brought the house down. As the crowd showered her with resounding applause and whistles, Viggo grinned broadly and puffed out his chest. He couldn’t have looked more proud.

The Rebels came out of the gates firing on all cylinders. Hunter, Viggo and Logan looked super explosive as they charged up and down the ice, passing the puck around and firing a barrage of shots. Reid and Dmitri were giving the opposing forwards all they could handle, forcing them into the boards and stripping the puck at will. Sergei looked sharp in the net, making save after save on shots coming at him from all angles.

When Logan scored the first goal, a thunderous roar exploded over the arena.

Meadow and the girls were on their feet screaming like banshees as Logan grinned broadly and pumped his fist while ecstatic chants of “Bruiser, Bruiser, Bruiser!” boomed through the crowd.

After celebrating with his linemates, he skated back to the bench to slap gloves with the rest of the team.

Meadow watched him enter the bench area, her heart bursting with pride and joy as he tapped the Plexiglas with his glove and winked at her. She laughed warmly and placed her hand against the glass where his glove rested. When his grin softened, she winked and blew him a kiss, which he pretended to catch over the glass.

She didn’t realize their tender little moment had played out on the JumboTron until a collective “Awww” swept through the crowd.

Heat flooded her cheeks as the girls giggled delightedly and hugged her. When she sat back down, her phone buzzed with a text from her boss: You have to come to every home game! That’s an order!

Meadow grinned and showed the text to the girls, who fell out laughing.

“You’ve definitely gotta use that get-out-of-work-free card!” Jess asserted.

“I sure would!” Bianca declared.

Four minutes later, Hunter let rip with one of those cannonball slap shots that had earned him the nickname “HD.” The horn blared as the crowd exploded into wild cheering and foot stomping.

The celebrating had barely subsided when Viggo fired the puck into the net, driving the crowd into a fever-pitched frenzy. Scarlett was jumping up and down, screaming at the top of her lungs. Meadow hoped she wouldn’t make herself hoarse before her next performance.

The Rebels had jumped out to a three-goal lead before Tyler Seguin scored for Dallas. A storm of booing swept across the arena as the star center and his linemates hugged.

The team’s bubble was burst within minutes when Reid stole the puck from a Dallas winger and backhanded it into the net. The stands erupted with riotous cheers and chants of “Rocket, Rocket, Rocket!”

Increasingly frustrated and demoralized, Dallas players started getting chippy. After losing a board battle to Logan, an opposing defenseman threw an elbow at his head. Though he only managed to graze his helmet, the dirty play drew boos and hisses from the outraged crowd. Logan wasn’t having it either.

Meadow’s stomach knotted as the two players dropped their sticks and gloves, flung their helmets to the ice and put up their fists, circling each other as excited murmurs rippled through the arena. The defenseman was big and bulky. He was what they called an enforcer, the type of player who struck fear in opponents’ hearts. Of course, Logan was no lightweight either.

The defenseman threw the first punch. Logan ducked and counterpunched with blinding speed, slamming his fist into the guy’s cheek.

The crowd roared their approval and pounded the glass, boisterously chanting Logan’s nickname.

The big defenseman managed to land a hit before Logan unleashed a flurry of brutal jabs and punches that rocked the guy’s head back with every blow.

Unable to counterattack, the defenseman lowered his head and grabbed Logan, trying to avoid his relentless punches. Logan shoved him away and resumed throwing uppercuts, walloping the guy’s face until he fell to his knees. That was when the referees broke up the fight, hauling Logan back before he could deliver a knockout punch.

Chest heaving with unspent fury, he spat out a mouthful of blood and skated around in a tight circle while sneering at his fallen opponent. The defenseman’s face was bloodied and he looked downright woozy. He struggled to get to his feet, but his skates kept sliding out from under him. The referees had to help him, much to the crowd’s jeering amusement.

As the two brawlers skated off to their respective penalty boxes, “Shook Ones” came blasting over the speakers, taunting the Dallas player.

The crowd burst into appreciative laughter. Even Logan smirked darkly.

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