Page 116 of The Christmas You Crash

“It’s more about him being pissed that Ryder is with me, not the other way around. He thinks I’m not good enough for Ryder. That I’ll end up ruining his career.”

“What bullshit,” Isla growls.

I open my mouth to say something else when the crowd roars and my eyes dart back to the bench. The bench where Ryder and my dad are now chest to chest, and every Rogues player not on the ice looks like they’re about to jump into a brawl.

“Oh my god,” I murmur.

My dad screams something in Ryder’s face that causes his body to lock up. Even from up here, I can see Ryder’s jaw tick. Ryder says something back to my dad, and then my dad shoves him.

My dad, the coach, shoves his player.

Ryder flies backward. He’d hit his ass if Maddox and Logan didn’t catch him. Once he’s back on his feet, Ryder shakes his head and says something to my dad. My dad shoves him again, and then Maddox and Logan are holding Ryder back from retaliating.

“Oh my god,” Isla says. She covers her mouth with her hand as she turns wide, shocked eyes in my direction.

The crowd roars as my dad and Ryder continue to exchange heated words, but I don’t hear them. All I can hear is the pounding of my heart and the ragged intake of each breath I suck into my lungs. I fly out of the box, down the hallway, and make turn after turn until my feet slap against the stairs leading to the main floor.

Ignoring the shouting of security, I barely dodge a few men in uniform and push through the double doors leading to the tunnel. I run as fast as I can toward the Rogues’ bench. People shout and scream, the mob mentality desperate for a fight, even if it’s between a coach and his players. I want to scream at them. To demand they shut up. But they don’t matter. Not really. What matters is getting to Ryder before he does something that could end his career.

I shove past the camera guy who’s documenting the argument. He shouts as I push him out of my way, and he almost loses his footing. I don’t care.

My heart pounds in my chest and my body feels cold. It’s not the normal chill of the arena. It’s the icy fingers of dread gripping my spine.

I get to the glass surrounding the bench just in time to hear what my dad shouts at Ryder.

“I made you a star, you ungrateful little shit. I can ruin you just as fast. Is that what you want? I hope that cunt was worth it, because I’m trading your ass to fucking Alaska the first chance I get.”

My heart seizes in my chest. I can’t breathe.

“That’s yourdaughteryou’re talking about like that,” Ryder screams. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“She was amistake,” my dad hisses as my heart shatters. “And she’ll ruin your life, just like she ruined mine. Just youfucking wait, Hanson. You’ll see. You two deserve each other. Though I doubt she’ll still want you when you’re down in the minors and barely making enough to pay your bills. Nothing’s ever good enough for that brat.”

My heart crumbles into a pile of rubble at my feet, and a pained cry slips from my lips. It must just be loud enough for Ryder to hear because his beautiful, sky-blue eyes snap to mine. Tears stream down my cheeks, and I don’t even care that this is probably being televised. That the whole world may be watching me break. All that matters at this moment is the pain swimming in my love’s eyes. The devastation etched into my face is mirrored in his. My dad looks over his shoulder and sneers at my tears.

“Always with the dramatics, huh, Alexis?”

Ryder lunges for my dad, but his teammates hold him back. “Let me go! Let me out of this fucking bench right now.” He strains against Maddox and Logan’s hold. “Lexi, baby, don’t listen to him. Don’t listen to him, sweetheart.”

The game has come to a stop at this point. Everyone is watching my humiliation. I cover my mouth with my hands as the first sob rips free.

And then I run.

fifty-two

RYDER

I’m goingto kill him. I’m going to garrote him. After I break his nose.

That sonofabitch just called his own daughter a vile slur before telling the whole world, and his little girl, that she was a mistake. A. Mistake.

Fuck him. Fuck him and fuck the rest of this game. I don’t care if I get suspended or fired or traded to Alaska. Hell, they don’t even have an NHL team in Alaska. Whatever. It doesn’t matter. All that matters right now is that I get to my girl.

I swear the whole arena is silent as I hop over the boards and fly across the ice. Gameplay has stopped, and there are refs surrounding the Rogues’ bench as Coach continues to shout and rant and make threats. For a split second, I think one of them will stop me from getting to Lexi, but he just pats me on the shoulder and tells me to go get her.

She’s just approaching the tunnel as I stumble off the ice. Tears stream down her beautiful face and sobs rack her body. I’ve never seen her so broken. Her dad has hurt Lexi several times since I’ve known her, but there was always this underlyingspark of hope in her eyes. Hope that things would get better. That, someday, Arthur Cross would wake up and realize what a mammoth ass he’s been.

That hope is gone. Snuffed out so thoroughly that even Lexi’s natural light has dimmed.

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