Page 116 of Broken Promises

“I’m so sorry, Willa.” Tears sting my eyes as I hold my wife tightly to me. Her words let me know she found me and must have tried to stop the bleeding. I want to strangle Patrick just for putting her through that. Never mind everything else he’s done.

“No. I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m the reason he was after you in the first place.”

“You’re not the reason, Willa,” Ben says. She turns to him and frowns. I watch her eyes widen, and her mouth drop open. I look over at Ben, but he’s just calmly looking at her. His blue eyes communicating something I don’t understand.

Wait.

Before my sluggish brain can connect the dots, Maverick barges in my room, his arms full of vending machine snacks.

“You’re awake,” he says, smiling at me. I watch that smile fall along with all the food in his arms when he looks at Ben.

Ben meets his eyes but remains silent. I’m about to demand to know what’s going on, but one word uttered from Maverick’s stunned lips has the world crumbling around me.

“Ezra.”

epilogue

DECLAN

3 MONTHS LATER

“I’m shockedto see you here,” I say, watching Finn approach me. My retirement party is fairly small, consisting only of my team and a select few others, including my parents. Willa told me she invited Finn, but I didn’t think he would fly all the way out here for it.

“Willa told me what winning the cup meant for you,” he says without greeting. “I suspect it’s much more than the explanation she gave.”

I shrug and hand him a beer from the cooler by my feet.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I look at the giant Viking of a man who is always serious and keeps his emotions locked down. He looks hurt. I’ve never seen him look anything other than angry or annoyed.

“It was hard with the distance. Especially because I wasn’t sure anything could be said over the phone.”

“You should have told me before the series,” Finn says, his usual angry expression back on his face.

“Why? What were you going to do? Throw the game?” I ask, chuckling at the absurdity of it all.

Finn holds my stare, and I choke on my beer.

“I wouldn’t have let you throw the game, Finn! You can’t be serious!”

“You think hockey means more to me than you?” he asks, his eyes showing the fierceness there that is usually only seen when he’s in the net.

I honestly thought hockey meant more to him than I did, but I don’t voice that. I just swallow the emotions that became thick in my throat.

“Thank you. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it.”

Finn nods. “Do a better job of keeping in touch. You’re unemployed. You have time.”

I bark out a laugh as he walks away to mingle with the other goalies in attendance.

“He’s a weird guy,” Gideon says, coming to stand next to me.

“Aren’t most goalies?”

He snorts. “You’re not wrong.”

I take a sip of my beer, trying to let my shoulders relax. Everything since the moment I woke up in the hospital has been a mixture of stressful and relaxed. It’s making my head spin. On the one hand, I’m alive, my team won the cup, I have the most amazing wife, and we’ve been assured by Sinclair that Eva won’t be a problem.

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