Page 45 of Ice Mechanic

She starts the car.Good girl.

I step back and give her room. So do the journalists. At the end of the day, this is just a job for them and they don’t want to get run over for a story.

Max pulls me behind him and two security guards flank me on either side.

“You good, Chance?” Max asks, eyes ablaze with the fierce protectiveness that made our college buddies call him the ‘Good Samaritan’.

If anyone ever needed a sober driver, a wingman or a place to crash for the night, Max was the one to turn to.

I wait until April’s driven off and then I nod. “Yeah, I’m good now.”

With the help of the security guys, Max escorts me inside the arena. The whisk of blades against the ice and thethuckof hockey sticks fighting for the puck fills the air.

The team is on the ice, gearing up for our friendly scrimmage which will be filmed by the local news team after the press conference.

Gunner catches my eye and gives me a death glare before turning his attention back to the game and chasing down the puck.

“I already talked to Gunner and the rest of them,” Max says, noticing my stare. “But I need to make this clear to you too. No matter what brought us here, we’re here for a reason. We’re a team. Once you hit that ice, you leave it all behind.”

“If you truly believed we could leave it all behind, you wouldn’t have told us to train separately,” I grumble.

Max sighs heavily. “I didn’t like it either, but the coach insisted it would cause less friction.”

I frown at the man yelling plays at the wingers. “Coach Danvers, right? Where’d he come from?”

“Oh, you know.” Max scratches the top of his head. “A city.”

“What city?”

Max looks into the exposed beams in the ceiling.

“He’s from Sethberg’s city, isn’t he?”

Max coughs. “I’m sure he’ll be fair.”

Neither of us actually believes that.

“I’m working on finding a new coach but, for right now, Danvers fits the budget and the timeline.”

“He’s spineless. And old school. I memorized his plays in three nights. The guy won’t take risks on the ice, has poor substitutions and?—”

Max tightens his lips. “We can’t go into a season without a coach. Not if we want any chance of reaching the play-offs. More than just your future is on the line here, Chance.”

I grit my teeth. In all honesty, Max didn’t just scoop me out of the dung I dropped in because he wanted to be a good friend. He’s hoping I can earn my keep.

“I get it, Max. I do. But for my reputation not to get any worse and for you to turn this team into a worthwhile investment, we need to actually win some games.”

He shakes off the worried look and pastes on a giant smile. “It’ll all work out. Besides,” he hits my back. “I have The Clairvoyant on my side. He’s worth ten Coach Danvers. Now, go change. You need to hurry if we’re going to start that press conference on time.”

I stalk away from Max, my head whirring.

He’s a loyal guy. It’s been that way since college, but if Max is letting his players and a biased coach call the plays for the Lucky Strikers…

We’re going to need more than just my skills on the ice.

We’re going to need a miracle.

CHAPTER

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