Page 68 of Ice Bet

“Where is security?” Sutton asked.

She and Taytum took off, and I assumed it was to find security, but I knew that it would be a long shot. After watching the game unfold and seeing the referees do nothing to rectify the beating that Aasher was getting, I knew that strings had been pulled. I had been in the hockey world for almost as long as I had been in the figure skating world—it was how these things worked.

I slipped between a few guys and went down the opposite hall that I knew wound back to the locker rooms.

Anoohfrom the crowd followed me like a shadow, and when I skidded to a halt in front of the locker room door, Theo walked out with this bag slung over his shoulder. “Lookin’ for your dad? He’s in his office.”

Theo’s head whipped in the direction of the rising noise and snapped his attention back to me. “Aasher’s in trouble.”

He took off in one direction, and I took off in the other.

“Dad!” I shouted, ignoring the starstruck, half-naked hockey players.

“Riley? What the hell are you doing in here with my team undressing?”

His eyes flew to his players, one of them in nothing but a towel, and I definitely got a glimpse of a bare ass.

“Aasher is in trouble. There’s an older man, and he’s—”

“Shit!”

My dad was hot on my heels, and we both jogged down the hall like the good ol’ days when we’d race around the bend in our neighborhood.

“What the hell is going—” Theo’s words were cut short.

There was an audible gasp that traveled through the growing crowd like a wave, and I clutched my stomach when I saw Aasher’s head snap to the right from the hit.

To everyone's surprise, Aasher righted his footing and rubbed the blood away from his lip without raising a fist. Aasher either thought he deserved the punch, or he knew that the man was baiting him. I watched everything unfold in complete and utter horror. My father stepped forward, and I went with him, knowing he had a temper when it came to his players.

He was tough on them.

But he had a soft spot for them too. No one messed with his own and got away with it.

“If you ever touch one of my players again, I will get the board involved, and you'll be banned from ever stepping foot in an arena again.”

“Dad!” A pretty girl rushed through the crowd, completely out of breath. Her gasps cut through the silence like a knife, and everyone turned to look at her. “What are you doing?!” She slipped right in front of Aasher and pushed her dad away. “You can’t just accept it, can you?”

“Savannah, not here.” His jaw twitched, and he glared at Aasher over her high ponytail.

“Not here?” she screeched. “You just punched him in front of everyone and don’t even get me started on that game! I cannot believe you.”

She turned around with owl-like eyes that brimmed with moisture. “I amsosorry, Aash. I…” Her mouth was hidden behind her palm. Her watery gaze swung around the crowd and she shook her head.

“It’s fine.”

I stared at Aasher, and my throat narrowed. I’d never seen someone look so defeated,and it should have surprised me that it bothered me so much, but it didn’t.

“It isnotfine,” Savannah snapped, turning to look at Theo and the rest of the team who were shooing away the bystanders. “I knew this would happen. The second I got a text about Van’s behavior, I rushed over here.”

“They want someone to blame. It’s fine.”

“It isn’t fine.” She spun around and headed to follow after her dad.

I pulled back when Aasher reached out and grabbed her hand. I was baffled at the jealousy I felt.Why is this bothering me?I wanted to turn away, give him the privacy he deserved.

But I couldn’t look away.

“It is. I can be the bad guy.”

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