Page 54 of Unleashed

“We’re done here, Sutton.” I yanked the door open. “Stay the hell away from me.”

Chapter Seventeen

Viggy

Hockey Rule #48: Play the body, not the puck

Media Rule #48: Chase the story, not the truth

Foura.m.andtheceiling fan blades circled overhead, same as they had for the last six hours.

Lily’s citrus shampoo still clung to the sheets, a trick of my imagination because I’d stripped and remade the bed twice. As if fresh linen could erase her. As if it could undo the way she’d gutted me.

After walking away from her yesterday, I’d driven around Austin for hours. No destination. No plan. Just chasing the impossible. Searching for a place where I wasn’t Jack Vignier, captain of the Aces. Where the city wasn’t riddled with memories—sharing beers on the patio, walking her home in the rain, stealing time that had never belonged to us.

Traded a sleepless night for a plan, at least.

By eight a.m., I sat in the team physician’s office at the Aces Performance Center, vinyl chair creaking under my weight. The only silver lining? No damnUnleashedcameras tracking my every breath in here. Small mercy, but I’d take it.

The smell of antiseptic thickened the air, sterile and as unnerving as it ever was. My good leg bounced, restless energy thrumming through me. Seventeen years of sitting in this exact spot. Seventeen years of praying my body held up just long enough.

Checking my watch, I figured I had a few minutes before the doc arrived. Enough time to cross one more thing off my list of to-dos for today. The episode aired tonight. Dad needed to hear it from me first.

He answered on the second ring. “Viggy! Was just thinking about you.”

“Hey, Dad.” Gravel rasped my throat. I cleared it, tried again. Damn Sutton for putting me in this spot. “Got a minute?”

“For you? Always.” The eagerness in his voice added another layer to the mess of emotions coiling up in my gut. Guilt. I should have called him more often this season. Not let the pressure come between us. “Though gotta say, son, surprised to hear from you this close to playoffs. Thought you’d be in game mode already.”

Game mode. Right. If he only knew. I scrubbed my hand over my face. “About that. There’s something you need to know.”

Silence. Dad was good at that. Even when I fucked up royally, he never lost his cool. Just fixed me with that steady look of his and waited for me to sort my shit out.

“The team’s been filming a show all season.”

“The behind-the-scenes one? Your mother loves it. We sit down every Thursday and watch it together. Your mother says she finally gets to see what you’re like at work.”

My stomach clenched. Of course they watched it. “Yeah, well, they’re airing a special episode tonight. About me.”

“A whole episode?” His voice lifted, like it was something to be proud of. “That’s fantastic, son! About time they recognized—”

He never understood why I didn’t want fanfare for my last season. And I never had the words to explain why celebrating the end of my career made my skin crawl. “There’s going to be stuff about my injuries. About my knee.”

Silence stretched between us. I pictured him at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee frozen halfway to his mouth. “Your left one?”

Because it wasalwaysmy left knee. Since Juniors. Since my first ligament tear. “Yeah.”

A long breath rushed through the line. “How bad?”

And that was the kicker, wasn’t it? How bad? “Bad enough.” I shifted on the vinyl chair, my knee tight and uncomfortable. “Waiting on the doc now, but—” Words dried up in my throat. “It’s not good.”

Another stretch of silence, then the sound of his cup landing on the table. “Not good, as in you’ve been playing injured? I mean, you guys are always injured, I know, I know. You’ve said it a million times. But this time it’s different?”

No heat in his voice. Just a sort of quiet concern that twisted the knife. “Yeah.”

“Of course it is.” Years of watching me push through injuries sighed through his words. “You’ve always been a stubborn SOB. You get that from your mother.”

A dry laugh scraped my throat. But before I could answer, a knock sounded at the door. “Doc’s here, Dad. Just… the episode airs tonight. Wanted to give you a little heads-up.”

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