Page 102 of Call the Shots
“Fridge, do we have a Bear here?”
His eyes slid to the newcomers. He shook his head. “No.”
I went to the door across from him. “Denali, do we have a Bear on this floor?”
The hockey captain folded his arms across his chest. “Nope.”
“This is cute.” Wade scoffed before he disappeared, making the loop toourdoor.
Shit!
“Denali!” I shouted over my shoulder. “Call security!”
Another door opened. “What’s going on?”
“June?” Sully called. “What’s up?”
“Woah, what’s this?” Buttons asked.
“No one touch him!” Denali barked. “He’s North Dakota’s captain!”
Wade’s fist slammed against our door, and I ducked close. “He doesn’t want to see you or Paisley!”
“So you know who we are?—”
“Yes!”
“What, did Bear cry about it?”
“Get out!”
“Did he tell you the full story? How big of a fucking loser he is? I was his only friend and now he’s throwing lawyers at me because his dick’s online. What a joke?—”
“Shut up!”
“Bitch, move thefuckover?—”
“He called June the b-word!” Montoya shouted.
Gladiators poured into the hallway to see what the commotion was. Denali yelled when they tried to interfere. “June!” he thundered. “You’re not getting hurt! Move out of his way!”
That wasit. I was furious that Wade and Paisley thought they could push Bear around. I was furious that after everything they put Bear through, he wasstillthe one paying the price. I saw red and yanked off my right sneaker.
“Fuck you!” I hissed, hitting him in the back of his head.
The volume in the hallway increased tenfold, but I couldn’t focus on the crowd, I focused on keeping my uncoordinated movements as coordinated as possible. Hockey players tried to grab me, and I slipped out of their grasp, pummeling Wade with my shoe becausefuckhim,fuckPaisley, andfuckBear’s old school for doing nothing?—
Wade grabbed me by the arm and twisted me around, crashing me against the wall. I hit the bricks with a yelp when our door opened.
“Don’t youfuckingtouch her,” a voice snarled before Wade’s hold on me disappeared.
At least five hockey players separated me from the fight, hiding me behind them, but I could still see everything. Bear dragged Wade to the ground like a wild animal. His fists were a blur, and every time Wade tried to escape, Bear was on him, slamming him to the floor. Fridge and Denali tried to haul Bear back, but he wouldn’t let Wade go. More and more guys had to join in just to wrestle Bear away from him.
“Bear,stop!” Paisley exclaimed, like the fight wasn’t done.
Surprise flickered across Bear’s face, and he stared, dumbfounded. “Paisley?” His eyes widened when they landed on Wade. “Wade?”
His gaze found me behind his teammates. Bear’s knuckles were bruised, Wade had blood trickling out of his mouth. Bearwould never physically need my help, I knew that, but a surge of protectiveness coursed through me. I pushed through the crowd to get to him.
