Page 45 of Meet Me in the Penalty Box

“I know, man,” he said with a frown. “We’ll be out of here soon enough. No one said anything about going out, so I’ll cover for you when we get back to the hotel if needed.”

“Thanks, bro. I appreciate you.”

Wes shrugged. “It’s what I’m here for.”

My phone vibrated in my hand and I quickly turned my attention away from Wes as I unlocked the screen. Harper responded and my heart skipped a beat in my chest.

Harper

I’m okay.

I sighed a breath of relief, yet I wasn’t fully convinced. I needed to see for myself that she was actually okay. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe her, the whole situation was jarring and I had a feeling Harper was going to be shook-up from it. Anyone in their right mind would have been, especially with getting a camera slammed into their face.

There was only one thing that mattered to me at that moment.

I needed to see her.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

HARPER

Sitting with my legs crisscrossed on the bed, I slowly removed the bag of ice away from my face. I could see my reflection in the mirror across from me and I winced at the bruises that were beginning to develop underneath my eyes. The bleeding thankfully stopped by the time I got to the team’s medical staff.

After the doctor assessed my nose, he determined that it wasn’t broken, just that there was a decent amount of inflammation from the trauma. He could almost guarantee there would be significant bruising and swelling that could last a week or more. My nose took the brunt of the blow, but because of the way it hit my nose, I was going to end up sporting two black eyes.

I wasn’t expecting Connor to do something like that. It was clearly intentional, considering the fact that he had been subtly fucking with me during the game. I didn’t miss the way Nico kept targeting him, but Connor either blocked my opportunities for shots or even went as far as sending a puck in my direction.

It was hard to tell for sure if it was accidental or not but I saw the way he looked at me each time he did something. Or he skated away with a smirk. When he jumped against the glass, his hip slammed into my camera that was still positioned through the small cutout.

I didn’t have time to move away, as my face was still against the camera. The force slammed it directly into my face, knocking me backward. I fumbled my camera and wasn’t able to catch it before it fell to the ground. The concrete was no match for the lens and it was now cracked.

The initial blow to my nose had me seeing stars. The blood came instantly and the searing pain spread through my entire face. Now I was alternating between icing it and squinting my eyes to watch TV. The doctor determined I didn’t have a concussion either, so that was a relief. I’d just be walking around with a banged-up face for a little bit.

As I picked up my remote to flip through the channels, there was a soft beep followed by a click that came from my hotel door. My heart picked up its pace in my chest as the door slowly opened. My room was dark, as it was already nearing eleven o’clock and only the glow from the TV was lighting up the room. I made out the silhouette of his body as he pushed the door shut behind him.

His strides were long and rushed and it didn’t take Nico long to close the distance between us. He was still wearing his suit from the game, like he hadn’t even bothered going back to his room to change into something more comfortable. He dropped down on the bed beside me, worry laced in his bright blue irises as he gently cupped the sides of my face.

Nico was so tender as his eyes scanned my face before landing on my eyes. “Harper…” His voice cracked around my name. “How bad does it hurt?”

I gave him a small smile. “Probably not as bad as Connor’s face.”

I saw what Nico did to him after I got hit with my camera. He didn’t waste any time before checking him into the boards. It was an aggressive, dirty hit but there was something about the way he reacted that had me melting into a puddle. He came to my defense and knocked Connor out with one hit.

Violence wasn’t something I condoned, but seeing someone defend you like that had a way of making you see things differently.

“How bad is the pain, love? Have you taken anything?” He paused for a moment, his eyes desperately searching mine. “Please. What can I do for you?”

His concern shook me straight to my core. “It’s not as bad as it looks,” I assured him as I motioned to the ice. “I’ve been icing it, which helps, and I took some ibuprofen.”

Nico swallowed roughly, his eyes filled with regret. “I wanted to break through that fucking glass to get to you. I’m sorry it took me so long. I had to stay for the post-game bullshit or I would have been here immediately.”

I lifted my hands and slowly pulled his away from my face before lacing our fingers together. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

“I wanted to fucking kill him. I can’t believe he pulled something like that.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” I told him, squeezing his hands. “It’s over now. You took care of things and that was enough. Neither of us need you in jail and you can’t afford to jeopardize your career.”

Nico stared at me for a moment as waves of emotion crashed against the shores in his ocean eyes. “I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you, Harper. You’re too important to me.”

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