Page 269 of Wrong Pucking Jersey

Daring to look up at him makes me see a version of myself that looks like a killer in the shadows, ready to strike his prey. It makes me feel weak on so many levels, but it also makes me wonder what the fuck he went through in Moscow to be this… dangerous?

I can’t even figure out the word to describe it.

Dad always used to say I took his personality, and Jamie took the kindheartedness of our mother. However, this isn’t the Jamie who acts so perfectly in front of our Father.

This Jamie is a man who will do everything in his power to get what he believes he deserves.

Something I don’t have the guts or brains to execute as seamlessly as he could.

“I’ll say it once, Jayce,” he growls under his breath as he looks down at me with merciless eyes. “You don’t touch what’s mine. Have all the puck bunnies you want in Strattonville. Heck, have all the ones from Canada and the United States.” He smiles as he shrugs his shoulders, but that lethal expression is back with a vengeance as his eyes of bluish-green darken with determination.

“Touch my puck bunny from Moscow in any way, and I’ll become your worst nightmare.”

He moves to leave again, but I can’t let him have the last word.

“You love her.”

He pauses and slowly approaches me. I curse under my breath and shuffle until my back hits the cement wall once more. I don’t think he’ll choke me again, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t enjoy punching the shit out of me to shut me up.

I would do it to myself if it made me stop talking.

He crouches down instead, looking me dead in the eyes.

“And what if I do, Jayce? Will you interfere? Will you try to destroy any chance of me being happy? Or are you going to mind your businesses like I did when you were dating Nurse Johnson?” He inquires and watches me hold my breath. “Or should I call her Mickey?”

My nostrils flare at the idea of him saying the nickname that was supposed to be said by me alone.

“Let this be a reminder of the playing field you walk on, Jayce,” he whispers to me. “It’s okay to be a blind-sighted boy with insecurities, daddy issues, abandonment mommy issues, and the inability to accept when to quit and lose. You can be all of that and more, as long as I get what I want in the end,” he reminds me.

He pats my shoulder and squeezes it tightly.

“The clock is ticking, and unless you show some good workmanship in the next three games, you may not get to remain captain,” he dares to say. “Soon enough, the semifinals will be here, and you’ll have to face those Vipers head-on. If you lose, your dreams go bye-bye, so you have no choice but to win.”

“After that, you pull out and make me captain so I can win the finals,” he whispers in my ear, the dip in his voice sending chills through me.

I force myself not to argue as he leans back and grins proudly at my silence.

“Don’t worry. Once I beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, I complete my side of the bargain that will give me a permanent residency in Canada.”

The news makes my eyes widen.

Standing, he smiles enough to show his perfect white teeth.

“Then I can live the wonderful life you did, only with my own money and not relying on Daddy’s millions.”

My phone rings at that moment, making Jamie laugh.

“Speak of the Devil. Best you pick that up if you want your weekly allowance.” He winks and turns away. “I’ll keep my end of the bargain. You keep yours. Make sure you win that semifinal, Jayce, or else…” He glances over his shoulder, and the pride and mockery in his expression encourage my hands to become fists. “I’ll leak that sex tape of you and Oscar.”

My heart stops, the shock making a wave of frost run through my limbs from head to toe.

“It shouldn’t…”

“Exist?” he finishes for me. “You’re right. It shouldn’t, but it looks like the boy whose dreams were shattered and is now about to rot in jail has a golden ticket on a floppy disk. Didn’t know those still existed.”

The way he laughs now makes me want to vomit.

“But I love my dear brother, so I’ll do my part, you do yours, and we’ll be a happy family again.”

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