Page 161 of Wrong Pucking Player

Wait. What?

He raises his hand to stop me from saying anything as I stare at his back.

“By the time you get home, two new phones will be sitting at your doorstep. They’re highly encrypted. Can’t be hacked. They each have trackers from our organization alone. You’ll be able to track her, and we’ll be able to track you if you need anything. Make sure she always has it on her until this season is sorted. We’ll deal with the rest.”

“And the off-chance she can’t have her phone, and I’m not around?”

The worst-case scenario.

“Just get Cyrus Jr. involved,” Oliver suggests. “I’m sure, despite the drama, he’d tap into those hockey reflexes and protect the woman he loves.”

I pout at that, but my brother laughs.

“You think he’s dealing with vertigo over a concussion on the ice? C’mon now.”

He’s right.

Another common side effect that no one likes to acknowledge.

Surviving a bullet to the head.

“Goodnight, Bro. Get back to your sleeping beauty.”

Back to my daily life as an NHL goalie and not one of the surviving sons of the strongest Russian Mafia Empire this world has dealt with.

YOU AND ME AGAINST THE WORLD

~MACKENZIE~

“Meow.”

Soft purrs.

Lingering cologne.

Deep inhales and exhales.

Peace.

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to feel like life is exactly where you want it to be, even when, deep down, you know it’s far from it. Yet, right now, in this comforting warmth that embraces me so tenderly, with such a sense of protection, I can’t help but fall victim to the illusion of it all.

It’s a delightful feeling.

Welcoming even.

Now, I’m sure I’ll crave this sensation again.

This feeling of peace.

It’s been a long while since I haven’t woken up to some sort of nightmare. I get those a lot ever since I was a child. Nightmares of bad people, blood, torment, and the uncertainty of where my life was supposed to head. Being an orphan for as long as I have only made things worse, leaving me to wonder why I don’t have a place of belonging like the rest of the world.

Why was I abandoned to face this dangerous world alone…

The lick against my cheek tugs me away from it all, leaving me no choice but to open my eyes enough to acknowledge the large eyes that are peering down at me.

“Meow.”

The soft sound follows with a rub against my nose, leaving me no choice but to smile at this loving greeting.

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