Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Coach Moss yells at him as he skates by. Maddock gives him the finger.
The whole Hyena bench jumps to their feet, all yelling at him. All except for Tucker. He sits there calmly.
My heart is pounding angrily as I watch this prick bullying my new friends.
“He’s disrespecting the whole team!” the loudmouth behind me shouts. “This is bullshit!”
The puck goes over the glass and the ref blows his whistle. I get a shiver of excitement when the Hyenas change lines and Tucker comes onto the ice.
“Come on, baby!” I shout, clapping my hands.
My excitement turns to nerves when I see Maddock remain on the ice. He’s been trying to goad my man into a fight all night.
“Let’s go, Hyenas!” Alina shouts as she pounds on the glass. “Arrooooo!!!”
The boys line up as the ref holds the puck over the circle in the ice. Tucker’s brown eyes dart to me for a second before he gets back into the game. The puck drops and everyone explodes into action.
We’re sitting behind the Centaur’s goalie, so we can see everything. It’s right in front of us.
Harris passes the puck to Austin who then passes it to someone I don’t know. It bounces off his stick and hits the boards right in front of us.
Oh no.
Both Tucker and Maddock go for it.
Tucker gets there first, trying to scoop the puck out, but Maddock is just going for him. He’s going for blood. Ignoring the puck, he slams into Tucker like an out of control truck. The boards shake violently as my man is crushed into them.
“No…” I gasp when I see Tucker’s face being smushed hard into the glass. Maddock is forcing his face into the glass with his forearm. Meanwhile, the puck is on the other side of the rink and all the other players are skating after it. Tucker and Maddock are the only two left here.
“Leave him alone!” I shout as Maddock punches my man in the ribs twice.
Tucker doesn’t fight back.
He’s doing it for me. I know he is.
Love and gratitude swell up inside me to see it. This man is incredible. He’s putting me and my wishes above everything else.
I’ll be forever thankful.
But enough is enough.
It’s always better to be nice. I firmly believe that.
But I’m realizing that sometimes being nice means doing what you can to protect yourself and your friends. It means standing up for yourself. It means kicking that big bully’s ass.
Maddock laughs as he hits Tucker one more time and skates away.
Tucker’s eyes flash to me as he gets up, about to get back in the game.
“Wait!” I shout.
He hesitates.
“Kick his ass!”
He looks at me with a tilt of his head. “You sure?” he mouths.
I nod with a fire burning in my belly. “Beat him to a pulp!”
His sexy lips curl up into a grin. He blows me a kiss and then skates away with a burst of energy.
“Oh shit, this is going to be good!” Alina says, squeezing my hand.
I’m not feeling any dread. Just excitement.
This is hockey. I’m starting to understand it now. And I’m starting to love it.
Maddock is wrestling with Harris over the puck beside the boards as Tucker goes charging over with his head low. He drops his stick in the middle of the rink and tosses his gloves as he goes right for the nasty beast.
The crowd erupts and gets to their feet.
Maddock senses something and turns around. He grins and releases Harris when he sees Tucker approaching.
His gloves come off. The crowd gets louder.
“Get him, McKinstry!” I scream as everyone around me shouts and cheers. The crowd is electric. I’ve never been a part of anything like this before. It’s amazing.
The two giants face off with their fists clenched. The tiny refs don’t even try to get in the way of these gladiators.
Maddock is grinning and being all cocky, treating this like it’s a game. Tucker is not smiling. This is not a game to him. He has a job to do and my man is methodical and determined to get it done.
Maddock throws the first punch. He misses. Tucker connects with a hard right, staggering the bully.
After that, it’s just a flurry of punches. They grab each other’s jerseys in their left hands and start punching with their rights. Their helmets fly off when their heads snap back from the impact. I wince as I watch them land bomb after bomb on each other. Tucker eats every punch and gives harder than he gets.
“Yes!” Alina shouts as Maddock’s legs finally wobble. “Finish him off, McKinstry!”
Maddock’s punches are coming out slow and tired. He’s bleeding from multiple places. He looks like he just wants it to be over as he looks wearily at Tucker who’s still going strong.
He messed with the wrong man. He messed with my man and this is what he gets.