Leaning on the boards, she calls over to me, “I got this, Sinclair. I’m good.”

“They are gunning for you,” I snap back, looking over at her. She looks tired and her lipstick is smeared.

And it isn’t my fault.

“They are. It’s bullshit and no one is calling shit,” Jace says, sucking in deep breaths.

“I’m fine, guys, I swear,” she promises. “Everyone always guns for me, but I can take care of myself.”

“But you don’t have to,” I roar back, and her eyes go wide as mine bore into hers. “We are a team.”

“But it’s costing us. If I need you, I’ll holler for you,” she says, and I shake my head.

“No, that’s bullshit,” I bellow, venom in my voice. “I don’t know who you’ve played with before, but on this team, we look out for our own.”

“Fucking right,” Jace adds, and most of the guys all nod.

Nodding, she swallows hard before looking back at the ice. My blood is boiling, we are down by a goal, and I swear, one more person touches her, I’m going for blood. I’ve played rough games, even dealt with my fair share of guys trying to take me out, but this is beyond anything I’ve ever seen. It’s like they want to hurt her, which I can’t even fathom. Yeah, she is fucking amazing and she can skate circles around most of these dicks, but really? Their jealousy is that bad that they want to hurt her?

What the hell?

Obviously though, these guys weren’t raised like me because as Baylor’s line and mine hit the ice, they gun for her again. They pin her against the boards, and I watch as she fights for the puck. I sink my teeth so hard into my mouthguard, I’m sure my teeth are gonna shatter. But I stay back, watching as she fights, and now, she’s being just as ruthless as they are, which makes me proud. When she gets the puck under control, she sends it out just as Jace is rushing the net. But he drops it back to Markus, who somehow puts it to the back of the net, tying the game.

As all of us join up to congratulate each other, she nods. “See! They are so worried about me, if we stay in position, we can catch them off guard. Way to go, Markus.”

That doesn’t seem right to me, though. She’s basically suggesting we use her as bait, and I don’t like that.

She may be as strong as an ox, but I have to protect her.

Lining up again, Baylor wins the puck when it drops, sending it back to me, and I send it to Kuntz as we skate past the blue line. When he sends it back to me, I look up to see her hauling ass to the net, her stick is down, her eyes are on me, and she’s ready. Sending it up quickly, I fully expect her to send it to the back of the next.

But what I didn’t see was the two-hundred-pound defenseman.

And then everything happens so fast.

I’m not sure what he hits her with, his shoulder or elbow, but she goes flying back like she weighs nothing, hitting the ice hard, her helmet sliding against the ice. I spot Jace and Markus waling on the guy, and then all of a sudden, the benches clear out and it’s utter chaos.

But the only thing I can see is that Baylor still hasn’t moved.

Ugh.

My head is throbbing.

What’s that beeping noise?

Shit, am I dead?

I feel like death, that’s for sure.

Blinking awake, I look around to find that I’m in a hospital room. Why am I here? Groaning from the pain in my head, I find my dad sitting by the window, chewing on his nails. A nervous habit of his. The noise I made must have gotten his attention because his eyes fill with relief as he looks over at me.

“Little 50,” he says softly before coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Dad,” I say as he leans over to kiss my head. “Ugh, my head hurts so bad. What the hell happened?”

“Wilkie took you out, Bay,” he says softly, pushing my hair out of my face. “They think it’s a concussion.”

Oh yeah, that’s right. Dude is a bull, and I loved having on my team. But playing him, yeah, that sucks. Okay, a concussion, that’s curable and I’ll heal, but that isn’t the issue anymore. “How long am I out?”

“They said it depends on you. They’ll probably come in to examine you soon. They wanted to wait till you were awake. I’m saying a week though, no matter what they say.”

Figures, and I know better than to argue with him. “Okay. It just aches right now. I’m not dizzy or anything.”

“That’s good.”

Next important thing. “Did we win?”

“Nope, couldn’t finish the game, so they called it a tie. But the whole team did get suspended, well, except you. But let’s be honest, you can’t win it on your own, so we have to forfeit the next game.”

“What?” I ask incredulously. “How?”

“They all jumped off the bench after Wilkie, but then Arkansas came off the bench too, so that’s why it’s only one game.”

“Seriously?” I ask, completely shocked. “Why in the hell?”

“For you, is the answer I got.”

“Huh?”

“I know, it’s crazy. This team, they are different,” he says softly. “They really are a family.”

That sends chills down my body, and I honestly can’t believe it. I’ve never had a group of guys want to protect me like this, and I’ve been on a lot of hockey teams. “Wow,” is the only thing I can think to say.

“Yeah, I’m over here screaming at them, and the little Sinclair stands up and says, ‘She’s our sister, what do you expect?’” Dad then shakes his head. “I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even punish them. I let it go.”

Smiling, I decide that I want to keep Jace around. He’s good people.

“They are all outside. Waiting to make sure you’re okay.”

“All of them?”

“Yup,” he says, a grin pulling at his lips. “I’ll let them come in after the doctor comes in.”

And on cue, the doctor walks in and then I’m being examined. I want to say that I was paying attention, but I can’t stop thinking about the fact that my whole team is waiting to make sure I am okay. It’s just so mind-blowing to me that they care enough to not only get suspended but also to wait to make sure I am okay. I know that they’d do it for any of their other teammates, but I was so damn sure they all hated me.