2. Hayden

"What the hellhappened out there last night?" Coach Sullivan demands as soon as we"re all seated around the conference table in the Phantom's offices.

My agent called me before it was light out this morning and told me to get my ass to team headquarters for this meeting.

I shrug. "I did what I had to do."

"You were ejected," Coach says, his face reddening. "And Kovalenko"s out indefinitely with a neck injury."

"He knew the risks of playing this game," I argue, shifting back into my seat like I don't give a shit as I get reamed. "We all do."

"This isn"t the first time we"ve had this issue with you, Hayden." Larry Donnelly, the Phantoms" GM, sounds tired as fuck when he says this.

I look over at my agent, Mitch, for a little help, but he"s purposefully trying not to make eye contact.

"Look," I say, leaning forward and resting my elbows on the table, hating that I even have to be here right now. Their irritation feels like a splinter under my skin and I don't fucking like it. "It was just one game—"

"It"s not just about this game," Coach says. "It"s about your reputation. You"ve got a history of playing dirty and it"s affecting the team."

I laugh. "Yeah, like getting us more wins."

"Did we win last night?" Coach barks.

"What do you want from me?" I"m starting to feel like I"m being accused of something. To be fair, I might deserve it, but still. I don"t have to take whatever they throw at me like a little bitch. I"m the only one on this goddamn team willing to do whatever it takes to win. Why don't they get that?

Larry sighs. "The NHL has approached us about your behavior on the ice."

My stomach drops and I sit back in my chair. "What?"

"They"re considering banning you from future games," Larry continues. "In light of that, we"re going to make some changes around here."

"You can"t be fucking serious."

Mitch finally speaks up. "Hayden, you need to take a step back and think about what"s important here."

"What"s important is winning," I say, looking around the table at everyone else. "That"s all that matters."

"Not if it means losing fans and sponsors," Larry says. "We need to clean up our image, not just for the NHL, but for the city of Philadelphia as well."

My fists clench. "This is bullshit."

"It"s not bullshit," Coach snaps. "You need to get your shit together or you"re done in this league."

"Either way, it"s too late for you here. Your time in Philly is over," Larry adds. "We"re trading you."

My jaw clenches. "Mitch," I bark out. "I need a minute in the hall." When he looks like he"s going to argue, I shoot him a death glare. "Now."

Once we"re outside the room and out of earshot of the others, I turn on him. "What the fuck was that? Did you know about this?"

Mitch sighs and runs a hand through his salt and pepper hair. "Hayden, listen—"

"Seriously? You"re supposed to be my agent. You"re supposed to have my fucking back, not let me walk into a goddamn buzz saw."

"I do have your back," he says, looking annoyed. "But you"re making it really damn hard."

"What the hell does that mean?"

He sighs again. "You"re not an easy guy to represent, okay? You"ve got a reputation, and no one wants to touch you."

"So what?" I ask. "I"m a fucking god on that ice. If anything, last night proved it. Without me, the team blew the lead and lost. That's what matters. If they want to win, they'll want me on their team."

"Maybe in the short term," Mitch says. "But eventually, that kind of shit catches up with you, kid. Wherever you're going, it'll be a shit team and you're gonna have to prove yourself."

I scowl, feeling a hurricane of rage and frustration brewing inside of me. "Whatever. I"m the best damn defenseman in this league. If I have to prove it every goddamn day, I will."

I glare at him as I pace back and forth in this stupid fucking hall decked out in Phantoms green and black, feeling like I"m being told off by my dad.

The last thing I need to think about right now is that asshole.

"Fuck this. They don't want me? Fine. Let's make a trade then."

I stalk away from him and back into the conference room, where Larry and Coach are waiting for me. They glance up as I approach, and Larry gives me a sympathetic look.

"Hayden—"

"Don"t," I say, holding up a hand. I don"t know what makes me say it, but I hear myself demanding, "I want to go to Seattle. I"ll sign whatever you want me to sign. Just make it happen."

They're a shit team this season and there's no way they'll turn down a chance to have me. Despite my reputation, I win games and I think they're desperate enough to turn a blind eye to my baggage.

Larry nods and hands me a piece of paper that"s already been filled out with my name on it. "Here"s the proposed trade agreement. I"ll have to see if Seattle"s interested."

I take the paper and scan it quickly before signing it. "Done." I can feel Mitch cringe from somewhere behind me because I didn't let him read it over, but I'm past caring at this point.

"You"re sure about this?" Coach asks, looking at me like he"s worried about my mental state or some shit. Or maybe he thinks I"m about to kick his ass. If I'm being honest, the thought crossed my mind.

"Positive." I"m fucking seething, but there"s nothing I can do. If they don"t want me here, I"m not going to beg them to let me stay. But why Seattle? Why the fuck would that pop out of my mouth?

You know why.

The girl from last night. The one whose pictures I haven"t been able to stop staring at… or jacking off to.

I don"t even know her name, but I"m going to find out. Then I"m going to hunt her down and make her choke on her words.

Or my dick.

It's still a toss up at this point.

I don"t mean the next words out of my mouth, but they come out anyway. Always the politician's son. "Maybe a fresh start will do me some good."

That"s the last thing I need, but I'll play my part. Never burn bridges, Hayden. My father's voice is an unwelcome addition to the clusterfuck in my head right now.

Larry nods again and takes the signed paper from me. "I"ll make the call."

And just like that, I"m done in Philadelphia. Done with the team that made me who I am today. Done in the blink of an eye after three years of putting everything on the line for them. It stings more than I thought it would.

As I head out of the offices and into the cooler November weather outside, I wonder how the hell everything went so wrong so fast. But it"s too late now. I"ve already signed the damn paper and there"s no turning back.

It doesn"t take long for Seattle to agree to the trade. Within a few days, Mitch books me a flight and I"m on my way across the country to start my new life as a member of the Seattle Anchors.

Just fucking great. I glare down at the number 29 inked into my forearm, feeling the weight of those two digits like I'm carrying the world on my back. I'm surprised my dad hasn't called me to bitch me out already about this move.

But I don"t give a shit about any of it. All I care about right now is my latest obsession—finding the girl from my DMs. The one whose face won"t stop popping up in my mind every time I try to sleep or eat or fucking function in any sort of normal way.

I know it"s insane. It"s not like me to be transfixed like this, at least not with a person. Hockey? Sure. But a girl? I've never allowed it before. Fuck and bail, that's my M.O.

There"s something about her I can"t get out of my head. I need to know every single thing about her. To make her see that I'm more than some asshole she hates. Make her mine in a way she can't run from.

Force her to see me.

The second I step foot in Seattle, the hunt to find my girl begins, and on the flight, two drinks in, I"ve already started the search by going through every single post she"s ever made on Instagram, trying to find anything that will help me hunt her down. I slide my tongue ring between my teeth and play with it while I focus on the screen. She mentions nothing about her job or where she lives, besides the obvious Seattle landmarks. She"s a total mystery.

That only makes it more fun.

I spend hours stalking her profile, the entire flight, looking for any clues that might lead me in the right direction. And when I finally land in Seattle, I"m amped up like I"m high, ready to find this girl even if I have to break the rules to do it.

It"s almost like I"ve been training for this my whole life.