16. Taine

Taine walked through the park with a feeling of purpose.

Life was just different now.

Having only agreed to be a part of Danilo's Ice Bears academy due to owing Danilo a favor, Taine was now actually starting to feel at home there. Of course, a huge part of this was down to his special bond with Donovan. Not only was Donovan a natural born fighter with the physique to match, but he was a sweet, caring boy who longed for a Daddy to look after him – and Taine was more than happy to be that man.

Taine still enjoyed having a drink and letting loose. But there wasn't the same instinct in him to get totally fucked up and go wild. The days of waking up at sunrise on a street corner after an all-night bar crawl and likely run in with the cops were becoming a distant memory for Taine, and he was very much happy with that.

Not only was Taine loving his personal and professional life in equal measure, but he had slowly felt his body undoing some of the damage that his wild ways had brought upon him. Taine knew he could never be twenty-six again, or even thirty-six, but his thirty-nine year old body was beginning to feel more and more healthy with each passing day.

With the sun in the sky above him, Taine stopped for a moment to look around him. He might have been on the way for a meeting with Jack Steel, but Taine wanted to breathe in the air and listen to the sounds of nature.

‘Damned cars,' Taine grumbled, his potential park paradise ruined somewhat by the sound of car horns honking and exhaust pipes banging around the park's perimeter.

Undeterred, Taine continued on his way.

It was time to sit down with a nice coffee and find out precisely what this meeting was all about…

Power Roast Coffee was as busy and bustling as ever. Fortunately for Taine, Jack had arrived early and secured them a great spot on the first floor, overlooking the park on one side and with the newly refurbished mall behind it.

‘Thank you for coming,' Jack said, standing up from his seat and offering his hand to Taine. ‘I know it was short notice.'

‘My pleasure,' Taine replied, shaking Jack's hand as the pair of them exchanged welcoming smiles.

Both Taine and Jack were the definition of alpha males, and both were Daddies too. In theory, they had the potential to either be great friends or sworn rivals. Perhaps it was the Doni family connection, but as far as Taine could tell, Jack seemed far keener on being allies and friends rather than letting ego get in the way.

‘My boy is over in the mall, no doubt running wild in a toy store,' Taine said, taking a seat and nodding his thanks as the barista arrived with two piping hot coffees.

‘Your boy?' Jack said. ‘So the rumors are true. That's good. We value relationships at the Ice Bears. It's something I've been working on improving since I moved into my new role.'

Taine nodded.

It was interesting to meet Jack properly and discover the man behind the legendary hockey career. Jack had only recently retired and was now on the pathway to becoming a very important figure in the behind the scenes hierarchy of the club. There were even rumors that one day he could become the first non-Doni family member to take on day to day control of affairs.

All this added to Taine's curiosity as to why Jack had called him out for a coffee.

‘Okay, so… tell me what this is all about,' Taine said, sipping on his coffee. ‘I assume you know about what went down at the fight night.'

‘Danilo kept me informed,' Jack said, nodding. ‘The reason for the meeting is twofold. Firstly, I just wanted to say that everyone at the organization is impressed with how you're doing in the academy. You've come in and made a great impression. With the academy being so new, that's no mean feat.'

‘Thanks, Jack, that means a lot,' Taine replied, cautiously optimistic about where this could be going.

‘We'd love for you to stay working with us on a longer term basis,' Jack continued. ‘But I've got a proposition for you. And it's not exactly related to the academy.'

Suddenly, Taine's interest had been piqued.

It was great to hear that the Ice Bears wanted him to stick around at the academy, but Taine could probably have predicted that. However judging from the look on Jack's face, Taine strongly suspected that the second part of this conversation was going to be significantly more of a surprise.

‘I'm listening,' Taine said, not wanting to give too much away.

‘I know what it's like to be an older athlete,' Jack replied. ‘The last few years of my career were tough on my body. I was injured a lot. I paid the price for living wilder in my younger years too. But here's the thing… I played some of my best hockey in my veteran years. And that's not just a hunch or an old pro looking back with rose tinted glasses. I'm talking pure numbers. Goals, assists, even my defensive stats were better.'

‘And this relates to me, how?' Taine said, unsure where Jack was headed.

‘The Doni family are stepping into the fight game,' Jack continued, a smile on his face as he realized that suddenly all bets were off as far as Taine was concerned. ‘And I'm heading up the division. I'll be signing fighters, managing them, and leading on promotion. And I want you to be my number one star.'

Taine couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

He'd been retired for so long. The fight game had treated him so badly. There was so much pain and hurt in his past. But on the other hand, something had very quickly reignited inside Taine. All it had taken was for Jack to raise it as a possibility and Taine's mind was whirring and the adrenalin was coursing over his veins.

‘But… how would this work?' Taine said. ‘I've been out for a long time. I'm not exactly Mr. Popular with certain other promoters, or the drug testing organization either. Not that any of that drug test shit was real.'

‘Don't worry about that,' Jack smiled. ‘You'd be fighting under the Doni banner. That means a lot. Trust me, I've been around the Ice Bears long enough to know how far and wide – and not to mention persuasive – their reach can be. All you'd need to do is focus on training, fine-tuning those skills, and using that experience to give yourself the best shot at a comeback. Trust me, I wouldn't be saying any of this if I didn't see the champion inside of you.'

Taine was blown away by Jack's words.

Jack Steel was no pushover. Jack was tough, smart, and had ruthlessly pursued success his entire career on the ice. And now it looked like he was taking things a similar way in the next phase of his life.

But as much as Taine wanted to tell Jack that he was all in, he knew that he needed to check in with someone else. Fighting came with risks – and very serious risks at that, especially as a veteran. If Taine was even going to consider returning to the octagon, he wanted to make sure that Donovan was comfortable with his choice.

‘Jack, I think I'm going to need to…' Taine said, his voice trailing off as he heard the sound of gunshot in the near distance. ‘What the fuck?'

A further gunshot rang through the air.

‘Let's move,' Jack said, standing up from his chair as he looked at his phone. ‘Message from a street spy. Something's going down in the mall. And it looks like it could be Ice Bears related.'

Taine's face went pale.

Donovan was in the mall with Tommy and Oliver.

‘Let's fucking go,' Taine growled. ‘If I'm making a comeback, I might as well start kicking some ass right now…'

‘Jack, look,' Taine said, the pair of them creeping up toward the candy store. ‘What the hell is going on?'

Taine looked at Jack and saw him glancing at his phone once more.

‘It's definitely a Volcheck man,' Jack said. ‘And… the three academy boys are in there too.'

Taine felt a surge of rage come over him. His darling boy was in danger and he knew that he needed to protect him, no matter the cost to his own life.

‘I'm going in, and don't try to stop me,' Taine said, shooting Jack a look that made his feelings incredibly clear.

‘Stop you?' Jack said, shaking his head. ‘You'll have to stop me. There's no way a Volcheck hitman is running wild in our city. We're taking him down, and we're doing it together.'

Taine nodded.

They could have waited for the police to arrive, but neither one of them was prepared to take that kind of risk. That wasn't how the Ice Bears operated. And in that moment, Taine felt like a true Ice Bear himself. This was about family, friends, and loved ones.

Without wasting a single second, the pair of them crept into the store.

‘Jack, look, there's Tommy and Oliver,' Taine said, motioning toward a security mirror up in the corner of the ceiling. ‘They're hiding. But where's Donovan?'

‘And where the hell is the gunman?' Jack added, an eerie silence coming over the store.

But Taine and Jack didn't need to wonder a single second longer.

From behind the sour apple display, the gunman burst forward and let rip with a volley of shots aimed over toward the fire exit door. There was a shout of pain that followed – and Taine knew whose voice it was all too well.

‘Boy! No!' Taine roared, jumping up from behind cover and storming toward the gunman with reckless abandon.

‘Taine!' Jack hollered, his voice full of fear.

But Jack needn't have been worried. Taine moved like a tiger hunting down its pray and managed to juke and jump down at the gunman's feet, swiftly dropping him to the floor and kicking his gun away.

‘Give me one good reason not to break your motherfucking neck,' Taine growled, his vice-like grip on the gunman's neck turning his face blue.

‘I've got a better idea,' Jack said. ‘I think we need to keep him alive and let the Doni's interrogation team find out exactly what he was doing, and why.'

‘Jack's right, Daddy,' Donovan said, gingerly getting up onto his feet and rubbing his sore elbow. ‘I'm sorry I worried you. When I dived across the floor I landed awkwardly on my arm. I guess I need a little bit more fall training in the academy.'

‘Boys will be boys, Taine,' Jack said, a knowing look on his face. ‘Now get that sonofabitch onto his feet and let's move.'

Taine reluctantly hauled the gunman onto his feet and him and Jack took him toward the fire exit, ready to make a dash before the police arrived.

‘Daddy!' Donovan called out, a look of determination on his face that couldn't quite hide his fear. ‘Don't leave me. I love you. I want us to be together forever.'

‘Trust me, that's my plan,' Taine replied. ‘I love you too. More than the whole world. And I'll come and find you as soon as I can.'

With that, Taine and Jack swiftly made their exit and got themselves, plus the gunman, outside to the Doni car that was waiting outside.

Taine knew that the gunman would be interrogated and then killed. That was the way the business worked. But Taine knew that everyone involved knew the rules of the game.

The mafia lifestyle was even more ruthless than the fight game.

And speaking of which, Taine still knew that he had to tell Donovan about Jack's proposal. However after the drama of the day, Taine decided that it might be best to wait a little while longer before breaking the news.

Right now, Taine had one thing and one thing only on his mind.

Taine wanted to be the best possible Daddy to his darling Donovan, and this was one title that he was going to fight to keep for every single day for the rest of his life.