6. Taran

Chapter 6

Taran

L eaning against my car, I wait for Keith outside the Arrows arena, glaring at my watch as he is already late. I have to get over to the Warriors arena for this friendly match but was waylaid by this cryptic message from Keith.

I spot him at last, striding over with that air of cocky confidence only he can pull off. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Taran," Keith says, not looking sorry at all.

"Keith. Want to fill me in on this cryptic bullshit?"

Keith smirks. "It's all coming together, Taran."

"What is?"

"My plan. You, dear boy, are about to find yourself on the transfers list."

"Excuse me?" I thunder, my heart leaping into my throat. "Wait. You can't do that. You have nothing to do with the Arrows."

"Oh, but I can. Jeff owes me a favour. A big one."

My shoulders slump. "I don't want to leave the Arrows, and why me? What did I ever do to you?"

He chuckles. "Taran. I've had my eye on you for a while now. I want you over at the Warriors. I was sidelined before I could make it happen, but that doesn't mean it won't."

"Wait? The Warriors? Oh no," I say, shaking my head. "I'm not coming over the green side of town."

"You are. I need you there."

"Why?" I can hear the whinge in my tone, but this is not news I was expecting.

"You are one of the best players in the League. Of course I want you. I always wanted you."

I can't help but feel the strike of pride at his words, but it doesn't change anything. Working with Lachlan, Keir, and the rest of the team, who are my biggest rivals, is just wrong. There again, there is Emma…

"Look," I say firmly. "I don't want to go."

"Too bad. The Warriors need a new Captain, and you are it."

I choke on my saliva. "What? McLeod is Captain."

"Not any longer. He is being moved into another role."

The air of mystery surrounding this is starting to piss me off. "You are going to have to elaborate."

"Not now. It's need to know, and all you need to know right now is that you are coming to the Warriors."

"You're mad if you think I'm just going to roll over and accept that," I snap, crossing my arms.

Keith sighs. "I know it's a shock. But this has been in the works for a while now, Taran. Jeff is processing the paperwork."

"This is nuts."

"It's going to be perfect!" he says with a big beam and punches me lightly on the shoulder. "You'll see."

I stand there, seething, as Keith waltzes off like he's done me some massive favour. Perfect, my arse.

I've got a game to get to, but my head's spinning with all these new developments. It all sounds like a bad joke.

Ignoring the churning in my stomach, I get in the car and drive across town to the Warriors arena. What is this really all about? I have to admit, though, that being close to Emma is enticing. It's about the only silver lining to this shitshow.

Pulling up in the car park, I find a spot in the Visiting Team spaces and cut the engine. I glare up at the arena and wonder how in the hell am I meant to play this friendly now. Am I supposed to be my usual out-for-blood self, or am I meant to be more mellow against the team I'm supposed to be joining? I don't know jack shit, and yet here I sit, with all these thoughts drifting through my mind.

Eventually, I decide that since Jeff, the owner of the team I actually play for, hasn't mentioned squat about this to me, as far as I'm concerned, it's business as usual on the ice.

Spotting some of my teammates arriving for the friendly against our hated rivals, I get out of the car and join them, hoping to distract my racing mind with the camaraderie of the locker room as we head inside. The noise and banter hit me like a welcome wave as I see Rory, our goalie, already here and half-suited up and giving me a wide grin.

"Taran! You ready to kick some Warrior arse today?" Rory hollers, clapping me on the back.

I force a smirk. "Always, mate. Always."

We suit up, the usual ritual helping to draw my focus back to the game at hand. The smell of sweat and leather, the sound of skates being tightened—it's familiar and comforting. I can almost forget Keith's bombshell for a moment.

Almost.

Out on the ice, I focus on warming up, taking sharp turns and hard shots that echo off the boards. The Warriors also start filtering out onto the ice, including Lachlan and Keir. Lachlan catches my eye from across the rink, his jaw set in that determined way of his. He skates over and stops just short of colliding with me.

"Ready for this?" he snaps.

"Always," I grit out.

Lachlan skates past me, bumping his shoulder into me. I don't rise to it. I can't. Not today. But it feels like the smallest thing might flip a switch in me. I can't let that happen.

Focus.

I put all other thoughts out of my head as I get back to warm-ups. The stands are filling up for this early derby game, and the excitement hits me. I see Jeff talking to the coach, and I glare at him. He must sense the daggers as he looks up and throws me a sheepish smile before going back to his conversation.

Great . It's definitely a done deal. But I push it from my mind. Until I hear the words from Jeff's mouth, I'm just going to ignore Keith and crack on. This is my game, my life, and I'm not going to just roll over and be a pawn in whatever game Keith Thornton thinks he can play with me.

But then I see Emma, and everything else just washes away.