Chapter 106

ZANE

Three Weeks Later

The score buzzer screams. 3–2, final.

Another goddamn loss.

I slam my stick into the boards on my way off the ice. The blade snaps clean in half. Splinters fly. I don’t care.

Chicago Blizzards vs. Detroit Forge. At home. A packed arena and we still managed to fumble the lead in the last seven minutes. It’s our third straight loss. We’re sliding hard. No chemistry. No structure. Everyone playing like they’ve never shared a line before.

And yeah—maybe that’s because we’re not the team we’re supposed to be.

Not without Stone.

The name leaves a sour taste. I don’t even want to think it, let alone say it out loud. But his ghost’s in every shift we play. Every missed backcheck. Every puck we don’t clear. He’s the elephant in the damn locker room.

He’s been suspended indefinitely. “Pending further investigation,” the official statement said. The league’s keeping it vague. The team’s been tight-lipped. But t