Major Misconduct (Aces Hockey #1) by Kelly Jamieson Read Free Book Online

that, or protest that he wasn’t looking at her, which would be a total lie, or tell Army he had no intention of getting anywhere near Lovey. Which he didn’t. So why did he have to even say it? “Fuck,” he muttered. “I’m not gonna touch your sister.”
    Army gave him a narrow-eyed look. “Damn right you’re not.”
    “Maybe you should tell her to put some clothes on.”
    Army gave a heavy sigh. “I knew this was a bad idea, letting her stay here.”
    Marc slid off the stool. “Gonna get my stuff, then let’s go.”
    Army wanted to take his new vehicle so he drove to the Moens Center. They talked about the team they were playing that night, who was going to be back in the lineup, and who was out, carefully avoiding any mention of Lovey.
    At the arena, Marc changed into shorts and a T-shirt. Some guys were of the opinion that game day skates weren’t really necessary. Probably, the practice had started years ago to stop guys from staying out all night carousing before a game, giving them a reason to drag their asses out of bed, get their bodies moving and blood flowing before a game. Marc approved of that. Yeah, he knew his reputation as a killjoy—like last night when he’d kicked everyone out—but this was his career and he wanted to win. It was important to be ready for every single game. It was early in the season, but you didn’t know which game was going to be the one that made the difference between making the playoffs or not, or having home ice advantage, so every game was important. The way things had been going lately, they desperately needed a win.
    He thought the game day skate was good for getting everyone together, having a look at stats, going over plans for the game, checking out injuries and how everyone was feeling. They needed to get their stuff together, make sure new sticks were right and skates didn’t need a blade replaced or something.
    This morning, he headed first to the stick room. He had a few new sticks he wanted to make sure were just right. Then he climbed on a bike and pedaled to Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive,” the music pumping through the dressing room. His teammates arrived, some of them working out like him, others getting checked by the trainers, some with nagging small injuries, strains, and pulled muscles from the game the other night, or longer-term things they were still working on. Then they all changed and hit the ice for the skate.
    He was always the first one on the ice and the last one off. He set an example for the rest of the team. He worked hard and expected the rest of his teammates to work hard too. Right now on this losing streak, he was working extra hard, trying to motivate everyone.
    This wasn’t an intense practice like other days, just a good way to get the blood flowing and work on a few things. Today, Coach had them working on their power play, then Assistant Coach Al Bosco worked with him on face-offs, dropping pucks in front of him in rapid succession, over and over again.
    The stands were mostly empty. A group of media people had congregated in a bunch of seats near center ice. Some of the Aces staff were wandering in and out, working on various things in preparation for game night. The scratch of skate blades and the crack of the puck on sticks echoed among the calls between players and coaching staff on the ice. The team skated around now, taking shots at both goalies, one at either end. Marc lined up a shot and drilled the puck at Stoykers in the net, and grinned when it sailed past his glove hand top shelf. Beauty.
    Brent shook his head, but the truth was, he liked it when Marc challenged him. With Marc having one of the best shots in the NHL, Brent liked getting tested like that. It made him better.
    Marc skated until everyone else had left the ice, then followed them to the dressing room and stripped off his jersey and helmet, replacing it with an Aces ball cap. Still wearing the Aces performance shirt he wore beneath his jersey, he