Chapter 22

“Is this really necessary?” Sid could hear the buzz of the press scrum in the next room. Dealing with them was the last thing he wanted to do right now. Not that there was much he could do besides wait for updates from the FBI, which had been the same all day; nothing to report.

“You were about to rejoin the team,” Coach Dan reminded him quietly but firmly, “now you’re not even practicing. We have to tell them something.” Sid hung his head. Coach was right but that didn’t make the doing of the chore any easier. “Two minutes. I know you’re head isn’t in it but if you can just do this for the rest of the guys....” The Coach didn’t need to finish his speech; Sid was already unhooking his sling. As far as the press were concerned the only change to his status had to do with his concussion and nothing else.

Wincing a little as his right arm had to support its own weight for the first time since he’d gotten out of bed, Sid took a deep breath. ‘At least I won’t have to smile’ he thought to himself. Anyone who knew anything about hockey knew how much Sid loved and wanted to play. The fact that it was the first round of the playoffs only made it worse. No one would be surprised if he couldn’t force a smile, even a fake one.

A couple of the guys looked up and greeted him with wary smiles as he walked into the room. The guys on the team knew but he could trust them with his life. There was a chance he was going to have to.

As soon as he sat down at his assigned locker, every single camera in the room swung in his direction. That was something he was used to but at that moment he wished it had only been one or two. At that moment he wished he wasn’t SidneyfuckingCrosby and that no one cared why he wasn’t going to play tomorrow night.

“So no practice today Sid?” Normally it didn’t bother him when the local sportscasters behaved like they were on a first name basis, like they were friends. Today he had to fight the urge to ask them to call him Mr. Crosby or at the very least use his whole name. ‘Jeez where did that come from?’ he wondered as he nodded at the guy asking the question.

“No the truth is I’ve had a setback.” It wasn’t a lie; it just wasn’t the truth...exactly. “It’s disappointing, obviously, but it’s something that I was told to expect, uh, that could happen.”

“So does that mean you’re out for this round?” another reporter asked. He hated to do it, to lie to the fans but he shrugged, which was stupid because it hurt like hell to do.

“This is something that could last a few days or longer. Obviously I’m hoping to be back sooner but the guys are doing a really great job and I’m obviously excited for them. I’m going to do everything I can to support them in any way I can.” It was an answer full of clichés but then that was something he was known for so it was unlikely any of the reporters would notice if he was even less forthcoming than usual.

“Is there any truth to the rumors that you’re out for the season?” Sid glanced up sideways from beneath the brim of his baseball cap and did his best to look shocked.

“Well if there is, it’s news to me,” Sid replied, doing his best to smile despite the nagging pain in his shoulder and the fact that he was outright lying and the way a few of the local reporters shifted around and wouldn’t look him directly in the eye told him they knew it too. “Obviously I’d play if I could,” he added, looking from one reporter to the next and hoping that they believed him.

“Okay gentleman, that’s it for today.” Sidney gave Jason, the communication coordinator a grateful look as he redirected the group’s attention to an exhausted looking Max who immediately started fielding questions about Flower’s absence from practice. While they were suitably distracted, Sid slipped out of the room and immediately pulled out his phone.

He wasn’t even hoping that the cops or the FBI would call. He was praying that Cody would, that she’d call and say she was fine, but there were no messages and no missed calls. Sidney stared at the blank screen on his phone and ground his teeth together.

“Wherever you are,” he whispered under his breath, closing his eyes and mentally sending strength and hope to the other end of the invisible but what felt to him like a very real string from his heart to Cody’s. 

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She was drowsing when they came for her. She couldn’t really sleep, not on a cold concrete floor and besides, she was afraid to and she was still hoping that they’d bring Vero back and she wanted to be awake when they did. That’s what she was hoping for when she heard their footsteps, as she pushed herself back up to a sitting position. She was still hoping for it right up to the point where a large hand with the letter H-A-T-E tattooed across the knuckles reached in and pulled her out of the makeshift cage.

Cody stumbled and fell, scraping her knee. Tears sprang to her eyes but she willed them back as she got to her feet and followed him up the crumbling stairs to a smaller room with no windows and a bare light bulb hanging in the middle of the room over a metal chair.

“Sit.” Cody started to turn to see who had spoken, knowing it wasn’t the burly biker type whose meaty hand was currently digging painfully into her shoulder, but before she could she almost landed on her face as she was pushed towards the chair.

“Jesus fuck,” she coughed as she put her hands on the seat of the chair and pulled herself up. “Who the fuck do you people think you....” She was suddenly on her side, on the floor, her cheek stinging from a back handed slap. “Shit,” she whispered to herself, raising her hand to her cheek and reminding herself not to cry. These assholes could kill her, she decided, but they were not going to make her cry.

“What do you know about Tony Rosa?” Now Cody did look over her shoulder at the deep, resonant voice barking the orders. She’d expected a big man with a handlebar moustache in a wife beater and sleeves of tattoos running up his arms. Instead there was a man with slicked back hair in a sharp, well tailored suit, shiny wing tipped shoes and a Rolex. 

“Who’s Tony Rosa?” she asked as she struggled to her feet, brushed off her knees and got back on the chair. The man in the suit pulled a face and raised his hand. She didn’t want to flinch but she did. “I don’t know okay? I don’t know who that is,” she snapped. Maybe if she was angry she wouldn’t cry.

“She was your sister, right?” he asked, tilting his head to one side and looking at her with this mocking expression on his face. “The bitch who tried to kill him, that was your sister, right?” he asked in the kind of acerbic tone that said he knew the answer but just wanted another excuse to hit her. ‘Okay’, she thought, bracing herself, ‘as long as it’s me and not Becks and not Vero, then okay.’

“Was this Tony Rosa guy that killed her? My sister?” she asked, letting herself feel the pain for her sister, letting that pain straighten her spine and lift her chin.

“She owed us money,” he continued as if she hadn’t asked a question at all, circling her slowly, like a predator, like a shark circling a boat full of blood. “Her and that loser fuckwad  boyfriend of hers’ owed us money. Do you have that money?” Cody watched his shiny shoes. It was easier, somehow to believe that someone wearing expensive shoes like that wouldn’t want to spill her blood all over them.  

“I don’t have a job anymore, thanks to you and your henchmen,” she replied as sarcastically as she could muster, “so no, I probably don’t. Unless it’s like fifty bucks which I can probably muster. I think I have that much in my change jar at....” Her head snapped back so hard she was almost facing the other direction. She saw stars. She almost expected to see tweety birds flying in circles around her head. There was a ringing in her ears. There was blood in her mouth.

“You think I’m fucking around here?” he hissed in her ear, grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling her head back painfully so that she had no choice but to look him in the face. “Do I look like a funny guy to you?” Cody shook her head as much as she could with most of her hair in his fist. “Your sister and her jerkoff boyfriend owed me ten large. You’d better have that kind of cash or your little niece is gonna buy it. Do I make myself clear?” Cody blinked at him in disbelief.

“What, do they make dime bags of pot out of solid fucking gold now?” she asked, mostly under her breath but his bellow of laughter let her know that he’d heard it. Cody wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and it came away red. She ran her tongue along her teeth, looking for a loose one.

“Dime bags, that’s rich,” he snickered and then his fingers were digging into her shoulders as he shook her. “Your whore of a sister and her boyfriend robbed me,” he snarled, his nose pressed against hers’. “I don’t take kindly to being robbed.” The first response that sprang to her lips was caustic and it took every last ounce of will she had left not to let it escape her lips. Instead, she took a shallow breath and looked him right in the eye.

“Well she’s dead, so, I’m pretty sure she got that message.” A slow, dangerous grin crept across his broad, fish like lips and then he let go of her hair, tipped his head back and laughed. Cody watched him nervously. This was exactly what the crazy guy did in the TV shows right before he went postal and killed everyone. Her stomach flipped and then tried to force its way up into her throat. She swallowed and willed herself to be calm. ‘Better me than Becky’ she reminded herself silently. 

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“Where’s mommy?”

Sid glanced in the rear view mirror and then looked down at his hands clenching the steering wheel. Not once in all of the time he’d known them had he ever once heard Becky mention her mother. Of course it would happen now, when Cody wasn’t here to help field this particular question. He knew that the little girl had been told, but what did death mean to a child?

“She’s in heaven, watching over you.” He was fairly certain that Cody didn’t much care for religion of any kind but he’d been to church a few times in his life and he had his own beliefs and that was one of them. He hoped that she wouldn’t mind him saying something like that to her niece.

“Nooo,” Becky drummed her feet and stared out the window. “Where’s Cody mommy?”

‘Oh hell’ he thought to himself as he hit the accelerator pedal and turned the SUV onto the highway. It made a certain amount of sense that she’d confused at some point but now he really didn’t know what to say.

“I’m not sure pumpkin’,” he replied honestly, “but there’s lots of people looking for her.” That was something he kept telling himself, over and over again. It still didn’t make him feel any better but he hoped it might help her.

For a few minutes they drove in silence and Sid started to relax. Well, as relaxed as he’d been able to get over the last couple of days, which only meant that he was breathing and not holding his breath and grinding his teeth. He pulled into the driveway and up towards the big empty house. He’d only just gotten used to having someone here, having dinner cooked for him and someone to hold hands with in front of the TV and now the house looked like it wasn’t even lived in, as empty and dark as it had when he’d just bought it.

“Is she dead like my mommy?”

Sid’s heart froze in his chest as he pulled the emergency break and watched, in the rear view mirror as the garage door closed behind them, leaving them in darkness. He dropped his forehead down onto the back of his hands and stayed that way while he tried to catch his breath.

“Fuck I hope not baby girl. I really fucking hope not.” 

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She couldn’t see and not only because it was dark. Both of her eyes were swollen shut and even though she held her hands out in front of her, Cody knew it was unlikely they’d break her fall. She skinned her other knee and this time she let out a cry of pain and anguish as she fell. He wasn’t there to hear it and she was too tired and now far too scared to care if the goon tossing her into the cage went back and reported it.

“Tout va bien.” A pair of hands grabbed her and gathered her from the floor. She let out a second cry but this time the sound that came from her mouth was one of surprise and happiness, no, joy.

“Veronique?” she reached for the woman’s face and felt it’s sharp angles and ran her fingers through the woman’s long, silken hair. There were mats, tangles in it now but it was definitely her. “Are you alright?” she asked, running her fingertips over the woman’s smile, remembering the innocent cupid’s bow and finding it intact, not split or swollen like she knew her own was now.

“Oui,” the woman whispered, running her own fingers over Cody’s ruined complexion. “Better than you by the look of it,” she added, tipping a cool water bottle to Cody’s lips. She told herself not to but she couldn’t help gulping the cool liquid greedily. Her throat was burning. Her mouth tasted of nickel.

“It doesn’t matter,” she told her friend when she finally produced the courage and fortitude to push the bottle away. “They don’t have Becky. That’s all that matters. The fuckers kept asking me where she is,” she told Vero and smiled, even though it hurt like hell. “I won’t tell them,” she added. “I don’t care if they do kill me.” 

Chapter 21

She couldn’t sit up, not all the way, and her back ached from being hunched over but the make shift cage with the chicken wire and wooden pallets didn’t allow for room to move around or get comfortable. Not that there was much chance of that. They’d taken her shoes so her feet were cold and they’d only given them one small bottle of water and most of that Veronique had already drunk. Not that Cody blamed her in the least. First of all, she didn’t belong in all of this mess, she’d just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and secondly, she’d been crying pretty much the entire time since they'd been taken, so she needed to replenish her fluids. Cody's mouth was dry though and her lips felt chapped but she ran her tongue along her bottom lip instead of taking another drink. Who knew how long it would be before she saw more water.

“It’s gonna be alright.” Cody ran her fingers through Vero’s long, soft black hair, trying to be comforting. She wasn’t at all convinced that was going to be the case. These guys had guns and were sure as hell a lot more proficient with their weapons than that meathead biker they’d sent after her a few months ago. They also had balls. They’d been taken in broad daylight, with security cameras everywhere from a spot surrounded by security. These guys meant business and something in the pit of her stomach told Cody that it was probably pretty unlikely she was getting out of here alive.

Cody looked around the small, dark, rancid smelling basement. At least she thought it was a basement. She remembered stumbling down some stairs to get here and it was cement or stone maybe, no windows, no light source. Maybe a cellar or a bomb shelter, she thought as went back to breathing through her mouth, though that only took the edge off of the smell of mold, decay and something worse that she didn’t want to try and put a name too. She was afraid it was days’ old dead meat and she was even more afraid that it was human.

“They’re going to look for us, right?” Vero sniffed and Cody immediately nodded.

“They already are,” she tried to smile down at the pale, fragile woman whose head was in her lap. She hoped it was convincing because she knew that they, the FBI, cops, someone was definitely going to be looking for them. The only hitch was these people didn’t seem to be the types to worry much about being sought or found and at that moment she doubted that either of them was going to live long enough to be here even if they did.

“I’m cold,” Vero snuggled closer, pulling her knees up to her chest and Cody was momentarily glad of the heavy fisherman’s sweater she was wearing. Her thin cotton leggings were doing nothing to keep her ass warm but that had already gone numb so she wasn’t thinking too much about it. Veronique, on the other hand, had only been wearing some kind of light sheath dress that Cody was willing to bet cost an arm and a leg and was probably silk and was obviously doing nothing to keep her cell mate warm.

Cody ran her hands down Vero’s bare arm rapidly until she got the smallest hint of a smile from her new friend. She was collateral damage, Cody thought to herself as she smiled back at her, it was the least she could do.

“Someone will come soon, you’ll see. They’ll bust through the door just like on Criminal Minds and save us. We’ll be on TV, and Marc will realize that he’s made you wait too long to get married and have a big fucking ring in his hand when you see him.” Vero’s smile got broader, which was the intention of Cody’s little speech. She didn’t really believe any of it, but it sort of made her feel a little warmer to think about a swat team breaking in here and saving them. She just hoped that wherever Becky was that whoever was coming would save her first.

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“Sidwhee?”  He felt one of his eyelids being manually pulled open and then he saw her angelic little face above his. He tried to lift his arm, to reach up and touch her face but it felt too heavy, like it weighed about a thousand pounds, and it hurt, it hurt like hell. “Sidwhee, wake up,” she insisted, poking him in the middle of his chest, her little finger stabbing him like a knife, making him suck in a sharp breath. That hurt too.

“Rebecca! Get off of him! I told you that he’s hurt.” Sid recognized the babysitter, Mel’s voice and tried to shake his head, tried to tell her that it was okay, that Becky could climb all over him if she wanted. He was just glad to see her.

“No! It’s time him to wake up, now!” the little girl added and Sid thought he detected more than just a note of alarm in her voice. He heard panic. He heard fear. Even when she’d been taken before, in the Bahamas, she hadn’t seemed scared. He raised his other hand and touched her golden girls. It took some effort and it hurt a bit, but he managed it and the momentary look of relief on the little girl’s face was entirely worth the pain.

“Hey, squirt. Boy am I glad to see you,” he told her honestly. He tried to sit up but a sharp pain, like a lightning bolt going through his chest made him stop moving. He gasped and shut his eyes again. He’d hurt before, the high ankle sprain, his front teeth getting broken, the two cracks his head had taken but nothing had ever hurt like this. “Fuuuuck!” he hissed and tried to breathe through the pain. “Jesus Christ what the hell happened?”

“You’ve been shot mon ami.” Sid turned towards the familiar voice to watch Max pick Becky up off of the bed and put her gently down in a chair beside the bed. He remembered the muzzle flash and vaguely remembered waking up in an ambulance so the fact that he was in a hospital bed or that he’d been shot wasn’t much of a surprise. “I think you’ve got some explaining to do, tu ne penses pas?” Sid nodded but winced as he did that and little white lights shone in front of his eyes. Another one of his headaches was coming on. “Use the button,” Max put something in his hand and pressed his thumb over it and less than three seconds later something warm was coursing through his arm and the next thing he knew everything hurt a little less and he almost felt like he was floating.

“Where’s Cody?” he asked, blinking his eyes open and scanning the room. Becky had made her way back to his bedside and was climbing back up onto the pristine white sheets.

“We don’t know mon ami, that’s the truth,” Max said quietly, reaching for the little blonde bundle that was trying to curl her way into his side.

“She’s fine,” he whispered, running his fingers through her soft golden curls. “Is...someone is looking for her, right?” he asked looking at Max and then at then at the babysitter. They seemed pretty inseparable but that was a question for another time. Right now there were far more pressing matters on his mind.

“Like I said, mon capitaine, you have a lot of explaining to do. There have been cops, FBI, CI fucking A.... I knew that woman of yours was in some kind of trouble but now you’ve been fucking shot do you mind telling me what the fucking hell is going on?” Sid covered Becky’s ears as best he could, despite the immediate and blinding pain it caused him and narrowed his eyes at Max who rolled his and shrugged by way of an apology.

“Tell you what squirt, I’m kind of hungry, why don’t you take Mel and go find me a chocolate bar or something, okay?” Nodding, Becky looked very serious as she climbed down off of the bed and then offered her hand to Melany who took it and lead her out of the room. Sid waited until the door closed behind them and then he turned to Max. “You better sit down. This is going to take a while.”

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“No, no!” Vero’s eyes were wide and pleading as the man in the ski mask tried to tug her out of the cage. Cody held fast to one of her arms but she knew that this was one battle of tug of war she wasn’t going to win; especially not if the man behind him with the gun decided to point that thing at her. “I don’t know why I’m here, I don’t anything, s’il vous plaît!” Tears were streaming down the other woman’s face and Cody felt the hot sting of tears filling her own eyes. She was sure it was in some kind of kidnap survival handbook somewhere that you should not let them separate you and so she clung to Vero’s hand, even as it began to slip from her grasp.

“Leave her alone. She doesn’t even know me. Please,” she begged on the other woman’s behalf. If she got killed in all of this, well, it was to be expected. If Veronique was tortured or died because she had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, Cody knew she’d never forgive herself.

The man merely grunted and tugged harder, yanking Veronique’s hand from hers’ and out of the cage, kicking the cage door shut behind him. The man with the gun drove the lock back into the hole in the ground and then waved the gun at her which she supposed was some kind of threat. Cody didn’t look at the gun. She watched Vero being dragging her across the cold concrete floor and then pushed, staggering, up the stairs towards a golden glow of light. She could hear her begging and pleading until she heard a door slam followed by the metallic scrape of a lock being put in place.

Cody pulled her knees up to her chin and tried to muffle her own sobs. Her pulse was racing and her heart was hammering hard against her ribs. When she’d shot the intruder into their house, she’d been afraid but adrenalin had gone a long way to subduing her fear. That and having Sidney there, having him take charge of the situation, of getting them out of the house had helped. Now she was just terrified.

She shut her eyes and tried not to imagine a medieval torture chamber complete with a rack, pillory, iron maiden and foot screws. Instead she did her best to imagine warm sand beneath her, the smell of salt water and the feel of Sidney’s mouth on hers’, his body pressing her down, claiming her.

“Will I ever see you again?” she asked in a whisper as hot tears slid down her cheeks and she began to tremble.

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“It was a straight through and through,” the doctor in his mint coloured surgical scrubs with his bright shiny stethoscope hung around his neck explained as a nurse carefully changed the dressing on his shoulder. “Which is good for you,” he added with a measured smile that Sidney knew was supposed to be encouraging. “That means no structural damage, which would take months to get over. However, there was some tearing of the muscle and obviously a lot of tissue damage and loss, which will take a good deal of rehab to correct but in your condition, I’m guessing that isn’t something that will be new to you.” Sid shook his head and then winced as the last layer of padding was peeled painfully from the wound.

“It looks worse than it is,” the nurse whispered as she dropped the blood covered gauze onto the table beside her. The surgeon took her place and pressed at the clean unmolested skin around the wound. Sid sucked in a sharp breath.

“The trick is to keep an eye out for infection. With g.s.w.’s there can be a lot of debris in the wound. Obviously we’ve done our best to cleanse the entire area but we’ll keep an eye on you for another night and then you should probably visit your personal physician every few days for a week or so but I’m confident that you’re not looking at anything long term.” Sid nodded again and did his best not to wince when the nurse began to tape up the wound again. “You’ll want to keep that arm stable for a few days, make sure he gets a sling,” the doctor added and then turned and left without another word. Sid watched him go and then let out a sigh of relief that was echoed by one from both Max and Mario, who had followed the surgeon in.

“That’s a relief eh boss?” Max grinned like he’d just scored a goal or made a big hit and Mario nodded.

“Still, I think this is something we should keep out of the press. I’ve spoken with the surgical team and we’ll get you out of here through the laundry exit and you’ll be back staying with us for the foreseeable future,” Mario added very seriously. “You gave us a hell of a scare there son.”

“What about Cody? Is there any news?” Sid asked, looking from his friend’s face to his boss’s serious expression. The two men exchanged a look that made Sid’s heart sink. “Tell me...whatever it is...I need to know.”

“There’s no news,” Max began and then Mario put his big hand on the smaller winger’s shoulder and Max, for once in his life, fell silent.

“Vero is also missing,” Mario told him and Sid felt his heart stop beating in his chest. “The police, the FBI...they’re turning the entire city upside down Sidney. They’re doing everything they can but...it’s been two days and they say....”

“After forty-eight hours the chances of finding them alive are slim,” Sidney completed Mario’s thought and then shut his eyes and for the first time in his life, began to truly pray. 

Chapter 20

Max was skating slowly backwards, Becky’s mitten covered hands in his own, and they were both grinning. The reverberation of their laughter filled the mostly empty arena. The only other sounds were his own breathing and the metallic hiss of his skates digging into the fresh ice. Sidney careened around a cone as he guided a puck around the next cone, doing his best to keep his attention focused on the net in front of him. It wasn’t easy and not just because of Becky’s high pitched squeals of delight, but because he kept catching sight of Dakota out of the corner of his eye watching him from the bench.

He couldn’t remember the last time he was this content.

The twine in the back of the net bulged and Sidney sent a wave of snow in after it as he skidded to a stop.  Today was a good day. He hadn’t had to lie to get onto the ice. He didn’t have a headache, and even now, after skating hard for at least forty minutes, there was no sign of either the dancing white spots or the dull throbbing ache that were the usual precursors to the migraines he’d been suffering lately.

“Good to know you’ve still got it.” Sidney grinned at the Coach as he skated slowly back towards where he and the trainer were waiting with their stop watches and calculating gazes.

“It’s what he does, he’s sick like that,” Max interjected and Sidney found himself laughing with something like relief flooding through his veins.

“You think you’ll be ready by Tuesday?” Sidney wanted to say he was ready now, could play tonight but knew he wasn’t quite in game shape. Not that he was sucking wind, but when he stepped on the ice in front of the fans he didn’t want any doubts in his or anyone else’s minds.

“I think so,” he replied modestly instead though he couldn’t hide the eager grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth. He couldn’t wait to play.

“Oh I can’t wait til you take some face offs. My f...,” Max caught himself before he let the f-bomb fly and everyone grinned. “My shoulder thanks you mon ami,” he added with an elfin smile.

“I can’t wait to take some face offs. I can’t believe how much I’ve missed just...this,” he shrugged, leaning on his stick, taking a deep breath of the cold air and blowing it out. He could smell his gloves, his own sweat and even the ice itself. He’d missed this.

“Pull me!” Becky tugged at his jersey and Sidney grinned down at her.

“Wanna go fast?” he asked and watched her blonde curls bob up and down. He handed his stick to the Coach and offered Becky his hands. She looked at his gloves and then back up at him with a look of such consternation that everyone laughed. “You don’t like my gloves?” he asked, shaking one of them off and holding it towards Max who also gave them a look like he wanted nothing to do with them.

“They’re big,” Becky replied plainly, still eyeing them suspiciously, “and they’re kind of stinky,” she added in a whisper, looking up at him, her big blue eyes wide as if she expected to be scolded. Like maybe stinky was a curse word.

“You’re right, they are kind of stinky,” he agreed with her in the same sort of whisper, bending towards her, “so I’m gonna give them to Uncle Max, okay?” She nodded and grinned as if she already knew the joke before he’d done it which made doing it even more worthwhile. “Right Max?” he said, quickly turning to his friend and shoving the palm of his glove over his mouth, giving him a good old fashioned face wash. Max cursed, in French, and started to skate away. Sid and the Coach both skated after him, much to Becky’s pure delight.

“Help me Becky!” Max screamed like a little girl as he sped past her, picking her up with both hands as he did and swinging her high in the air. Becky giggled and screamed, kicked and squirmed.

Sid slowed to a stop in front of the bench.

“Come on,” he held his hand out towards Cody who shook her head.

“I do better with water that’s not frozen,” she laughed and then leaned in to press her lips to his. He savoured the kiss. He’d never brought a woman to the rink, not on a practice day. It felt luxurious.

“Just once around the rink, for me?” he asked, giving the hand she’d placed between his a little tug. Cody shook her head again.

“I can’t,” she blushed and turned her face away. She had to be so strong so much of the time, these little moments of weakness made him love her more.     

“Get up, sit on the wall,” he directed her, patting the ledge in front of her. She looked at the ledge of the boards dubiously and then, gingerly, slid up onto it and swung her legs over the side. Sliding his arms beneath her, Sid cradled her against his chest and then let himself glide backwards. She squeaked and glanced uneasily nervously down at the ice. “I won’t let you fall,” he promised her, studying her face as she reached up and brushed her fingertips over his lips. His heart squeezed almost painfully in his chest.

“Too late Crosby,” she whispered, laying her cheek against his shoulder, “waaay too late now.” Sid pressed an affectionate kiss to her forehead and grinned to himself as he skated slowly into the corner.

“If you can do that you can play Creature!”

Chuckling, Sid nodded but didn’t reply to that or any of the kissing and other more suggestive sounds his teammates arriving for regular practice were making from the bench.

“Can I stay Coach?” he asked, looking hopefully towards where Dan was standing, leaning against the boards near the penalty box.

“Yeah, I think you can handle it,” his Coach gave him an encouraging smile and a wink as he skated by.

“You don’t mind waiting a little longer, do you?” he asked and felt more than saw Cody nod. “You’re the best,” he sighed and pressed another kiss to her temple.

“No, you are. That’s why they need you back,” she giggled and tightened her arms around his neck so that she could look up at him. “You’re not just my hero,” she added for good measure as he came to a stop in front of the bench. But before he allowed her to slide back down to her feet, he captured her mouth with his and pressed a long, soft kiss against it while he ignored the wolf whistles and cat calls.

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Becky had begun watching the full practice with interest, her attention rapt, blue eyes following the movements of the boys who had become, after a few short weeks, her extended family. After an hour though, she’d gotten restless and started to whine about wanting to go home and wanting something to eat. Cody couldn’t blame her. Her own stomach was rumbling, reminding her that she’d only grabbed a piece of toast on their way out the door this morning. Sidney’s fully loaded western omelette had taken much of her time and the rest of it had been taken up by struggling to get Becky bundled into something warm enough to spend this much time in the rink when it was sunny and getting warm outside.

“Just a few minutes more,” she mumbled, hoping that her words were true as Sid and his teammates left the ice and headed into the passageway towards the dressing room.

“I’m hungry now,” Becky’s bottom lip had begun to tremble and now she crossed her arms and bent her head down, looking decidedly unhappy.

“I have an energy bar but I suppose that’s not really something good for someone her age.” Cody looked up to find a slender, soft spoken dark haired young woman rummaging through her purse just behind her. “I think I might have some Reese’s Pieces in here somewhere...they’re Marc’s favourite,” she continued to explain, her long, straight dark hair falling over her eyes as she dug deeper into her Marc Jacobs bag. Not only did Cody feel under accessorized by her own small knock off purse but now she felt like she was less prepared too. “Here, I knew there had to be some,” the young woman held out the orange box towards them, her brilliant smile shining. “He can be such a baby if his sugar gets low.”

“Thank you, you’re a life saver.” Cody took the box and opened it, shaking a few of the brown, orange and yellow pieces into her hand and dropping them into Becky’s own small hands that were eagerly cupped together in anticipation. 

“Please, we WAG’s have to stick together,” the young, very pretty young woman held out he hand. “I’m Vero and I’m really sorry that I haven’t introduced myself before now but you’ve kind of had these...gorillas around,” she added in a purposefully lowered voice which she partially hid behind her other hand as she looked at the one guard that was standing two rows up and at the end of the aisle. A couple of months ago they’d never have let them leave the house with less than three of them but now they sometimes even sneaked out without them if they were just going out for milk. Cody nodded as she put her own hand in Veronique’s.

“Sidney can be so over protective,” she mused, using the cover story that he had insisted on when it came to the other guys on the team. “I’m glad he seems to be getting over it,” she added with a conspiratorial wink. Vero’s grin got even wider and brighter and then she laughed, throwing her head back and covering her mouth with her hand in what looked like a self conscious behaviour. Sidney had said that both the goalie and his long time girlfriend were shy.

“Well I’m glad he’s getting over it but you should still keep a look out for some of those girls that wait outside. No matter how nice they look, most of them are psychotic bitches,” she added in a sideways whisper as Cody tipped more candies into Becky’s outstretched hand. “And don’t let any of the press talk to her,” Vero added, her soft accent somehow soothing as she spoke. “They talked to Jack once, that’s Cookie’s son, and made him sound like an unholy terror. Not that he’s not,” she added with a sudden grin that reminded Cody all at once of her boyfriend’s brilliant smile.

“No one’s getting near her, if I have anything to say about it. But thank you,” Cody ran her hand through Becky’s golden curls and felt heat emanating from the little girl as she chewed happily on the peanut buttery goodness. “Damn,” she hissed, and leaned forward to press the back of her hand to Becky’s forehead. “Damn, damn.”

“You swore!” Becky gasped and pointed up at Cody who didn’t bother uttering her normal apology.

“You’ve got a fever. We need to get you home.” She glanced down towards the tunnel, knowing there was no way Sid would be showered and changed, not yet.

“Pas un problème,” Vero shot out of her seat and began to dig for her keys. “Text him, telling him I’m taking both of you home or...,” she stopped and looked down at Cody, “do you want to have him send up the doctor?”

“Oh no,” Dakota shook her head as she scrambled to her feet. “I’m sure it’s just the sniffles, something like that. When there’s guys with tendon tears and broken bones, a case of the sniffles is hardly worth his time,” she added with a grateful smile, digging her phone out and texting Sid as she followed Vero up the stairs. “Besides, he’ll be able to go out for lunch with the boys now.”

“And I won’t. I hate watching Jordy and TK eat, merde,” Vero shuddered as she led the way up the stairs. Cody glanced down at the little girl whose hand she was holding. Fortunately Becky didn’t seem to know the curse word in French. “We’re parked right beside you,” she added as they walked towards the elevator that would take them down to the players’ private parking below the arena. “The only hitch might be getting your booster seat into the back of the Lambo,” she added winking down at Becky, “but maybe we just won’t tell anyone, just this once, d’accord?” 

_____________________________________________________________

“Dude you’ve known her like what, a couple months? Jeez, you can’t be serious?”

Sometimes Sid wondered if Jordan was going to be the perpetual bachelor like Max, especially times like right now when he was looking for a little support from his friends over this very important decision.

“I almost asked her out there,” Sid hooked his thumb back towards the ice. “I was, like, this far from just blurting it out,” he told Flower, who was the only one of his teammates not looking at him like he’d just grown another head.

“But there is no rush, oui?” the soft spoken goaltender paused mid step to put his hand on Sidney’s arm. “She’s not...?” he looked around, saw a local sports reporter watching them from down the hall and gestured with his hands in front of his stomach instead.

“No...shit! Is that what you’re waiting for with Vero?” Sid asked pointedly, giving his thin framed friend a shove that sent him careening against the wall. “It just feels right with her. I can’t explain it. I think the only thing that stopped me out there was that I don’t have a ring.” It had been right there, on the tip of his tongue. He’d nearly blurted it out when Cody had said she was way past the point of falling for him. Every time she said something like that, he could feel every single word getting a strangle hold on his heart.

“Wow, wow.” Max just kept muttering under his breath and shaking his head.

“What? What’s your two cents? You must as well tell me, they have,” Sid grumbled as they passed the guard outside the door to the parking lot.

“I just thought I would never see the day that the great Sid the Kid wanted to fuck someone more than he wanted to stick his wanger in The Cup.” Sid punched his friend as hard as he could in the arm and then shoved him when he only laughed. He was about to give him another shove, send him into the side of Cookie’s Expedition when, just out of the corner of his eye, he caught a movement between the cars. Despite the best efforts of the arena’s security firm, sometimes over eager fans snuck in and waited for autographs here. It hadn’t happened since his and Cody’s private guards had been watching the place but now that they were down to only two....

BAM!

“Whatthemotherfuckingfuckwasthat?” Jordan was flat on his stomach and Max was crouching low beside Cookie’s oversized family mover. It had sounded like a backfire, and if he hadn’t been in close proximity with an actual gun shot in the last few weeks he might not have known but....

BAM! BAM!

Sid’s heart raced as he saw the head and shoulders of the guard that was supposed to be with Cody and Becky aiming across the parking lot. He followed the line of the big man’s aim just in time to see Dakota being manhandled into an idling minivan. She was struggling, giving the two men who were trying to push her in the side door one hell of a time as she kicked and bit and squirmed.

He was half way across the parking lot before he had time to process what he was doing. He half heartedly hoped one or two of his teammates were following on his heels but he didn’t look back to see. He just kept running until he could almost reach out and grab her. Almost, except just as he reached the van he saw her tumbling forward into it, head first as the van door closed almost on his fingers. He was staring at the beige metallic paint that told him he’d failed when he saw the gun out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t have time to turn and look at it before he saw the muzzle flash and then he was spinning around, falling face first onto the concrete.

“Cody.” She’d been taken. He could hear the wheels of the minivan squealing on the smooth pavement of the underground parking lot. “Becky.” He didn’t know where she was. Maybe she was already in the van. Maybe she was gone too.