Chapter 0005

•NYMERIA•

First day.

I stood at the edge of the training floor with my clipboard pressed against my chest and reminded myself that I knew what I was doing.

I had done this before. Years ago, but the knowledge was still there, buried under five years of spreadsheets and quarterly reports and a boss who couldn't take no for an answer.

The team filed in gradually, some still pulling their shirts over their heads, others carrying water bottles and the particular brand of easy confidence that came with being professional athletes.

They ranged in age, the youngest barely twenty, the oldest closer to thirty-five, and every single one of them looked at me with the same polite skepticism.

I had expected that.

"Alright," I breathed, when the last of them had settled onto the benches. "I'll make this quick because I know you all have ice time after this. My name is Nymeria Kane. I'm your new physical trainer, and yes, Christopher is my brother, and no, that doesn't mean this is going to be easy."

A few of them exchanged glances. One of the younger ones, a forward with a jaw that had never seen a razor, stifled a smile.

"I've reviewed all your conditioning records from the past season," I continued. "Some of you are where you need to be. Most of you aren't. We're going to be spending Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings together starting this week, and I need you to come in with the intention of actually working. Not performing, not coasting. Working."

"Are you going to make us do yoga?" someone asked from the back.

Laughter rippled across the room.

"Mobility training," I corrected, without blinking. "Which your hamstrings desperately need, judging by what I read in your last injury report." I glanced at the clipboard. "Martinez."

More laughter, and this time Martinez joined in, which told me we would be fine.

I was halfway through explaining the structure of the weekly sessions, recovery protocol versus activation days, when the door at the far end of the room opened.

The shift in the room was immediate.

They all turned their heads and gasped, and someone near the front stood up.

I turned around, and my clipboard nearly slipped from my hands.

Declan walked in wearing a black jacket with the team's crest on the chest, a duffel bag over one shoulder, and the same unhurried ease he had always carried himself with.

He looked around the place and smirked. He hadn't seen me yet. Or if he had, he didn't show it.

"Cross is here," someone muttered behind me, and it wasn't so much a sentence as it was a collective exhale.

They all went to him with their hands extended, and voices overlapping. It was as if they were welcoming someone more important than themselves.

Declan laughed, and the sound of it caused my chest to tighten.

I turned back to face the room and stared at my clipboard without reading a single word on it.

I remembered Christopher telling me that Declan left the team as soon as I left Hollowshade. But he had mentioned to me that the new team's captain would show up, but he never told me it was him.

"Alright, give him some air," someone called out, laughing.

The group settled again, and I took that as my cue to wrap up.

"We'll pick this up properly on Monday," I muttered. "I'll have individual assessments scheduled for each of you by the end of the week. Any questions can come to me by email or you can catch me here in the mornings."

They began to disperse, and I clicked my pen closed and turned toward the side door.

"Miss Kane."

I stopped. He had never been so formal with me before.

I heard him approach before I turned around, footsteps unhurried. I smoothed my expression and faced him.

He was closer than I expected. He stood with one hand loose at his side and the other still holding the strap of his duffel bag.

He extended his hand. "Declan Cross." He smiled. "Captain. I don't think we've been properly introduced."

I stared at him and almost laughed. He couldn't be serious. But ugh, if he wanted to play it that way, then fine.

I took his hand and shook it once. His grip was warm and firm and I released it the moment courtesy allowed.

"Nymeria Kane," I answered. "I am your physical trainer. I'll have your assessment scheduled with the rest of the roster."

"I look forward to it."

"Good." I pulled my clipboard back against my chest and walked toward the side door before he could say anything else.

•••

I walked down the long corridor back to the equipment room to collect the folders I had left on the table there, and then started toward the car park, telling myself the worst of the day was behind me.

The door to the changing corridor was propped open.

I turned the corner without thinking. It was the shortest route and I had been on my feet since six in the morning.

I nearly walked into him.

Declan drying his hair with a towel wrapped low around his waist and nothing else.

His hair was damp and his shoulders were still carrying traces of water from the shower, and he looked like something a person with better judgment would have the sense not to look at for too long.

I looked for exactly one second longer than I should have.

I shook my head and pretended I wasn't flushed when he looked my way.

"Get dressed," I muttered, feeling as if my heart would jump out of my throat.

I walked past him without slowing down, close enough that I caught the smell of soap, and I kept my eyes forward and my pace even until I pushed through the exit door and out into the parking lot.

I went to my car, got in, locked the door, and sat there with both hands on the steering wheel and the engine off.

I looked at the facility building and felt my chest tighten.

I didn't have a job and I had a daughter to take care of, but working with Declan seemed impossible.

I pressed my forehead against the steering wheel and questioned all my life choices.

When I lifted my head to start driving, my cell phone vibrated, and a text came through from Chris.

Chris: "I forgot to tell you that Declan would be returning to the team as the captain, and good news, he is happy about you. All the players love you, little sis. I am so proud of you! If any of them talk to you inappropriately, don't hesitate to tell me or Declan, we will sort them out for you."

Great. If only he knew that the only person I needed protecting from was Declan.