All Chapters of THE CAPTAIN AND THE KILLER: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The door crashed open and there she stood, eyes blazing with the same rage tearing me apart. "You," I spat, stepping close enough to feel her breath hit my face. "After everything, you still look at me like I'm the enemy."Her hands shoved my chest hard. "Enemy? You destroyed us! I trusted you with my heart and you handed it back in pieces. Don't you dare act like the victim here."I grabbed her wrists, not gentle, not soft. The grief hit like a wave, mixing with the anger until I could not tell them apart. "You think I wanted this? Every night I lie awake seeing his face, the blood, knowing we both failed him. And you? You ran straight to him behind my back."She yanked free but did not step away. Her voice cracked. "Failed him? You pushed him away first! Always so damn sure you knew best. I went to him because you shut me out. Now he's gone and we're left with nothing but this mess."Words flew fast between us. My pulse hammered. "Noth

The bus rolled into Toronto and the city lights hit me like a challenge I could not ignore. "Welcome back to the lion's den," I said as we stepped off into the cold night air near the arena. Kade bumped my shoulder. "Feels different this time. Bigger stakes. Montreal always plays dirty but tonight we hit back first."Coach gathered us quick in the locker room. "Boys, this rivalry game is no joke. Sellout crowd. Montreal wants blood. We give them sweat and wins. Evan, you set the tone?"I nodded sharp. "We play smart but mean. No mercy on the ice. Kade, you ready to shut down their top line?""Ready," Kade answered. "They talk big but we skate faster. Keep the puck moving quick and they fold."The guys chimed in fast. Jake taped his stick. "Heard Montreal trash talked us all week. Said we are soft since the last loss.""Soft?" Rico laughed. "They will eat those words. We came to Toronto to remind them who owns the ice."

My phone would not stop buzzing with alerts the second I walked into my apartment. "Christian, if you came to yell, do it quick," I said as he pushed past me into the living room. He slammed the door shut. "Yell? I want to shake sense into you, Evan. Captain of the Blades drops gloves like some rookie thug? Media calls it the outburst of the year. Your clean image is trash now."I dropped onto the couch. "Clean image paid bills. Real life costs more. What do the headlines say?"Christian paced fast. "Headlines scream everything. Golden boy turns beast. Captain loses control for teammate. They dig into your past. Sponsors already call me. One says your face on their product looks bad now.""Bad for them," I replied. "I slept fine. Kade needed backup. End of story.""End of story?" Christian stopped and pointed at me. "You ruined months of work. We built you as the face. No scandals. No fights. Now papers call you violent. All fo

My father stood in my apartment door and I finally said what burned inside for years. "Dad, I know about Nikolai and Project Black Ice. Stop pretending you are clean."Christian Ryder froze. His face went pale like someone sucked the blood right out. "Evan, what did you say?"I closed the door behind him hard. "You heard me. Nikolai. Project Black Ice. I know enough. No more lies."He stepped back, hands shaking a bit. "You do not know what you are talking about. Those names are dangerous. Where did you hear them?""Dangerous for you," I answered. "I pieced it together. Whispers from Kade. Old files. Your name linked. Time to talk straight."Christian sat down slow on the couch. His usual sharp suit looked wrinkled now. "Straight? Son, you defy me now? After all I built for you?""Built on secrets," I said. "First time I say no to your plans. No more golden boy script. I know Project Black Ice involves deals with Nikola

Kade slammed the equipment room door shut and locked it before I could even catch my breath. "No doctors, Evan. I mean it. Viktor will bench me for the rest of the season if he sees this." I stood there with blood on my hands from helping him inside. "You are out of your mind. That cut is bad. Let the doc look at it before it gets infected." He dropped onto the bench and pulled up his pant leg. The gash looked even worse under the lights. "Viktor has been gunning for me since day one. One real injury and he tells the owner I am a risk. Gone. Traded or scratched forever. I cannot let that happen." I knelt down fast and grabbed the tape from the kit. "So your plan is what? Hide a knife wound and hope it heals by itself? Talk to me. How are we doing this?" "Please Evan," Kade said, his voice dropping low. "Just tape it tight for me. Real tight. I can skate if it is wrapped good. I have done it before."