Anton

For a few seconds, I can’t even look. My teammate Zack Werner is lying motionless on the ice and the trainers are all rushing out there.

Motherfucking John Hanlin. That guy’s a known headhunter. He hits dirty and spends more time in the penalty box than anyone in the league.

“Doesn’t look good,” Luca says under his breath.

Zack’s taken a lot of hard hits in his career. He thought about retiring last year, but couldn’t bring himself to leave the game he loves.

Hanlin’s standing off to the side, running his mouth to a teammate who’s putting a hand out and telling him to shut up. When you just knocked a guy out during a game, it’s a good fucking idea to stay silent, but Hanlin’s a prick.

He’ll get his. One of our defensemen, Nick Price, threw his gloves down right after the hit but backed off when he saw that Zack wasn’t getting up.

Zack stirs a little, and I finally let out the breath I was holding. The trainers help him up and off the ice. Hanlin gets ejected and his own home crowd cheers loudly.

“That fucker’s got it comin’ now,” Vic says to me.

“Fuck yeah he does.”

Our enforcer will handle it, but there’s not a man on this team that wouldn’t like a go with Hanlin right now. Illegally checking an older player who’s had countless concussions is just fucking sick.

“My shoulder was down!” I can hear Hanlin grousing to his coach on the other bench.

The guys on our bench yell back at him, and Hanlin is quickly led back to their locker room.

Our team is fired up after that, and Hanlin’s teammates pay the price for his aggression. We smoke them 6–2.

“You wanna come out for dinner with us, padre?” Knox asks me after the game.

Eh. Not really. I want to go see if there’s any place in Phoenix that can deliver a decent meal to the hotel at this hour. But I hardly ever go out with the guys, and as captain, I should make an appearance sometimes.

“Sure.”

He arches his brows, surprised. “Really?”

“Yep.”

Once our post-game interviews are over and we’re all showered and dressed in suits, seven of us go to a local steakhouse. I’m not thrilled that Adam’s with us. He hits on our waitress and it’s all I can do to stay quiet.

I take out my phone and text Mia.

Me: Hey from Phoenix. How are you? Working tonight?

She writes back soon.

Mia: Yep, but I’m on a break. Did you win?

Me: We did.

Mia: I heard some guys talking in the bar about Zack taking a bad hit. Is he okay?

Me: He’s at the hospital getting evaluated.

Mia: Hope he’s okay.

Me: I’ll let you know when I hear…got plans for Thanksgiving?

Mia: Ha, no! I didn’t even realize it was coming up. I’ve been busy working a lot.

Me: It’s two days away.

Mia: I’ll probably catch up on sleep and go see my grandpa. Are you doing a family thing?

Me: Yeah, I’m having it catered at my place and the family’s meeting there. You’re welcome to come by.

Mia: Thanks.

Luca’s giving me a look from the other side of the table.

“What?” I ask him.

“Who ya texting?”

“My accountant.”

“Is she a hot blond?”

I laugh. “No, he’s a bald guy with a beard.”

Luca shakes his head. “You got my hopes up there for a second. I thought you might be leaving your celibate life.”

I just grunt in response.

“Did you say Anton’s getting laid?” Vic turns to me, grinning.

“No,” I growl. “And Luca’s not either, so don’t give me any shit.”

“Yeah, but I’ve got three kids at home,” Luca says. “What’s your excuse?”

“My uncle is a bigger pain in the ass than any kid.”

I turn back to my phone and see another message from Mia.

Mia: Back to work. Have a good night.

I set my phone on the table, disappointed our short conversation is over.

Our food is delivered and I’m about to dig into my steak when my phone rings. I drop the fork and grab the phone, hoping it’s Mia but not wanting anyone to see my screen.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Petrov, it’s Marjorie, Mr. Dixon’s nurse.”

The new nurse has only been on duty for a few days. My stomach drops with worry over the late-night call.

“Is he okay?” I ask.

Her laugh is humorless. “I tucked him into bed and went to take a shower. A Chicago PD officer knocked on the door as soon as I was done and told me Mr. Dixon was urinating off of the balcony.”

“Oh, shit.” I close my eyes.

“I can’t even trust him long enough to use the bathroom. And his language…”

“Marjorie, I’m sorry.”

She sighs heavily into the phone. “I know you told me he’s a challenging patient, but I can’t take care of someone who doesn’t want the care.”

“Please tell me you’re not quitting.”

She lowers her voice. “He’s the most foul-mouthed, ungrateful old grouch I’ve ever met. You couldn’t pay me enough to keep doing this job.”

I rest my elbow on the table and my forehead on my hand. “Yeah, I understand.”

“Look, I know you’re in a tough spot, being out of town for your job right now. I’ll stay until you get back, of course. And I’ll work a couple days after that if you really need me. I just wanted to give you as much notice as possible.”

“I appreciate that. Thank you.”

“I convinced the officer not to press charges, but he told me if it happens again, they won’t be so lenient.”

I shake my head as I imagine Uncle Dix out on my balcony taking a piss over the edge. He pushes me to my limit, but he’s family, so I’ll never turn my back on him.

“Okay.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Petrov.”

“Night.” I end the call, sigh softly and cut into my steak.

“Everything okay?” Vic asks me.

“Another nurse quit.”

“Ah, shit. So that leaves you to line another one up from the road?”

“Pretty much.”

“Dude, your uncle needs a drill sergeant, not a nurse.”

“Something like that.” I shake my head.

I finish my dinner and pay, then take an Uber back to the hotel and call my brother.

“My older, wiser brother!” His voice is too loud when he answers, which means he’s been drinking.

“Really, asshole? I need to have a serious conversation with you and you’re drunk?”

“Nah. I don’t get drunk.”

I let out an exasperated breath. “The new nurse quit.”

“Christ, Uncle Dix is a diiiiiicks.”

“Speaking of dicks…”

“Wha, me?” I hear female laughter in the background. “You love me, Anton.”

“So I guess I’ll just hire another one,” I say.

Alexei turns serious for a second. “One of these days, one of them nurses gonna sue the shit out of us.”

“Can’t say I blame ‘em. They’d win.”

“Didn’t he grab somebody’s tit once?”

I purse my lips at the memory. “He claimed it was an accident.”

Alexei laughs. “Thas right. Said her tit was flopping around and it just landed on his hand.”

“Okay, well…guess I’ll take care of this myself. Again.”

“Cool. Send him to live with me, you know? If ya want.”

“Lex, he’d die in your care.”

“Yeah, but he’d die happy.” A woman squeals in the background and Alexei laughs.

“You guys lost tonight,” I remind him. “Get your shit together and earn your money.”

“I did my part. Thompson was asleep at the post.”

“You’re a lost cause. Go get some sleep. And don’t bring any strippers to Thanksgiving dinner this year.”

“Hey, Candy was…what was it? An exotic dancer.”

“I’m hanging up, asshole.”

“Byyyyyye.”

I toss my phone on the bed and lie back. I have a sudden urge to call Mia and talk to her about this. I can’t, though. She’s working. Instead, I send a text urging her to take an Uber home tonight, and I crawl under the covers and turn off my bedside lamp.

I’m not letting Martin and Laura down. They gave me, Alexei and their daughter a great upbringing, then nursed Martin’s mom and dad through terminal illnesses. They deserve this time to travel.

I’ll try to lecture Uncle Dix, but it won’t work. It never does. That old bastard knows I can’t do anything about his outlandish behavior.

Hopefully the home health place has another nurse with nerves of steel and a high tolerance for bullshit. I’ve got a feeling it’s going to cost me more, but if it solves my Uncle Dix issues, I don’t mind.