Delacr

the crease, and my knee buckl

boards behind the net. A sharp, burning bolt of pain s

ing my gloved fist against

t the boards. This was the third time this week my rig

ing his whistle. "Delacroix! You goo

ayer bench in a pristine cashmere coat and heele

power output is up twelve percent on the tracking sensors. It's just muscle a

te back into position, and ignored the t

workout smoothies, introduced me to fashion stylists, and promised that her ne

allowed me to skate th

lace up. If my lateral stability dropped by two percent, she pulled me off the ice, put me on the therapy table, and adjus

ingle message from Au

tomized meal prep she used to drop off at my apartment had stopp

because the organization preferred modern methods over

ike it was grindin

dical training room to wrap my knee in ice

you for the travel roster. You're flying with the primary squ

e a sudden,

?" I wh

e all the time when we worked together-about running alo

missed the quiet, steady sound of her voice in the gym. I mi

led my phone from my locker an

re

ssed

rang. Onc

I going to say? I'm sorry for being awful at

loane's voice chime

rfume overwhelming the smell of liniment

ved a private table for us at Le Bernardi

d button and ended the call

sked, her sharp blue eyes flicki

stuffing the phone

Hartf

rty-four thousand feet through t

ing road tilt against the Boston Bruins. The Bruins were our most vicious division riva

alancing an espresso and a printout

or the road trip, Mr. Hartford," N

, conditioning coaches, equi

, a single entr

Position: Sports Science Consulta

ritation tightened t

we

rporate credit card. Not an angry text asking why I

y vanished in

phone from my pocket

iately over to an auto

reached has been disconnecte

screen, my jaw

d her phone off. She monitored at

alled out, my

ack from the ga

forwarding address with

She submitted the paperwork through the standar

ssing the phone onto t

to Logan International Airport. Through the small oval window, t

w weight settled in

to win, a multimillion-dollar rivalry to manage, and a stadium full of sponso