Page 18 of Drop Pass

One by one we switched out while Elena remained frozen in her spot. The tension in her shoulders and her ridgid posture revealed her nerves. I didn’t like her being on the ice any more than she did. There was a dock a short walk away. We could have done this over there, or on dry ground. There was no point forcing her to stand on the slick, uneven ice.

“Your turn, Kozlov.” McCann nodded to me as he walked from her side. She turned slightly to face me and I noticed her tiny flinch a half a second before her arms flew out. She teetered for a split second and I pushed forward on my skates, trying to get to her.

I grabbed her waist and twisted, taking the brunt of the fall. She landed on top of me as I’d anticipated but what I hadn’t planned on was the cracking sound that followed.

“Elena!” The cameraman yelled.

“Kozlov, move!” One of the guys screamed, but I was ahead of him.

I felt the ice give and shoved Elena off me, closer to the rocks. The motion and shifting weight was enough force to break through what was left of the ice. My legs disappeared and survival instincts kicked in. I flung my arms out to my sides to keep myself from sinking in.

Piercing pain flooded through my lower half. I reminded myself to relax and waited for the shock to pass. I kept my breathing steady as I’d been taught as a child.

“We’re coming.” I opened my eyes to see Murray and Malkin rushing toward me.

“Wait,” I called out. “You could fall.”

“You’re going to die if we don’t get you out.” Murray growled.

“I’m fine. Just...give me a second.” I forced my voice to remain calm and steady. “I’ve gotten out before.”

“Of course, you have,” Malkin muttered.

“Crazy Russian.” Brassard shook his head.

I ignored them and focused on getting my legs to float up behind me. I started kicking, cringing as the pain shot through my body. Once they were at the surface, I pulled myself onto the ice, kicking and pulling, over and over until only my ankles were still in the water.

“What the heck?” One of the guys sounded confused, but I didn’t care enough to check. My mind was focused on surviving.

Once I was on thicker ice that hadn’t cracked, I pulled my knees up to my chest until I was kneeling. At least, I thought I was. I couldn’t feel much below my shoulders.

Hands wrapped around my biceps and I was pulled up to my feet and led to the rocks.

“Can you walk?” Murray sounded concerned.

I nodded and stepped off the ice with him and Malkin on my other side. Once we were off the stupid lake, I crumbled to the ground.

Blankets and a coat piled on top of me while Brassard dropped to the ground at my feet and worked on getting my skates off.

“Dude, you are super human,” Derrek said with a nervous smile.

“I thought you were going to die for sure,” Fisher said, shaking his head.

I leaned up on my elbows and looked for Elena. “Is she okay?”

“I’m fine.” She appeared over the faces of my teammates looking concerned. “Are you okay? I can’t believe you saved me.”

She was shaking and I felt terrible. I probably threw her harder than necessary. “Are you hurt? Did they check you?”

Her mouth opened, then closed then opened. “Nikolay. I’m fine. You’re the one we’re worried about.”

“I’m fine.” I bit out the words and pushed the blankets off me. “I’ve been in colder.”

There was a grumbling amongst the guys but I ignored them and moved to the van. I pulled off the rest of my gear and slipped out of my wet clothes and into the sweats I’d packed in my bag. I’d never been more grateful for a change of clothes.

I came back, feeling much better, and took in everyone’s questioning looks. I shrugged. “I’ve fallen in before. Several times actually. I learned how to get out when I was a child.”

Chloe shook her head. “Of course you did.” She walked up to me and gave me a hug. “Please don’t ever scare us like that again.”