Nolan Cray has fourteen seasons of silence and a hip that’s running out of time.
At thirty-five, the Atlanta Reapers’ veteran defenseman has built his career on control: controlled minutes, controlled pain, controlled distance from every part of his life that might require explanation.
He tapes his stick the same way, eats standing at the counter, and sleeps on the left side of a bed where the other pillow has never been disturbed. The closet isn’t locked anymore.
His hand still reaches for the door.
Caleb Wren was hired to evaluate players, not fall for one. The Reapers’ new assistant GM is twenty-nine, precise, and very good at paying attention.
When he watches Nolan’s game film and sees a man whose brain is compensating for a body in decline, the evaluation is straightforward.
When he watches Nolan’s hands on his stick and forgets to take notes for twelve minutes, the evaluation becomes a problem.
One kiss in a dark film room changes everything. Caleb discloses the conflict before morning.
He gives up the file, the evaluation, the trade recommendation, and every professional advantage he holds over the man he kissed. The recusal is documented, clean, and correct.
It does not make the room safe.
As Nolan’s hip deteriorates and his last season narrows to weeks, he must decide whether to be traded or stay, whether to let a rookie inherit his minutes, and whether the man who gave up professional control to be with him is someone he can trust with the rest.
The rest being: his name, his family, his body, and the terrifying possibility that a life exists after hockey.
Empty Net is a standalone MM hockey romance featuring a closeted veteran and a by-the-book analytics executive, explicit heat, a locker room that already knows how to love its own, and the guarantee that the hallway light stays on.
Power Play Book 7. Standalone with series connections. HEA guaranteed.
