The headline about Derek's charity appearance sat unresolved in my mind for two full days before practice gave me something more urgent to focus on.
It happened fast, the way these things always did. One moment Marcus Delaney, the team's leading scorer and the closest thing the Renegades had to a franchise cornerstone, was cutting hard toward the net during a routine drill. The next, he was down on the ice, not moving, one leg bent at an angle that made my stomach drop before I'd even started running.
"Don't move him," I called out, already sprinting across the rink, training overriding panic the second my feet hit the ice.
The room went silent around me, drills stopping mid-motion, players clearing space instinctively as I dropped to my
