So This Is War (Vancouver Agitators, #5)

by Meghan Quinn

“Am I going to be kicked off the team?” She looks over at me and shakes her head. “No, Levi, despite what Coach said in anger, you’re a valuable asset to this team. But I do suggest you find a way to calm down your coach because he’s going to make your life a living hell.”

“If this is about Posey, I want nothing to do with it.” “If you don’t read it, then your starting line wants nothing to do with you,” Halsey says, standing his ground. “Fuck with one, fuck with all.” With that, he leaves my office.

Two things you need to know about Levi Posey: When I was at my lowest, in a very dark place after losing my brother, Posey often slept on my couch just so I wasn’t alone. When I was reading in a corner, feeling so desperately alone, missing my brother, he’d sit next to me and stare into nothing. When I thought I couldn’t make it through Holden’s funeral, he held me up. Your daughter would be lucky to have a man like him. This is the first time I’ve ever seen him in love. This is the first time he’s ever told me he was in love. And I’ll hang up my skates before I let you take that away from him. Holmes

I will deny this until the day I fucking die, but the reason I’m a happy motherfucker with the girl of my dreams has a lot to do with Posey. He might pretend he’s indifferent when helping, and he might offer terrible advice at times, but that advice always seems to turn into something worth listening to. If you think Posey is the worst thing for your daughter, you couldn’t be more wrong. He’ll treat her well. He’ll support her how she needs. And most importantly, he’ll give her the love she deserves. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen the way he talks about her. How he’s so fucking proud of her. Trust me when I say, if you fuck with him, if you fuck with them, you’re fucking with all of us. She’s part of the family now, and we won’t go down without a fight. Silas

Eli Hornsby, the prettiest motherfucker on the team, steps up and says, “Posey is one of the main reasons I put my skates back on after losing Holden Holmes.” He wets his lips and continues, “I never said this, but I was ready to quit after I found out about his death. I was there that night, and I didn’t stop him from drinking too much or from driving under the influence. I blamed myself, endlessly. It was fucking torture. And every time I stepped out on the ice, I kept thinking about how he should be out here too. I was done, but Posey . . . he stood by me. He knew I didn’t want to talk, so instead, he made me laugh. He joked about the good times we had with Holden. He joked about anything and everything. He even made me fucking bologna sandwiches. He pulled every trick out of his back pocket to make things easier . . . a little less painful. I know he’s done the same for your daughter.”

“I haven’t known him as long as the other guys,” OC says, “but I will say this. I’ve never seen a more loyal friend. He cares about each one of the players on the team, he offers them help, even if it means helping a friend pick up breakfast because they’re running late. You might see him as the playboy you’ve had to help out of some disagreeable situations, but that’s not what defines him. What defines him is the loyalty he carries in his heart, the loyalty he’s already shown your daughter. He loves her, simple as that. And he’ll give up everything just to make her happy.”

He rests his head against the headrest and says, “I’m barely holding on, Coach Wood. The pain is starting to take over, and every day, I wake up more and more stiff. I still have headaches on occasion that are absolutely debilitating. There are days when I feel like I can’t put on my gear one more goddamn time.” He looks over at me. “I can’t do this for another year. This is . . . this is it for me.” I swallow, knowing this will be a huge loss to the team. Lawes has been our backbone, our foundation, some might say the start of something great. With him in front of the goal, we’ve had more championship wins than in franchise history.

“Because of Posey.” Motherfucker. I look away, but Pacey keeps talking. “He’s the one who stays in the ice baths longer with me so I’m not alone. He’s the one bringing me all kinds of vitamins and powders to help me with recovery. He’s the one who checks on me at night when we’re on away trips to make sure I don’t have a headache or to make sure I have everything I need to wake up fresh the next day. I know you think of me as the backbone of the team, but the fact of the matter is, Posey is the one who keeps us together. And it’s about fucking time you realize that.” He rubs his hands together and says, “And your daughter . . . she’s so talented. She’s intelligent. She has a good head on her shoulders, and the fact that she fell for a good man shows that. He’s a solid man. A man you can trust.”

“But what I can say is that Posey has a reason for everything he does. Maybe you should give him a second to explain what happened. That’s what good leaders do, after all. Right, Coach? They listen.”

Dad nods. “When we were in Nashville. He showed me a picture you were working on, one of you and me.” My cheeks flame with embarrassment. “I’m not done with that one yet. I was actually kind of practicing. It’s not my best⁠—” “It nearly made me cry,” Dad says, stunning me.

“Dad, I’m sorry.” He shakes his head. “It was my own fault. My own selfish fault.” He looks at me now. “When you told me you wanted to drop everything and pursue art, I had this sick, boiling feeling erupt inside me that it would happen all over again. That my world would crumble around me, and I’d lose another thing I loved so much.”

After ditching him at a bar, never in a million years did I imagine I’d end up here—being loved and cherished by Levi Posey. I was looking for one night of fun, and he’s offering me an endless eternity of love.