Page 111 of Ethan

“Hey,” Charlie retorted, elbowing him in the side.

Ethan was just spouting truth after truth here, and all he was getting for his trouble wasabused. So much for brotherly fucking love.

“So,” Avery finally said, rubbing his face with his hand, “yeah, I guess Barty’s been talking to the GM here.”

“Wait,what.” Ethan had known that everyone was all salivating over the very slim possibility that the Mavericks might trade away their future star and captain in Avery, but even though everyonewastalking about it—mostly the media, but some players too, like Dom and Hank and once even Danny, but he’d done it within Max’s hearing and Max had shot him a surprisingly strong glare about it so he’d shut the fuck up—Ethan hadn’t thought it was actually a serious thing.

But if their agent was talking to the Mavs . . .

“Barty says that even though I don’t have any trade protection on my contract, the Mavs want me to have some say over where I might go.”

“Or you could stay where you’re at,” Charlie said.

Avery huffed out a breath. “Or I could stay where I’m at. The Mavs are asking . . . they’re asking a lot. I don’t think very many teams are gonna be willing to pay it.”

“You don’t know that,” Ethan said stoutly. It was right there, on the tip of his tongue to ask:what if the Bandits trade for you? Would you want to come here? Would you want to come play with us?

But of fucking course Avery would. He wouldn’t turn down a trade to the Bandits. They’d been talking, the three of them, about playing togetherforever. It had always been a pipe dream, though less of one these days, once Ethan had been drafted by Charlie’s team.

“I’ve thought about telling Pete that I’ll sign his new extension,” Avery said quietly, referring to the Mavs’ general manager. “I don’t want anyone to think—”

“You’re not abandoning anyone,” Charlie interrupted.

“Well, kinda yeah, I am.”

Ethan frowned. He didn’t like that tone in Avery’s voice; like maybe if nobody else did blame him, he’d still blame himself.

“You want towin,” Charlie said, like that explained everything. “You don’t want to spend your whole career on a team that doesn’t win. That doesn’t do what it takes to win.”

Avery looked into his screen, empathy brimming over in his eyes. Not for him, though, for Charlie. And yeah, Ethan understood that. Charlie wasn’t just talking about their older brother; he was talking abouthimself.

“If I stay, if I sign the extension, they’ve talked about trading for someone I could really play with. Someone else.” Avery sighed. “But I don’t know if it’s enough.”

“What does Livvy think?” Ethan asked.

Their sister would have an opinion; a whole lot of opinions if he knew Livvy and hedid.

Avery took a deep breath. “She thinks I should tell the Mavs that I want to leave. That I’ll take their trade. But put exactly one team on the top of the list.”

Ethan didn’t say anything; he didn’t know what words evenwereright now.

“I thought this all was going to wait longer, go down closer to the trade deadline,” Charlie said flatly.

As expected, he was being neurotic about this. Torn, Ethan would bet. Everything Charlie had ever wanted—suddenly hisotherbeloved brother there, on his team—but upsetting all the natural systems and culture that he and Max had spent so long building.

Averywouldshake things up. Good and maybe even bad. It was impossible to say which, until it happened.Ifit happened.

“I don’t know,” Avery said. “I guess the teams that are interested don’t wanna wait too long, wait until it’s too late for me to make a difference in this season.”

He didn’t need to saythe Bandits and their d-men issues, but Ethan knew they were all thinking it.

“What are you thinking?” Ethan didn’t want to push his brother one way or the other. Whatever happened this was Avery’s decision. Well,mostlyAvery’s decision. If he did decide to go ahead with a trade, he wouldn’t get any kind of final say who he was traded to. He could make requests. He could turn down teams. But when it came down to it, hedidn’thave any protections. Not even a list of ten teams hedidn’twant to go. He could go to any team in the NHL. Anyone who was willing to pay the price the Mavericks were asking.

“I don’t know.” When Charlie made a scoffing sound in the back of his throat, Avery shot him a half-hearted glare. “I’m serious. Idon’tknow. I didn’t think it would ever get this far. I thought . . . I thought I’d have more time. I guess, what Ireallythought was we’d be better this year, and it wouldn’t even be a question.”

“That could still happen,” Ethan said, probably giving the Mavericks and their anemic offense, their questionable goaltending, and hot-and-cold defense too much credit.

“Yeah, okay,” Avery said, not looking convinced. “But sure. Maybe.”