Bennett Verreault knows how to take a hit.

He’s spent his entire life becoming the man everyone expects him to be. Captain of the Toronto Reign. Hockey superstar. Leader. Role model.

Closeted.

He knows how to protect the life he’s built . . . until Toronto mob boss Nico Marzano steps into his penthouse with a threat, a demand, and a problem Bennett can’t ignore.

Nico is dangerous and part of a world Bennett wants nothing to do with. He also needs Bennett’s help finding the player who hurt someone he loves. What begins as an uneasy alliance quickly becomes attraction, then something neither man is prepared to name.

For the first time, Bennett finds someone who knows exactly who he is and wants him anyway. And Nico, who has spent his life believing love is a vulnerability, discovers that Bennett may be the one person he can’t bear to lose.

But Bennett has a career built on secrecy, while Nico has an empire built on fear. Choosing each other could cost them everything.

Some hits you can see coming. Falling in love isn’t one of them.