No Defense by Declan Rhodes

Goalie Brock Pratt has built his life on control.

For six seasons, he’s been the Chicago Ironhawks’ starting goalie—precise, disciplined, untouchable. His routines are fixed. His world is ordered. It’s the system that keeps him at the top of his game.

Then he moves into a new condo.

And meets his neighbor.

Sully O’Reilly is everything Brock isn’t—warm, impulsive, and impossible to ignore. He works late nights, fills his apartment with music and people, and has a habit of knocking on Brock’s door at the worst possible times. Their lives shouldn’t overlap.

But they do.

What starts as small interruptions—borrowed chargers, late-night conversations, unexpected laughter—turns into something harder to contain. Because Sully doesn’t just disrupt Brock’s routines. He sees past them.

And Brock, in turn, begins to notice the cracks in Sully’s easy charm.

As the Ironhawks push toward the playoffs, the pressure on Brock tightens. The system has always held under pressure. Off the ice, though, it starts to fail.

Because when Sully’s past catches up with him, he doesn’t fight. He disappears.

And Brock is left with something he can’t control, can’t fix, and can’t ignore.

Now, with everything on the line, Brock has to decide what matters more—holding onto the system that made him, or risking everything for something that doesn’t follow rules.

Because love doesn’t wait for the perfect moment.

It asks to be chosen.