It was easier to see inside than I expected. Mainly because there was a light in the back of the van. It looked like a flashlight.

It took a couple of seconds to make sense of everything. But when I figured it out, I didn't like what I was seeing.

The big man was standing in front of Vlad. He had a pair of pliers in his hand. And he was reaching into Vlad's mouth.

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Ray Hockaday plays center for the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League. He's spent his hockey career hiding something from the world. When his new Russian room-mate shows up, Ray is assigned to help Vlad get used to life in Canada. What Ray doesn't know is that Vlad is also hiding something. And that secret could get both of them killed.