Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
CASEY
As I strode through the stadium’s parking lot from the team bus for the game against U of A, Eli jogged to my side.
“Hey, man, did you see the social media buzz around us tackling that asshole yesterday?” He shoved his phone in my face. “They even have your statement in here about running a counter with a flea flicker.” He chuckled.
“Are you serious?” Grabbing his phone, I held it to my face and read some of the text. “Where did this come from?”
“The police report, maybe?” Eli followed me through the stadium doors, down the corridor and to the locker area. “I wonder if the coaches will mention it?”
“I guess we’ll see.” Fuck, would we get in trouble for what we did? But we saved a family. I scratched my head. I needed to keep my focus on the game and not dwell on all this shit.
As I entered the locker room, my gaze caught on our head coach, Sal Reid, whose gaze followed me. Shit, we would have words, I could tell.
“I need Carter, Dawson, Rowlings and Thompson in my office.” Planting his hands on his hips, he twisted and walked off.
We all looked at each other, and I said, “Guess we’ll be discussing yesterday’s shitshow.” With a huff, I threw my duffel in front of my stall.
“Dude, you guys are heroes. You know that?” Garcia, a second-string running back, slapped my shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell us what happened at the team dinner?”
The entire locker room hushed and focused on me.
“Because I’m not a braggart?” And it was private? Would Ryker’s family want it getting out that a felon tried to hold them hostage? Though, it was apparently already out.
“You?” Tex tsked. “You brag more than any man I know.” With a snicker, he threaded his fingers through mine. “Come on, let’s see what Coach says.”
Shit, did Ryker know what was happening? I followed Tex and the others into Coach’s office.
Coach sat at his wooden desk, his elbows on the top and his fingers tented. “Gather round, boys.”
We stood in a semicircle around him, and I clasped my hands at my waist, my pulse notching up.
“The PR department saw the news clips of the event that transpired yesterday afternoon.” Coach’s gaze panned to mine. “Carter, your boyfriend’s family was in some sort of hostage situation?”
“Yes, they were.” How much should I tell him?
Shit, he’d need to know it all. “His mother’s ex-boyfriend escaped prison and ended up in their apartment.
He had a gun and was about to use it on my boyfriend’s younger brother, Wes.
” I lifted my chin. “Wes is an excellent quarterback at Mountain View High School in Mesa. You should check him out.” Shameless plug? Hell yes, I’d use this to my advantage.
Coach blinked. “You saved this kid because he’s a talented quarterback?”
Hanging his head, Malik snickered.
“No, because he’s my boyfriend’s brother.” I threw Malik a quick glare. “Anyhow, we discovered the back patio door was unlocked, so we ambushed the fucker who escaped, and you should have seen the tackles Rowlings and Dawson made. They were top-notch.”
Leaning toward me, Eli said, “Uh, you were the one who tackled him first. We were just backup to keep him down.” With a soft grin, his attention drew to Coach.
Coach rubbed his forehead. “Jesus Christ.” He huffed a sigh. “Carter, did you also make a statement to the police about…” He held up a piece of paper. “Bringing him to his knees. Much like U of A will be tomorrow night?”
Shifting my weight, I fought a smile. “Yes, sir, I did.” Would the officer have included that in the report? Damn, he’d been thorough.
“Okay, well, as you might know, the media has become obsessed with this story and would like a press conference with you all after the game.” He drew a deep inhale.
“I hope to hell we beat U of A, so you don’t look like a fool.
” One corner of his lips quirked. “In any case, great job, boys. I’m proud of you, and I’m sure the team is as well. ”
“Thanks, Coach.” As my gaze traveled to each of my buddies, my heart filled with warmth. These guys were the best. “Can I have a moment to call my boyfriend? If we’re having a press conference about this, I’ll need to fill him in.”
“Of course. You can use my office.” Coach stood and walked out along with Malik, Tex and Eli, shutting the door behind them.
I slipped my phone from my pocket and called Ryker.
It rang once and then clicked. “Hey, babe. Is everything okay? Shouldn’t you be at the stadium?”
“I am. Did you see any news coverage about yesterday?” I paced the room, glancing at the shelf behind Coach’s desk and the trophies on top. He’d achieved considerable success in his career.
“No, why? We’re still trying to process it. Mom’s been watching Hallmark shows all day, and Wes has been gaming.” He huffed. “What happened?”
“The news media knows about what the guys and I did, and they contacted our PR department. They want us to hold a press conference after the game tonight. Are you okay with my telling them what happened?” I swallowed through the tightness in my throat.
I’d honor whatever he wanted, even if it meant calling the press conference off.
The PR people would have to deal with it.
He breathed into the phone. “Hang on. Let me talk to Mom and Wes for a few minutes.” The line went silent.
I paced faster, clenching and opening my free hand. I’d see him after the game tonight. We’d planned to go back to my place. Could this mess things up?
“Hello? Casey?” he asked.
“Yeah, babe. What did they say?” I stopped at Coach’s desk chair and fell into it.
“They said to go ahead. They think the entire country should know how heroic you and your friends were. Mom suggested that hearing our story might help someone in a similar situation.”
“Damn, okay.” I hadn’t thought of that. His mother was becoming stronger every day. Hopping out of the chair, I said, “It’s time to dress for the game. I love you, Ryker. Tonight, every touchdown is for you, Wes, and your mom.”
“Isn’t it always?” He freed a soft snort.
“Uh…yeah, guess it is.” As a smile tugged at my lips, I opened the office door. “See you in the stands.”
“You bet. And Casey? Love you too. I can’t wait for you to bring U of A to its knees.” He ended the call.
We were hyped as hell for this game and stormed through the tunnel toward the field.
As soon as my name was called, I sprinted onto the grass, and the crowd went wild.
Shouts of hero filled the air. As I ran further, I twisted around, jogging backward.
Some held signs over their heads with the jersey numbers and names of myself, Eli, Tex and Malik on them, along with the word, Heroes.
I stopped, my jaw falling open, and stared. Holy fuck, people were referring to yesterday’s crisis with Ryker’s family? My gaze swung to Ryker and Wes, clapping and cheering like maniacs. I pressed my fingers to my lips, kissed them and stretched them toward Ryker.
As I made my way to the sideline, the crowd repeated the hero chants and signs when the other guys ran onto the field. The press conference would be insane after the game. We had to fucking win.
I stood next to the bench, under the bright field lights, watching our defense hammer U of A, barely letting them get any yards on this drive.
I’d buried it inside all the fanfare, but the shock of yesterday’s crisis was closing in on me.
Fuck, I almost lost Wes. Things could have ended so differently.
I sprayed Gatorade into my mouth as the defense lined up along the forty-yard line. U of A had sixty yards to go. Fucking U of A had brought it tonight and were playing better than I’d expected. Or maybe it was my crass comment that had them fighting so hard?
Eli crouched, one long arm stretched in front of him, his gloved hand in the grass.
This was our last regular game of the season before the bowl games started.
With the game tied, only two minutes remained.
When this play ended, I’d have about two minutes—a lifetime in football—to get us close enough for a winning field goal. I glanced into the stands.
Ryker sat next to Wes, his gaze finding mine, and a smile spread across his lips. Bumping his shoulder on Wes’s, he pointed at me.
Wes smiled wide and stuffed popcorn into his mouth.
No matter if we won or lost the game tonight, I’d already won.
As the U of A quarterback grabbed the ball from his center, he stepped backward and then threw the ball toward their wide receiver.
Eli jumped, his arms stretched high, and tapped the ball. It bounced on his arm a few times.
“Holy fuck, get it Dawson!” I hopped up and down. If he caught this, victory was ours, and maybe even by a touchdown.
The ball fell into Eli’s arms, and he tucked it, lumbering a few steps forward before three U of A linemen pounced on him. He was in possession of the ball before he went down. No way the refs could say otherwise.
Facing Malik, I grabbed his gloved hands and held them up. “Did you see that? Did you fucking see that?” A maniacal laugh sprang from my throat.
“Hell yes!” He cackled and hopped with me.
Over the loudspeakers, the announcer said, “Interception, ASU.”
Couch Reid patted my ass. “Okay, Carter. Get out there and finish this. Bring them to their knees.” He gave me a rare smirk.
“I’ve got this, Coach.” Slipping my helmet on, I jogged to the field, slapping Eli’s hand on the way out. “Good job, man.”
We lined up along the thirty-eight-yard line, Eli’s catch giving us a head start of two yards. I was prepared to pass one, use Malik for some runs and then we’d see how close we got. We were barely in range for our kicker, so any yards we got would help. Plus, I needed to run down the clock.
After the ball snap, I jogged back a few steps, holding the ball high and scanning the field. Manning, our wide receiver, sprinted to an opening about twenty yards downfield. The guy could catch just about anything, and I had Malik for backup. I threw a long spiral his way.