Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
“She’s not really your wife, then, Tom.”
Tommy crossed his arms over his chest as he stared Jonny down.
“She is sure as shit my wife.”
“But you’ve not done the deed with her yet.”
“So? I’m just giving her time.”
“I think you’re scared,” Jonny said, smirking at him before reaching down to tie his boot.
“Scared of what? I’m no choirboy.”
“Far from it,” Jonny said with a snort. “That’s not what you’re scared of. You’re scared you’ll fall too hard if you slide that final piece into place.” He wiggled his brows, grinning at his own joke.
It was one that Tommy would have appreciated, had it not been at his expense.
“Ah, leave the poor fellow alone,” Colin said, walking by the bench where they stood, waiting for practice to begin. “It’s not every day a man falls in love.”
“I’m not falling in love!” Tommy said, hearing the desperation in his own voice.
“Tell yourself that, Tom,” Colin said with a grin as he continued by, whistling to himself.
“He’s right, you know,” Jonny said, leaning in before whispering. “Just do it, Tom. What do you have to lose?”
Everything. He had everything to lose. But he wasn’t about to admit that to Jonny.
Practice was gruelling, but then, it always was with Rhys.
It had been three nights since Tommy and Minnie had their moment together, and while he was now sleeping in the bed, he kept himself far away from her, too scared to slide in close for fear he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back this time.
He had seen the sadness on her face every time he was about to turn away, had known that he had likely made her feel that he didn’t want her, but his friends were right. He was scared.
He was scared that he would fall too deeply, and it would hurt too much to lose Minnie when she decided to leave him.
For she would. How could she stay with a man like him, in this life that was half of what she had left behind?
Once they were free of danger, he would let her go. Find a way to annul the marriage, if that’s what she wanted.
And how could she not?
He was wallowing in uncharacteristic self-pity when he noticed the stranger standing on the sidelines.
It wasn’t unusual, as fans came to watch them practice now and then, but there was something about this man — the squint to his eye, the low brim of his hat over his face, the stance as he rocked back and forth from his toes to his heels as though he was waiting for someone – that raised the hairs on the back of Tommy’s neck.
Tommy had a feeling the man was waiting for him, from the way his head was turned toward him, watching his every move.
“Ward!” he grunted out as Tommy walked by. “A word?”
“Is it important?” Tommy asked, sweat once more trickling down his spine as he had a feeling he knew exactly who this man was — or at least, what he had come for.
“It is,” he said as Tommy approached, although Tommy crossed his arms over his chest and kept a fair enough distance between them, so it was obvious that he had no interest in this conversation. “You didn’t do as you were told last game.”
“I was never told anything,” Tommy said stubbornly. “No one directs me. Especially not someone who is too afraid to show his face, who is cowardly enough to send me a note to tell me what to do.”
“There are consequences to not following through.”
“I am my own man,” Tommy said with a shrug. “You cannot threaten me.”
“Can I not?” the man said. “You have nothing to lose?”
His smirk caused Tommy’s heart to pick up the pace as he realized this man knew exactly what Tommy had to lose now.
“I’ll not be threatened,” Tommy said, leaning in, his voice lowering. “Who are you?”
“I am no one,” the man said, lifting his face high enough that Tommy could see the scar that cut through his eye and up his forehead. “I’m a messenger. Not the man that you need to worry about.”
“Who do you work for, then? I should know who is threatening me.”
“Just know that who it is has enough power to make things difficult for you,” the man said, and Tommy’s heart sank. He had a feeling he knew exactly who this was. And this messenger was right.
It was not a good situation.
Not at all.
“Everything all right over here, Tom?”
Tommy looked over his shoulder to see Rhys walking up to them. Not much got past the captain, and Tommy was instantly grateful for Rhys’s intimidating presence. He had broader shoulders than two men combined, and that frown, when Rhys directed it, would scare anyone who was on the other end of it.
“Just a pal of Tommy’s here,” the messenger said with a smile that wasn’t fooling Rhys. “Giving him a little friendly advice.”
“My players don’t need advice from anyone but me,” Rhys growled. “At least, not when it comes to football.”
“This advice extends beyond the football field. Remember what I said, Ward. Keep it in mind for your next game.” The man tipped his hat. “Good day, gentlemen.”
He walked away, slightly limping as he did, and Rhys didn’t move as his eyes followed him. Tommy tried to take a step away, wondering if there was a chance Rhys would let this go, but he was to be disappointed.
“How long are you going to wait to tell me what that was about?” Rhys said, not even looking at Tommy.
“Just a personal thing,” Tommy said, waving a hand as though it was nothing. “Don’t worry yourself over it.”
Rhys turned to face him, that frown that scared the bravest of men now directed upon Tommy, who couldn’t help but wince.
“Tom, do you really think I’m going to let a man like that come to our practice, threaten you, and walk away without you telling me why? No such thing as personal here.”
Tommy sighed. He didn’t want this to affect his teammates, but he also knew Rhys, and he wouldn’t let this go until he knew the full truth of the situation.
“He wants me to throw a match.”
“What?” Rhys uncharacteristically burst out as his face hardened in anger. “What did you say?”
“I said no, Rhys, of course I did,” Tommy half-lied.
He had said no, but he had come close to saying yes.
Multiple times. “The first time it was a bribe, which would have been enough to buy my sister the medication she needs. Now they’re threatening to destroy me.
Seems he knows just how to do so,” Tommy said grimly as Rhys swore.
“Couldn’t be easy to tell me, Tom,” Rhys said gruffly. “Thank you.”
“We’re a team, right?” Tommy said, as positively as he could.
“Who is he?” Rhys asked.
“Never seen that man before this moment,” Tommy said. “Last instructions I had were through a note. But I have a feeling I know who he works for.”
“Who?” Rhys asked, narrowing his eyes.
“It’s a long story, but Minnie’s involved,” Tommy said with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. “Let’s go find the girls and we’ll tell you all about it.”
It took some time before they were all assembled.
Minnie had been with Emmaline and Lily when Tommy was at practice or otherwise occupied.
They were all at Lily’s now, Minnie sitting on the floor playing with Lily’s baby while the rest of them sat around the dining table, eating together.
When the men had first walked through the door, Tommy had drawn Minnie to the side with a quick kiss on her cheek, both relieved and happy to see her, as always seemed to be the case these days.
He had then murmured in her ear an explanation as quickly as he could, asking if he could share the details of Blackwood and her father with her friends, although most of them already knew the main parts of the story.
She had nodded, though she had looked over to Emmaline with a worried glance.
But Emmaline would understand. She would have to.
Tommy had asked Jonny to join them as he seemed to know a decent amount about Blackwood, while Minnie’s friend Ada was also present.
“Is someone going to tell us what’s going on?” Emmaline finally said through the tense silence.
“You sure you want to share with the women?” Jonny leaned over and murmured in Tommy’s ear, but he wasn’t as quiet as he thought he was, for he only earned himself a glare from the four women at the table, and he lifted his hands in the air in self-defence.
“Just didn’t want to worry you, is all,” he said.
“A stranger approached me after practice,” Tommy began, causing Minnie’s head to snap up toward him. He quickly continued with the story. “I have a feeling he’s connected to Blackwood.”
That caused Jonny to heave a sigh, as he was the one most aware of what that could mean for them, while Ada’s brow furrowed.
“Who is Blackwood?” she asked.
“Blackwood,” Jonny said, leaning forward, his big shoulders looking out of place at the dainty dining table, “is the last man in Manchester you would ever want to cross.”
Tommy noted Minnie’s shiver at the words, and he wished she was sitting next to him so that he could wrap his arms around her and reassure her. That would have to come later.
“What do we do now?” Colin asked, directing his question toward Rhys. “Last time the team was threatened like this, we figured out a way to bring down the man who wanted to see our downfall, but this seems much more dangerous.”
“It is,” Jonny said, shaking his head. “So dangerous. You want my opinion? Stay out of it. Do what he says.”
“We are not throwing the game,” Rhys said, his lips tightening.
“It’s just a game,” Jonny said. “Blackwood is far worse. At least make it look like you tried to.”
“What if we could find a way to stop him?” Minnie asked, standing with the baby on her hip, and something in Tommy’s chest turned just a bit at the sight before him.
“How would we do that?” Ada asked, for Tommy didn’t seem capable of words at the moment.
“Do what we did before,” Lily said, pausing from serving the drinks around the table. “Find proof. Follow the transactions and see where they came from, where they are going.”
“How would we even find them?” Tommy asked.
“My father would have ledgers,” Minnie said. “I found some before, in his study. I’m sure I could go to the docks and find more.”
“I might be able to get my hands on some of Blackwood’s books,” Jonny mumbled.
“What?” Tommy said, rounding on him. “How is that even possible?”
“Can’t say.”
“Is it going to put you in any danger?” Rhys asked.
“No more than usual,” Jonny said with a shrug, although that earned him more than one suspicious stare, but he didn’t seem bothered. “Can’t say more.”
“The stories you could tell,” Tommy said wistfully, wishing Jonny would one day share more but knowing it was likely in his best interest not to know.
“I have an idea,” Minnie said, and Tommy wished he could read her expression, but she was too far away.
“Am I going to like it?” he asked,
He laughed when she responded, “I’m not sure, Tommy. It’s hard to tell with you.”
“You’re a lot less fun now that you’re married,” Jonny said, and Tommy correctly recognized Minnie’s answering expression.
“I take offense,” she said, but Jonny shook his head.
“It’s not you, Minnie,” he said. “It’s this man. Now that he’s in—”
Tommy started a coughing fit to stop Jonny from saying something stupid.
“What was that?” Emmaline prodded with a mischievous grin, reminding Tommy of how alike he and Emmaline were — they had, for a time, thought that something could be there, but they proved to be far too similar.
“Nothing,” Tommy said, changing the subject. “Minnie and Jonny will work on getting these ledgers, and then we will bring down Blackwood once and for all.”
“And in the meantime, we stay together,” Rhys said gruffly. “And stay safe.”