CHAPTER 11 #2
He covered it automatically. “Nothing.”
Alex’s attention shifted. “Brooks.”
Daniel sighed. “A woman outside my building threw a drink at me.”
Adam brightened. “Again?”
“Different woman.”
“Should we be concerned?” Olivia asked.
“No. She believes I destroyed her sister’s life. It is a misunderstanding.”
Luke looked at him. “Is it?”
Daniel’s smile returned too quickly. “Future problem.”
The exchange lasted seconds, but it planted a question Olivia knew would outlive the current investigation. Richard’s surveillance folder had included Daniel for a reason.
Alex saw her cataloguing it. “One disaster at a time.”
“Your team appears committed to efficiency.”
Coach Davis ordered everyone home before dawn. Luke took Ben. Noah remained to secure the files. Daniel and Adam left arguing about whether a thrown drink counted as assault.
Olivia and Alex stood alone in the video room.
“You obeyed when I told you to release Richard,” she said.
“After I put him against the bar.”
“Yes.”
“I am not asking for credit.”
“I am acknowledging the choice.”
His gaze held hers. “Does it change anything?”
“Not everything.”
“Something?”
She thought of his hand remaining at his side when she walked away, his question at the old rink, his restraint while Richard used her as bait.
“Something,” she said.
Alex looked down, as if the small concession carried more weight than he could safely display.
Olivia stepped closer. “Do not make me regret it.”
“There is the motto.”
A smile threatened. She resisted it.
He reached toward her cheek and stopped.
“May I?”
Her body remembered his mouth in Denver.
“No,” she said, not because she did not want him, but because wanting needed to stop being the only force between them.
Alex lowered his hand immediately.
“Good night, Olivia.”
He left first.
The respect in the departure followed her longer than a kiss would have.
The next evening, the Detroit Vipers arrived at Titan Crown.
Alex’s suspension had ended, but league officials warned that another major penalty could remove him from the playoffs. Richard knew it. So did the Vipers.
Their defenseman, Cole Mercer, had attended the development camp with Evan.
During warmups, he skated past Alex and said something that made Alex’s shoulders lock.
Olivia watched from the media level, not the owner’s suite. She had moved her work away from Robert and informed him only that Vale was compromised. She had not told him about the hospital photograph or the audio recording.
Her father responded by freezing her access to several internal databases.
Trust within the Carter family had become a financial transaction.
The game began hard and fast.
Detroit pressed high, forcing turnovers near the Titans’ blue line. Noah stopped an early breakaway. Luke absorbed a hit along the boards and sent the puck to Daniel, who split two defenders with a grin that looked almost insulting.
Alex took the pass at center.
Mercer lined him up.
Their collision shook the glass.
Neither fell.
Alex kept the puck, drove wide, and fed Adam at the far post for the first goal.
The arena exploded.
Olivia exhaled.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
WATCH MERCER.
In the second period, Mercer slashed Alex’s hand after a faceoff. Alex turned but did not retaliate. He skated away.
Coach Davis noticed. So did the bench.
Growth under stadium lights looked less dramatic than violence. It mattered more.
Late in the third, Detroit tied the game. The Titans earned a power play with ninety seconds remaining.
Alex controlled the faceoff, sent the puck back to Luke, then moved through the slot as Daniel rotated high. Luke’s shot hit traffic. The rebound dropped near Alex’s skate.
Mercer cross-checked him from behind.
Alex went down.
The puck slid to Daniel, who scored.
The horn sounded beneath the roar.
Alex stood and turned toward Mercer.
Every camera waited for the fight.
Mercer leaned close. “Your owner paid us to keep Evan quiet.”
Alex’s fists closed.
Then he looked toward Olivia.
She did not know whether he could see her through the glass.
He skated away.
After the win, Olivia found Mercer near the visitors’ tunnel.
He tried to pass her.
“Evan Hale,” she said.
He stopped.
“What did my father pay for?”
Mercer glanced toward security. “Ask him.”
“I am asking you.”
“He paid three players to sign statements saying Evan never complained of chest pain.”
“Were you one of them?”
Mercer’s silence answered.
“Why tell Alex?”
“Because Richard says Alex put Evan in the hospital. That is not what happened.”
“What happened?”
“Evan collapsed. Gerard gave him medication. Robert moved everyone out. Richard arrived before the ambulance.” Mercer’s face tightened. “Alex stayed with him. He was the only one who did.”
“Do you still have the statement?”
“No.”
“Who does?”
“Richard.”
Security turned the corner.
Mercer stepped away. “Do not trust anyone named in the report.”
He disappeared into the visitors’ area.
Olivia entered the executive elevator alone.
The doors nearly closed before a hand stopped them.
Richard Parker stepped inside.
No security. No witnesses.
He pressed the button for the owner’s floor.
“You are becoming difficult to reach,” he said.
“Then take the hint.”
He smiled. “You have Eleanor’s courage. Unfortunately, you also have Robert’s confidence that courage prevents consequences.”
“What happened the night my mother died?”
“Ask her husband.”
“I am asking you.”
The elevator rose.
Richard reached into his coat and removed a small digital recorder.
He pressed play.
Her mother’s voice filled the confined space.
“I gave Alex the wrong file. If Richard learns where the original is, he will kill us both.”
The recording ended.
Olivia’s heart pounded.
“What wrong file?”
Richard’s gaze settled on her. “The one your captain has hidden for seven years.”
The elevator doors opened.
Robert stood on the other side.
He looked at Richard, then at the recorder in his hand.
For the first time in Olivia’s life, her father looked afraid.