Page 60 of Tangled in His Game

Chapter 29

I’VE MADE MY CHOICE, or at least I think so. Leaving Emberwell is what’s best for me, but before I do that, I want to say goodbye to Victor. Well, not exactly say it to him in person, just in my head.

That’s why I’m attending his hockey game. It’ll be the last time I ever see him because I’m going to inform Emberwell of my decision tomorrow. I have to set up a meeting with whoever is in charge so they can guide me through the transfer process.

My parents don’t know about it yet, but I’m sure they’re going to support me no matter what I decide. They’ll be happy to hear I’m done with Emberwell and with all the bullies.

As I watch Victor in the rink, I wonder what he’ll think once I’m gone. Will he just forget about me or will he miss me? I don’t even know because he’s always acting so damn weird. But it doesn’t matter. He’s a bully, and I need to get as far away from him as possible.

And whoever started the fire... I hope they’ll pay for it one day. Maybe karma gets them if the cops can’t. I’ll be far away from them too, which is good.

The crowd boos and whistles, and I frown. What’s going on? Victor shoves his teammate out of the way and sends the puck right past the goal. One of his teammates says something to him, but he pushes him away.

What’s wrong with Victor? His team is currently losing, and instead of passing the puck to the open player, he just tries to go through three of his opponents and fails.

I spot his father in the crowd, not too far away from me. His face is impassive, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking or feeling. The mystery guy sits right next to him, and his gaze briefly meets mine, so I look away.

When I focus my attention on Victor, he’s arguing with his coach. His team doesn’t have all that much time left to turn things around.

Victor stays in the rink. I guess he’s convinced the coach that everything’s fine with him. Just when it seems he’s going to score like he’s done so many times before, he sends the puck directly at the goalie. The crowd protests.

Why is he having such a bad day today? It’s as if he’s turned into someone else. Someone who doesn’t know how to play hockey.

Unless...

I crease my brow.

Lose.

The word resonates in my head, and I risk another glance at Jake. He’s unmoving and his lips are pressed tightly together, but he’s not mad or upset. He’s just sitting there as if it’s any other game, which doesn’t make much sense because he was so pissed off at Victor when he didn’t show up at the game when he was sick.

Is Jake just that good at controlling his expression in public, so he’s going to be mad later when no one can see him? Or...

Victor’s team is meant to lose, isn’t it?

Was that what they were saying in the parking lot and why they met? I pull out my phone to check any news related to the team. It looks like two of his teammates got sick right before the game.

My frown deepens. Did Victor do something to them, or is it just a coincidence? Maybe that’s why Victor is still playing, even though he sucks.

I glance once again at Jake and the guys surrounding him. He’s not just a businessman. They’re game-fixing. They have to be. Why would Victor have such a shit performance out of nowhere?

Sure, it happens. But he was totally fine yesterday, and they mentioned the wordlose. Jake told Victor to lose, and that’s exactly what he’s doing. They must be doing something illegal, maybe betting or laundering money somehow.

Isn’t Victor aware of how serious that is? If someone figures out what he’s doing, his career might end. Why would he risk that? He’s a great player, and his father is already ridiculously rich. I doubt he needs any more money, so why put Victor’s whole career at stake?

I don’t get it. Unless Victor couldn’t care less about hockey, and he’s only doing it for money. I didn’t get that impression, but who knows? Maybe Jake lost a lot of money the day Victor couldn’t play because of me, so that’s why he was so furious.

And if Victor did something to his teammates today to make them sick and unable to play... Well, that’s just...

He and Jake are willing to do anything to get the result they need, and they don’t give a damn about anything else. I thought the Overtons being the mafia was a crazy hallucination on my part, but maybe I was right.

Who the hell does stuff like this if not the mafia? They get away with everything bad they do. Victor had someone hack the college computer and no one figured out who it was, and if they did, they weren’t allowed to say it.

He hasn’t suffered any consequences for the things he’s done to me, and if I hadn’t tried something on my own, nothing would’ve happened. Maybe Jake thought I was hanging around Victor too much, so he tried to kill me and make it all look like an accident.

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