Page 73 of The Alternate Captain
That was that.
And of course, I waited to hear from her. But she didn’t message me back.
“Shall we set upfor deadlifts?” I ask Liam, reaching for a barbell.
I’m in the gym with a few of the guys and we’re working our way through the free weights, but I leave Liam to set up the weights when my phone pings.
Unknown
Please, can we talk? It’s Sarah.
I was hoping it was Kelly, but seeing Sarah’s name after I’ve blocked her number is like a kick to the stomach. Why won’t she leave me alone?
Liam is staring at me, then he pulls his eyes away as he crouches down to take the dumbbell clamp off the end of the bar, and I know I need to focus on our workout.
“Figured out what you’re doing after hockey yet?” I say, tossing my phone down next to my gym bag.
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” he says, fixing the clamp and stepping up to the barbell.
“Because you should have a plan. Simon Pearce had a side hustle for years before he retired.”
“I don’t know who that is, but he can kiss my ass,” he says.
“He was the guy Rodgers replaced. A benchwarmer, but he had his shit together. He had a plan.”
Liam looks at me with a pensive expression. “Actually, I do have a plan—Ryan and I are going to flip houses.”
All I can do is stare at him because in all my years of knowing Liam, he’s never once shown that he’d be keen to flip houses, that’s for sure. I’m about to open my mouth to reply when the light from my phone screen blinks on and ignites curiosity.
Maybethat’sKelly.
Then several pings follow.
I try to ignore it, stepping up to the bar and readying myself for my set as my phone buzzes again.
“Want me to get that for you?” Liam asks.
“No. No—just leave it,” I snap.
Because if he sees Sarah’s, or Kelly’s, name for that matter, he’ll start asking questions.
He seems to back off, but my phone rings and panic sets in. What the fuck is going on?
“Shut that fucking thing up,” Danny shouts from where he’s spotting Ryan. And it feels like all eyes are on me, willing me to shut my phone up before someone throws it through the damn window.
“You okay, bud?” Liam asks as I reach for my phone. I take a moment to read the screen before I notice it was Wes Smith, Matt Rodgers’ old team captain, who called me. Not Sarah. Not Kelly.
“Um, yeah. Look, I’ve got to head off,” I say, grabbing my things. I’ve known Wes for a few years and he’s not a social-call kind of guy.
A voicemail arrives as I reach the stairs.
“Hey Johnny, it’s Wes. I wanted to call you and give you a heads-up. One of the guys here, you don’t need his name, said that Rodgers called him a few days ago offering to sell him something. Nothing came of it here, but I wanted you to know, as he may pull the same bullshit with your men. Look after your guys, bud. Catch you in a few weeks.”
Well, shit. That’s something I wasn’t expecting.
I slip my phone away and consider my next move. I feel like I know the guys well enough to know that they wouldn’t touch anything like that, but then again, I’ve been proven wrong in the past. And since we underwent mandatory drug testing last week, it’s probably going to be another couple of weeks before we have another, which may be a window of opportunity for someone.
I don’t mention Wes’voicemail to Ffordey when he meets me in the library a few hours later.
