Page 29 of Furious (The Six Six Six Rule #2)

All My Sins

CHANCE

W e win our first away game against San Francisco.

Lev and I get some ice time again and we don’t disappoint. We score one goal each, and this time I give him an assist.

The team bus is quiet on the way back to Star Cove, despite the victory.

It’s gonna be late by the time we get back to campus, and I’m pretty sure there’s gonna be a party waiting for us at the Gamma house; so I think my teammates are just using the three-hour trip to recharge their batteries and be ready to party until the wee hours of the morning.

I wish I could say the same. Instead, when I got my phone out of my locker after the game, I found a text message from Cal.

Tonight we’re racing. So there’s no party for me and Lev. A part of me is annoyed because all I wanted was to celebrate our victory with Zara.

On the other hand, I’m rearing to show Fox that last week was a fluke, and he only won the race because I got distracted.

I open my text thread with Zara.

Me: Hey, baby. We’re one hour away from campus. I need to show my face at the party, but I’m tired and I’m not staying long. Where are you?

The three dots that indicate that she’s typing appear on the screen.

Zara : I’m at the party, too. Heather dragged me along with her and her Zeta sisters. But the party is super lame without you guys, and I just called an Uber to go home.

Good. If she saw me there, I would have to lie to her to sneak away long enough to race.

Me : I’m sorry you’re bored. But do you think you might be up when I get back home? I’m going to be as quick as I can at the party. There’s only one person I want to celebrate my victory with.

Zara : Yeah, I’ll wait up for you. Just text me before you come to my room, though. Our parents had dinner at the Country Club tonight and you don’t want to get caught sneaking into my room.

I roll my eyes.

Me : Thanks for the heads up, baby. Hopefully, they’re going to be already home and asleep. But I’ll make sure before I come to see you.

“Hey son, do you have a minute?” Coach Harrison is standing in the aisle between the seats where Lev and I are sitting.

Some of our teammates are squeezed together at the front of the bus to play a video game, so we took the opportunity to spread out in the back.

“Sure, Coach. What’s up?”

Coach Harrison makes me nervous. The expression on his face is always stern.

Dad says he has always been like that. In his pro days, his teammates used to call him “Growl.” The name still fits, but I know better than to mention that to my teammates for fear of the repercussions if Coach had someone call him that.

“Can I sit down?” he asks.

It’s not like I have a choice, so I nod. I played for less than half a period and I scored a goal and an assist, so I don’t think I’m in trouble. But with him, you never know.

“Sure.” I straighten my posture and take my legs away from the aisle seat.

“Reilly?” Coach waves his hand in Lev’s direction to get his attention, gesturing for him to remove his ear pods. “I have something to say to both of you, so let’s kill two birds with one stone.”

Lev scoots to the aisle seat. “Yes sir. What’s up?”

Coach Harrison looks at me and Lev for a long moment, as if he was trying to evaluate us.

“We have a decent roster this year.” He begins.

“Harper and Hart, your teammates who start in your position have already secured NHL contracts. They both intend to finish the year, but you never know what might happen if their future NHL teams called saying they needed them sooner. I didn’t expect the two of you to get a lot of ice time, given that the seniors on the second line have paid their dues. ”

I nod along as I listen to what he’s saying. This is all stuff we had figured out without needing an explanation, and Coach Harrison is a man of few words, so I’m sure this isn’t why he wanted to talk to us.

“However, I have to say that I’m impressed with your performance so far. You made every second on the ice count.”

Neither of us says anything, but Coach has our full attention at this point.

“Three goals and three assists in two games between the two of you is definitely what you needed to do to get noticed, so I decided I’m going to move you to the second line.”

This is fucking huge. I blink a couple of times, looking at Lev to make sure that I’m not imagining what Coach just said.

“Thank you, sir.” Lev smiles. “We won’t disappoint you, sir.”

As Coach Harrison looks from him to me, his permanent scowl deepens.

“That’s exactly why I wanted to talk to you.

There are a few reasons why I don’t typically start freshmen.

It isn’t just because the upperclassmen on the team are usually quality players.

I’ve been a college freshman too and I know what goes on in your heads. ”

His eyes go from Lev to me again, as if he expected us to say something; when neither of us speaks, he continues.

“You’re getting a great opportunity this year.

And not disappointing me doesn’t just mean working hard at practice and performing on the ice.

It means being an asset to this team, both on and off the ice.

Especially off the ice. So you’re going to have an exemplary attendance and GPA, and you’re gonna keep your noses clean.

If I get a call about you, it better be to say that you’re up for an award or something.

I’m not foolish enough to expect the two of you to live like monks.

What I expect is you to be smart enough and careful not to get caught doing anything that will have my phone ringing after hours. Understood?”

Shit.

If I thought Coach Harrison was terrifying before, the way he’s looking at me now makes me want to confess all my sins.

Like the illegal race I’m about to be a part of the second we set foot on campus.

I feel like the worst piece of shit in the world when I confirm that I got the message.

“Maybe we can find a way to convince Cal that we aren’t worth all the trouble of forcing us to race.” I tell Lev a little while later as we trek through the woods to get to the abandoned hangar.

If I needed anyone to give me a reality check, however, I can always count on Lev.

“Yeah, right. He’s banking on the fact that everyone knows our names in the county.

Especially yours, Chance. And he thinks that having you involved in his scheme would mean a lesser punishment if we got caught, since your dad is the mayor.

He has no reason to cut us loose. The only way I can see him doing that is if… ”

He doesn’t finish the sentence. “If?” I urge him.

“If we won every race and caused him a financial loss.”

I’m not sure I understand what he’s saying. “Why would Cal be stupid enough to bet on the races? I mean, Dave lured us in with that initial bet, but I’m sure it was just a ruse to get us to break the law and to make us come back.”

Lev sighs. “Yeah, I’ve been giving it some thought, and I think there’s only one way to get out of this.

Did you see how Dave had odds written down when he took bets last time?

If we won every single race for a while, our odds would get less and less attractive to bet on.

People wouldn’t get paid a lot if betting on us was super predictable. The races wouldn’t be as exciting and…”

“And Cal’s sponsors would make him cut us loose if we aren’t worth the hassle.” I finish for him.

“Exactly.”

That all makes sense except for one detail. “This would work, but it’s going to take a few weeks to put into action.”

“I don’t see any other way.” He says as we get into view of the clearing at the edge of town.

I’m about to agree with him, but the words die in my mouth when I spot the blinding lights and hear the music.

“What the fuck is going on?”

There are twice, maybe three times, the number of people of last week’s race. Girls in skimpy clothes are dancing around offering shots to the people who are waiting in line by a stand near the hangar where Dave is taking bets.

“How the fuck did Dave make it here so quickly?” I frown.

“Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe he didn’t have to go get his bag with his helmet and racing suit.” Lev says. “But that’s the least of my fucking worries. That stupid motherfucker got too greedy and brought in more people than last time.”

He’s right. I even see several people I recognize. “Isn’t that Ward Crawford, the starting quarterback of our football team?”

Lev nods. “Yeah, he’s also the president of the Greek Council. And that’s Candace, the Zeta president, right next to Angela.”

Tension causes my stomach to plummet. “The only good thing is that not all the Zetas are here. I don’t see Heather.” Or Zara.

Lev clasps my shoulder as we look at the circus right in front of us. “Yeah. I’m glad Zara isn’t here. At least if we get caught, she is going to stay out of trouble.”

ZARA

I need to remember never to say that I have a headache and I need to go home just to get rid of Heather.

She’s too much of a good friend to just make sure I get into my Uber and wave me off to go back to the party.

She was determined to come home with me, worried that Mom and Scott were out to dinner and I would be alone.

In the end, I had to tell her that I just wanted to take some painkillers and go to bed and I wouldn’t be good company if she came with me. Even then, my grumpy tone was barely a deterrent.

Having my bike hidden in Scott’s garage isn’t ideal. It’s just lucky that his engagements as mayor mean that he and Mom rarely have any time to Netflix and chill at home in the evenings.