Page 218 of The Blame Game

“Damn. What a manipulative asshole.”

“Right?” Shea huffed.

“You know,” Dom said thoughtfully. “When we started trying to find the leak, I was so sure I was going to want to punch the guy in the face but I feel bad for him now.”

Shea nodded. “I do too. I mean, he made so many horrible decisions but …”

“But he kinda got suckered into it by someone who sounds like a real piece of work.”

“Exactly.”

“How’d Birdie take the situation?”

“She seemed pretty torn up about what Mitchell did, but by the end, she hugged him and begged Kate to give him a second chance.”

“Yeah right,” Dom scoffed at the idea. He felt bad for Mitchell, but that didn’t mean he deserved to work for the team anymore.

Shea shook his head. “Well …”

“Really?” Dom asked skeptically. “Kate isn’t exactly the pushover type.”

“She’s not,” Shea said. “But she is compassionate. She told Mitchell she’d find him a position in the organization far from any player information. I think it’s the equivalent of scrubbing toilets with a toothbrush as penance. But he seemed grateful and Birdie was happy with that outcome.”

“So what about his father? Mark’s one of the executive directors. Kate can’t exactly demote him.”

“Oh, he’s gone,” Shea said with a laugh. “Kate wrote a resignation letter, printed it off, and made him sign it.”

“Is that legal?”

Shea shrugged. “I don’t know. But your GM, Pat, backed her and Mark looked cowed enough that I don’t think he’s going to cause a fuss about it. He’ll have to find work elsewhere. I think the head office is just fucking grateful the escort thing was never made public.”

“I’d imagine,” Dom said drily. He was feeling pretty grateful about that too. “But it still could, right?”

Shea grinned. “Doesn’t sound like it. While we talked to Joe in the park, apparently Kate went, well, full Kate and spoke to someone at JockGossip. She got a low level employee there to put her in contact with someone higher up. She reminded them that if they printed Joe’s information, they’d be an accessory to blackmail.”

“Is that true?” Dom asked. “Like, could they legally be held responsible?”

“I have no idea. But it sounds like she convinced them of it.”

“So what about Joe? What happens to him?” Dom asked.

Shea grimaced. “Unfortunately, he seems to have disappeared. He’s not at the apartment Mitchell went to previously. The number he used to contact you and Mitchell is no longer in service. The team is using a discreet investigator to try to dig up some info, but no one seems to be able to find anything.”

“Fuck. Is anyone thinking about taking it to the police?”

“It doesn’t sound like it. We could. But then it all comes out and …”

“True. Damn,” Dom muttered.

“I know.”

“But we’re in the clear?” Dom asked. “I mean, none of this is going to go public?”

“It seems like we’re safe,” Shea said with a shrug. “There’s enough mutually assured destruction that no one is willing to pull the trigger.”

Dom nodded. “That’s good for the team and for the two of us, so I can’t be upset about it. It would have been nice to see that asshole get what he deserved though.”

“It would have been,” Shea agreed. “But hey, the team won a Stanley Cup and the leak has been taken care of. On the whole, I’d call that a success.”

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