Page 107 of Play to Win

Tonight are the NHL Awards.I’m not nominated for anything; nobody from the Condors is.But the Mustangs’ goalie is nominated for the Vezina Trophy and one of the defensemen for the Norris, so I came back to support them and do some networking.There’ll be parties, naturally, but I’m not big on those.

I have one other mission while I’m here.

I drive to the apartment building where Lacey used to live.Where she still pays the rent in case her brother comes back and needs a place to live.I take the stairs to the second floor, even though it’s been nearly two months since that day we ran for our lives out of there.Of course the suitcase isn’t there anymore.

I knock on the apartment door and wait.This is probably futile, but who knows.

The door opens and I’m greeted by a frowning young man with Lacey’s eyes and nose.He’s a few inches taller than her, but shorter than me, with dark gold hair and beard stubble.“Yeah?”

“Chris Olson?”

“Yeah.”His frown deepens.“Who are you?”

“Théo Wynn.Lacey’s husband.”

His eyes bug out, then he frowns again.“Where’s Lacey?”

“She’s still in L.A.She couldn’t come with me because she had work and school.”

“Huh.Yeah.She told me she got a job and was taking a course.”

“What about you?”

His forehead creases and his eyes narrow.“What about me?”

“What are you doing with your life?After stealing money from your sister to pay your gambling debts or possibly gamble more, and trying to pimp her out to your bookies to get them off your back ...after letting her bail you out time after time ...what areyoudoing?”I fix him with a harsh glare.

“Uh ...”He seems at a loss.Then he shakes his head.“I’m trying.I am.”

I push past him to enter the apartment.

“Sure, come on in,” he says sarcastically.

“We don’t need to have this conversation in the hall.”I turn to face him.“You say you’re trying.What exactly does that mean?”

He stares back at me for a moment.“I’ve gone to some meetings,” he finally says, a bit defensively.He rubs the back of his neck.“I know I have a problem.”

I nod slowly.“Like they say ...that’s the first step.”

23

LACEY

I’ve just gottenhome from my Thursday morning class.I have a few hours before my shift at Jolie starts, and I’m opening the fridge to see what I can have for lunch when the doorbell rings.Théo’s in Vegas for the NHL Awards that happened last night, and he’s going to fly from there to Vancouver for the draft this weekend, so he won’t be home until Monday.I scoot to the door to answer it, expecting Taylor and Byron inviting me to go for a walk on the beach, or maybe Manny wanting to hang out, and throw open the door with a smile.

I freeze in shock at seeing Théo’s brother.

“Uh ...JP.Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Théo’s not here.”

“I know.He’s in Vegas.”

“How’d you know that?”

“Everyone knows that.I saw him on TV last night.”

---