“Who’s Chris?” Scott frowned.
I shrugged while Piper’s lips parted. She blinked a couple of times then swallowed. “Professor Christopher Hoffman.”
I gasped and covered my mouth. “It has to be. I wonder if he’s connected to Coach Bleekman or whether the link is actually Cameron.”
“What’s so special about this Cameron guy anyway?” Scott’s face bunched with dark confusion.
I wrung my hands, trying to slow down my erratic thoughts.
“Cameron is a post-grad student, studying organic chemistry; maybe he’s making some kind of drug or something and then spiking people’s drinks.” I clicked my fingers and pointed at Piper. “Ginseng tea! How quickly did the effects kick in for you?”
She pursed her lips as she thought. “Maybe thirty or forty minutes? I can’t really remember.”
“Would players drink ginseng tea before hitting the court?”
“I highly doubt it.” Scott shook his head. “Wouldn’t they be sloshing back energy drinks?”
My eyes grew wide as I remembered my call with Max.
“That’s it!” I jumped from the bed. “Energy drinks and sleeping pills. They give people a natural high. If it’s all made from legal substances, then nothing illegal would show up in their blood work. That’s why Connor was clean the other day. That’s why Liam had nothing illegal in his system.”
“Liam? As in Liam Donovan?” Scott’s usually soft eyes went stormy whenever I mentioned someone from his “bad boy” days.
“Can I explain that story later?” I raised my hands. “Right now, I have to get to that cabin. There’s got to be proof up there.”
“Just wait a sec.” Scott raised his finger. “You think the players are popping pills before a game? There’s no way they’d do that.”
“They would if the team doctor said it was okay.”
“So, you think he’s in on it too?”
“Maybe.” I pinched my chin. I paced from the door back to the bed. “But we can’t just blindly accuse these guys. We need proof. We need whatever is in that cabin.”
“So where is it then?” Scott asked.
“I don’t know.” I stopped pacing and stared straight at the redhead. “That’s why I need you.”
Piper sat straight, looking pretty territorial as she wrapped her arms around Scott’s neck. “You are not getting him in trouble.”
“I just need him to borrow Tyson’s phone so we can get the coordinates to the cabin. That’s all! It’s not even stealing.”
“No way,” Piper snapped. “What if he gets caught?”
“I’ll do it.” Scott nodded.
“Excuse me?” His girlfriend sat up to face him. “You are not doing this.”
“Yes, I am, Pip. If we can pin something on the professor, then he’ll go down and you don’t have to get hurt.” He cupped her check, gently brushing his thumb over her skin. “I love you and I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
“Well, I feel the same way so how can I let you do this? I should be the one going in and stealing stuff.”
“Pip, let me do my thing.”
Her face wrinkled with reluctance.
“First things first, we need to locate this phone.” Scott turned to me, all business. “Where does Tyson live, hang out? Where will his stuff be?”
“I don’t know him very well. All I know is that he’s in my Life Sciences class.”
“Okay.” Scott nodded, running his fingers lightly up and down Piper’s back as he thought. “We’ll need to stalk him tomorrow, follow him around, find out where he goes, where he lives. If we’re lucky, we might even be able to nick his bag while he’s distracted.”
“I have a lecture with him at nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”
“That’s where we’ll start.” Scott nodded. “You’ll see Eric later, right? Let him know what we’re up to. He’ll want to be a part of this.”
“Sure.” I shrugged, dropping my gaze to the floor. Words clogged my throat, making it impossible to speak. Thankfully Scott didn’t seem to notice.
“Caitlyn, you’ll have to keep us updated throughout the day. We’ll be waiting in the wings to jump in when the time’s right.”
“Okay, sounds good.” I forced a smile. Man, I hoped his plan worked.
I sat in Life Sciences, not even bothering to take notes. Professor Whelan’s lecture about genetics washed over me in soundless waves. My eyes were glued to Tyson as my pen drew erratic circles on my note pad. I wondered where his phone might be.
Was it in his pocket?
In his bag?
The front pouch or the main, big pouch?
My ink circles turned into scribbles as the tightly-wound nerves made my body drone.
The lecture ended after an eternity and I subtly followed Tyson out the door, turning to look at the ceiling when he flicked a glance over his shoulder. I scratched the back of my neck and adjusted my right earring with a cringe. I was being way too obvious!
Tyson’s pace was quick and I had to put on a burst of speed near the door so I didn’t lose him. He jumped down the stairs and I paused at the door, trying to fool him into thinking I wasn’t following. I waited until he was nearly out of sight before pushing the door open and racing down the stairs. I spotted Piper and Scott from the corner of my eye. Eric wasn’t with them, which meant Scott mustn’t have told him anything.
I’d missed a text from Eric the night before, but in the end he hadn’t shown up anyway. I’d thought about texting him that morning, but I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about the whole Tyson/stealing thing so I decided to wait until we’d gotten what we needed.
Part of me felt bad. I should have texted back to make sure he was okay. It was unlike him not to show up when he said he would...but I really didn’t want him going off on me again.
My eyes stung and I blinked quickly as Scott and Piper smoothly walked in behind me. The three of us played spies for the next ten minutes...until Tyson reached the library.
We bundled in together and watched Tyson set up his stuff at one of the big, central tables. He looked nervous and twitchy as his fingers lightly tapped the wood. He pulled out a textbook and note pad, along with his phone.
I drew in a sharp breath. He checked the screen, frowned, then dropped it back into his bag.
He kept looking toward the door as if he were waiting for someone. We ducked out of view whenever his head swiveled in our direction.
“So, where’s Eric? I thought you were going to text him?” Scott whispered.
My mouth popped open and shut a few times as I fumbled for a plausible reason. “I...I never got a chance.” I blushed at Scott’s confused glare. “He was supposed to come over last night and never showed.” My gaze flickered to the floor. “I thought it might be best to text him after this.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t see him last night and he must have left before I got up this morning so I didn’t get a chance, either.”
“Maybe it’s for the best,” I mumbled.
“What’s going on with you two?”
“Look, Scott, can we just get this over with first before dealing with her relationship problems?” Piper practically growled.
Scott gave her a withering look, which she returned with a pointed glare.
“She’s right.” I intercepted the oncoming argument and pointed over my shoulder in Tyson’s direction. “What do we do now?”
“His phone is right in his bag,” Piper answered. “It’s ripe for the picking.”
“There’s no way we can grab it without him noticing. Besides, it looks like he’s waiting for someone.” Scott scratched his chin.
“So we better get on with it then.” Piper pulled the tie from her hair and fluffed the back. Leaning forward, she adjusted her top, pushing her boobs up so more cleavage was showing.
“What are you doing?” Scott’s voice was dry.
“Just giving us a little extra ammunition.” She winked at him.
“Pip.” S
cott shot her a deadpan glare while I suppressed a giggle.
“What? Unless he’s gay, this will hopefully be an added distraction.”
Scott let out an exasperated groan. “Piper—“
But she walked into view before Scott could continue his argument.
“Pip!” he barked in a whisper, but to no avail. His girlfriend already had her flirt on and was swaying toward Tyson’s table. I couldn’t see her face, but I was sure there was a gleam in her eye.
I smiled at Scott’s whine of agony and moved to get a better view. As soon as Tyson’s eyes hit her, they rounded. The way his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat made one thing very obvious. The guy wasn’t gay.
“Hey.” Piper smiled, perching her butt on the edge of the table, less than an inch from his hand. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I don’t come here very often and I was wondering if you know where the history section is.” She bit her lip, running her fingers down the neckline of her top.
Tyson’s eyes followed her manicured nails and he swallowed again.
“Wow, she’s kind of good at that,” I whispered.
Scott’s response was a stone-cold glare that had me nervously clearing a tickle from my throat.
“If you could just point me in the right direction or maybe show me? I’d really appreciate it.” She touched his arm and he jerked away from her.
“I’m actually waiting for someone.”
“Oh, okay.” Piper shrugged. “That’s all right. Sorry, I didn’t mean to encroach on a date or anything.”
“It’s not a date.” He rushed to mention.
My eyes narrowed as his mask fell away and he swallowed, looking painfully nervous and guilty.
“That’s okay.” Piper pushed off the table. “I can ask someone else. I just approached you first, because...” She shrugged. “I don’t know, you look like a nice guy.”
His face crumpled. That was exactly what he wanted to be. My heart squeezed tight as Piper turned away and Tyson looked like he wanted to cry. Agony and regret swept over his face. He squeezed his eyes shut then jerked from his seat.
“Wait.” He raised his hand. “I can show you. It’ll only take a sec, right?” His maskless grin made him look like a sweet puppy dog.
“Cute,” I mumbled.
“It’s not cute,” Scott snapped. “That’s my girlfriend.”
I looked at him sideways. “You know she’s just putting on a show to help us out. Cut her some slack.”
Scott rolled his eyes as Tyson ran his hand through his hair. He looked like an insecure kid again. “I’m not sure exactly where it is, but we can find it together.”
“Thank you so much.” Piper brushed his arm. “You’re so sweet.”
He gave her another cute smile and went to reach for his bag, but Piper grabbed his hand and tugged him away from the table before he could.
“She’s good,” I muttered as we snuck into the library while Tyson and Piper disappeared down the first aisle of books. Once they were completely out of sight, we sat down at the table. I glanced around me to see if anyone had noticed us. The library was scattered with a few patrons, but they were all immersed in their books.
Ducking down, I unzipped his bag, hoping I could find it easily.
“Oh, phew.” I yanked it out of the first compartment I checked.
“I don’t know how the hell we’re supposed to unlock this thing, Caity. Do you have any idea how many combinations there could be?”
I handed him the phone. “Look, just try, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll keep following him. Piper’s made the connection now, so at least we can use her if we need—“
“Huh.” Scott stared at the phone screen, his pale eyebrows arched.
“What? What’s huh?”
“It’s not locked. Who doesn’t lock their phone?” Scott glanced at me.
“You’re questioning our luck right now? Really?”
He rolled his eyes and hunted out the coordinates. He had to search a couple of different apps, but finally found it. My heart was galloping as I pulled out my phone and took a quick shot of his screen. I could hear a murmur of voices approaching and hurried to drop the phone back in his bag and zip it up. As I leapt away from the table, I tripped over the bag strap, whacking my knees on the floor.
Scott had already nipped away, but I was stuck. Piper and Tyson were walking toward me. I’d never be able to bluff my way out. With frantic eyes, I scanned my surroundings and quickly scrambled under the table, grateful for the big, wooden chairs. I would have preferred a nice non-see-through tablecloth, but hopefully no one would look down. Not wanting to make a sound, I curled around the central table leg, holding my breath.
“Well, thank you so much for your help, Tyson.”
“Anytime. It was really nice meeting you.” His voice was soft and sweet and I captured another image of what Tyson must really be like. Maybe he was being blackmailed by the professor…or Cameron. There had to be an explanation for why a guy who seemed as sweet as pie beneath the surface was acting as a drug courier.
I couldn’t help a spike of sympathy as he slid into the seat. I leaned away from his knees as they neared my head, and squeezed my eyes shut.
How was I supposed to get out of this one?
I’d just have to wait until he left the table.
His leg bobbed erratically as the minutes ticked by and my muscles started to cramp from being stuck in the tiny space, but I didn’t dare move.
Suddenly his body shifted. I awkwardly glanced through the chair legs and noticed a pretty pair of legs approaching the table. They were clad in super-tight jeans, accompanied by a pair of red flats that were really stylish. My eyebrows rose as I admired them.
Tyson pressed his knee into the wood of the table as she stopped beside him.
“Here’s the schedule for next week and all the paperwork you need. Make sure everything gets signed.” Her voice was short and clipped, taking all the sweetness out of her soft tone. “The bottles will be packaged and ready to go when you head up there tomorrow. He’ll be giving you five sets. Make sure you count them before you leave and don’t forget to wear—“
“My uniform. I know,” he muttered.
“Hey, this is serious,” she whispered. “This whole thing has to look legit. We’ve got a lot of money riding on this, and you know what Chris will do if you screw up.”
Tyson’s body pinged tight, his foot jerking and nearly kicking me in the arm.
“You’ll never be able to drink again without breaking into a cold sweat.” The girl sniggered and Tyson’s leg began to bob again.
I watched those red shoes do a quick spin and then disappear from view. A few seconds later, Tyson let out a curse and yanked his bag off the floor. Jerking from his seat, he unzipped his bag and shoved everything inside it before stalking away from the table.
Letting out a slow sigh, I crawled out of hiding, wincing as I pushed myself off the floor. As I rubbed my hip, Piper and Scott rushed into view.
“Are you okay?” He touched my arm.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I smiled. “Did you guys see that girl?”
“The blonde one?” Piper asked.
“I didn’t see her face. She just gave Tyson some paperwork, something to do with his next delivery.”
Piper looked over her shoulder at the door. “So she’s one more player in the ring then.”
“This circle is growing pretty damn big, Caity. Are you sure you want to take it on?” Scott scratched his ginger locks and looked out the door.
“What choice do we have?” Reaching for my phone, I ignored Scott’s pained expression and looked down at the screen shot. It was time to look up some coordinates and go exploring.
23
Eric
I stayed with Connor all night, sleeping in the crappy chair beside his bed. He’d had nurses bustling in and out of his room, checking his vitals, taking blood for testing. It wasn’t until after one that we were finally left to get some rest. I p
robably should have gone back to my dorm. That was what Connor mumbled at me to do, but I couldn’t leave him.
With a groan, I stretched my back and stood from my chair. Checking my watch, I noticed it was nearly ten o’clock in the morning. The nurse and doctor were in the process of sorting out Connor’s discharge papers. One of them had already been in to detach the IV that had been flushing out his system throughout the night, and Connor was currently in the bathroom. As soon as he was done, I would drop him home, then go get some decent sleep. Ditching lectures for one day wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Thoughts of Caity skipped through my mind. I really wanted to see her. She hadn’t text me back and I was wondering if she was pissed I didn’t show up like I’d said I would. I checked my phone again, not sure whether to hound her or not. Maybe she wanted some space after the way I treated her. My stomach sank.
“Morning, man.” Connor gave me a sheepish grin.
I shoved the phone back in my pocket. “How you feelin’?”
“Yeah, better.” Connor’s eyebrows rose. “Still kind of thirsty, though.” He grinned.
I reached for a paper cup and filled it with water, passing it over to him.
“Thanks.” He gulped it down.
“Doc wants you to keep drinking that. He said it’ll take a few days to completely clean out your system.”
Connor nodded, looking frustrated and confused.
He’d been diagnosed with dehydration and an overdose of caffeine. He swore he hadn’t drunk a drop of coffee, but the doctor put it down to excessive energy drink consumption. It totally confused me, as Connor said he’d only bought two bottles. The doctor didn’t seem overly fazed, but gave Connor a stern talking to. Energy drinks were not like water and should be consumed in moderation.
Connor had received the lecture twice and not just from the hospital doctor. About half an hour earlier, Doctor Rickman had turned up to check on one of his star players.
I had a weird vibe about the guy the second I met him. I wasn’t sure why, but I’d wished for Caity. She would have read him in a heartbeat. I’d shaken his pudgy hand and forced a smile as he greeted me. He’d then checked all of Connor’s charts and told him he’d need to take it easy for a few days. He was concerned about what Connor had drunk the night before and asked him about it multiple times. I’d stood in the corner of the room with my arms crossed, my stomach tightening with each repeat of the question. By the end, even mild-mannered Connor was exasperated.
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