“We can turn this around. No matter what you’ve done or what you’ve agreed to, we can undo it, I promise. It’s not too late to make this right.”
Lynn began to sob. Big, chest-heaving sobs that shook her whole body. Tears gushed through the fingers covering her face. Niki held her silence, rubbed Lynn’s back reassuringly. She couldn’t afford to rush her, even though they were on the clock, but she silently implored her to snap to it.
Nearly inaudibly, Lynn finally muttered, “I don’t know what to do.”
“Tell me first exactly what you were supposed to do tonight.”
“Nothing, I…” Lynn took a deep, shuddering breath. “Just what you said. I was trying to stack the deck against us. If we…if we lose tonight, all the better. If we don’t and we make the final, it’ll be nearly impossible to beat the Americans.”
Niki took a moment to steady herself. She wanted to shake Lynn. Or worse, slap her. “Okay, well.” There was little satisfaction in being right. “We can fix that. We can put Sutherland back in net. We can get the lines back where they were. It’s too late to insert Matthews and Kennedy, but we can do this without them.”
Niki knew she would need to take matters further, to Smolenksi and maybe to the public as well, to ensure all the guilty parties were properly rooted out and censured. Even if Lynn had good reasons for crossing over to the dark side, it wouldn’t be right to let her off scot-free. But justice would have to wait; it was time to focus on the game. She tapped the inside pocket of her sport coat and the hard casing of her micro-recorder there, which she’d clicked on a few seconds before confronting Lynn. Backup was never a bad idea.
“If we don’t lose the gold…” Lynn looked away. Disgust, fear, self-loathing were all over her face.
“What?” Niki pressed. “What will happen? What will Alison do to you?”
“Not just to me. To Dani too.”
“What will she do to you and Dani? What does she have on you, Lynn?”
“She’ll throw us both under the bus. We’ll be sanctioned. Dani will never play again for her country and her NCAA scholarship will be dissolved. And I’ll…” Lynn shook her head and barked a laugh. “And I’ll never coach again. But I won’t anyway, since I’ve been making such a mess of this team. What I can’t figure out is why Dani confessed it all to Eva. She hates Eva with a passion.”
Niki glanced at the clock. Six more minutes. “She didn’t confess to Eva. Eva tried to get her to talk, and instead she kicked her and broke her kneecap. That’s why Eva’s out of the tournament.”
It took a moment for the surprise to register on Lynn’s face, and when it did, her jaw turned to cement. “You lied to me?”
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t stand by and watch what was happening any longer. It’s wrong, Lynn, no matter how good your reasons. Those girls out there…” Niki gestured toward the locker room next door, her voice breaking. “They deserve our best. They deserve to earn their wins, or their losses, fair and square. Not to mention you’re screwing with their future careers, their future earnings. But it’s not too late, I promise.”
Lynn stood, her eyes lifeless, her composure in tatters. Her defeat produced no joy for Niki. “You take over the bench for the rest of the game, Nik. I have a feeling I’m done after tonight anyway.”
Niki stood too. “Wait. You never told me why you did this. Or why Dani’s involved.” As much as she was horrified and disgusted by everything that had transpired, a greater part of her needed to understand why.
“It started last spring. At the world championships…”
* * *
In her boxer shorts and T-shirt, Eva lay on the king bed in Niki’s room, restlessly jiggling her good leg. With the television remote she cruised through channels as fast as flipping the pages of a magazine. Nothing on but news, a rerun of a curling match, infomercials on a popular face cream, the shopping channel. After several restless minutes, she settled on an old Sex and the City episode and glanced at the clock again. It was almost midnight. Niki’s game had ended more than two hours ago, a 5-0 win over Finland. When Niki had taken over the bench to start the second period, Eva had watched with a relief so intense that it made her hands tremble. Looking every bit the poised and competent commander she was, Niki seemed to have to do little to get her players back on track. Her presence alone conveyed that order had been restored, and relief oozed from the players in every stride they skated and every shot they took. They were themselves again, playing spirited hockey and doing it with a smile on their faces. But it was killing Eva not knowing what had transpired between the first and second periods. She glanced impatiently at the clock again as the door opened and Niki quietly entered.
“Hi, sweetie,” Niki whispered. “I thought you might be sleeping.”
“Sleeping?” Eva blinked in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?”
Niki hurried to her, leaned down and kissed her slowly and thoroughly. Eva moaned, wanting the kiss to go on forever, but she also needed the reassurance of Niki’s body beside her and in her arms. They were nearly at the finish line now, Eva could feel it, and though it was right to celebrate this latest victory, there was still some distance to go before this entire nightmare was behind them. With a wicked grin, she flipped Niki onto the bed beside her, turned into her and held her tightly.
“You feel so good,” Niki mumbled against her neck, her breath warm. “I don’t want to leave this room. Like, ever.”
“Me either. And maybe we shouldn’t. But I’m dying to know what happened. Tell me everything before I burst!”
The worry that had taken up residence in Niki’s eyes and in the lines around her eyes was gone now. Or at least was much faded. In its place there was a light Eva hadn’t seen in weeks.
“Lynn confessed everything. I secretly taped it all on my recorder in case she had a change of heart later, but she didn’t. She agreed to accompany me to meet Dan Smolenski after the game and she came clean with him too.”
“Wow. I didn’t think she had it in her. What changed her mind?”
“I told her I already knew everything. That Dani had confessed to you. So that was definitely the turning point. But later she said something else had been eating away at her too. She said when she saw Rory parading around everywhere these last few days wearing her Team Canada jersey, it began to break her heart.”
“Huh. I didn’t think she had one.”
“Everyone has one. Some simply lose it for a while, and sometimes they even have reasons for losing their way. I think Lynn couldn’t stand the pressure she was under anymore.”
“Well, Alison doesn’t have a heart. And if she does, it’s black and gooey and the size of a pea.”
Niki laughed. “I won’t argue with you there. But a few things happened along the way for Lynn. Things I was too blind to see because I was so wrapped up in coaching, in worrying about Rory and then with us. I didn’t see how much she was struggling. Well, that’s not entirely true. The signs were as big as billboards, but I didn’t handle things right. And that’s a failure on me, both as a coach and as a friend.”
“Whoa, wait a second. You can’t blame yourself for her misdeeds. She was on her way to tanking tonight’s game, for God sakes! Not to mention spying for Alison, and whatever else she’s been doing. I suppose she was behind that hot tub photo too?”
“Sorry, let me back up a few steps. Last April at the worlds, Lynn and Dani started an affair. It was—”
“Wait. What?” Eva couldn’t believe it. Lynn was at least fifteen years older and not at all Dani’s type. Although, come to think of it, she didn’t know a damned thing about who was or wasn’t Dani’s type, mostly because she didn’t care. But she would never have guessed a sexual relationship between the two.
“It’s true. It was mostly sexual on Lynn’s part. So she says, anyway. It only lasted a couple of weeks and she ended it right after the tournament. But—”
“Wait, are you sure Dani wasn’t getting into her pants so she could ta
p her as a future source for information? Lynn was the assistant coach for Canada at the worlds, right? Maybe it was all part of the plan leading to what’s happened here.”
“Lynn swears Dani fell in love with her. Kept bugging her all summer, pretty much stalking her, asking to see her, begging to keep the affair going, buying her gifts, calling her and texting her and emailing her all the time. And maybe it was part of some big plan of Dani’s, but Lynn doesn’t think so. By your own admission, Dani doesn’t seem that bright. Besides, at the time, there was no suggestion that Lynn was going to be selected to be the assistant coach for the Olympic team. That didn’t happen until early August.”
“All right, so if that’s true, how did Lynn get sucked into conspiring with Dani and Alison against her own team?”
“Lynn said she knew she fucked up by having an affair with Dani. There’s nothing technically unethical about having a relationship with someone on another team. It’s not a dismissal clause in our contract or—”
“Good thing, or you’d have been fired weeks ago.”
“True. It’s only prohibited for coaches and players on the same team to have a relationship. The problem is that Dani’s unstable, as it turns out. Lynn really couldn’t have picked anybody worse to have an affair with.”
“I’ll say.” Eva flipped onto her back, remembering the hate-filled expression on Dani’s face as she kicked her, followed by the rapture at seeing how badly she’d hurt her. It made her knee throb all over again.
“In the fall, Dani threatened to cause a big public shitstorm about their affair if Lynn didn’t come back to her. She had some kind of video she’d recorded on her phone of them having sex.”
“Holy shit, really?” Ew, Eva thought, but kept her mouth shut.
“Really. A public airing of their affair would have been bad. That kind of scandal probably would have forced Smolenski to fire Lynn. Lynn wouldn’t go back to having a relationship with Dani, so Dani blackmailed her into feeding her information about the team. Simple stuff like strategies, lines, who was injured at any given time. Things that would have annoyed the shit out of me, but that we could have overcome.”
“But?”
“But then Dani bragged to Alison that she had inside knowledge. Mostly because Dani was a bubble player who feared she’d be cut from the team before ever getting to the Olympics.”
“Well, that part was true. I couldn’t figure out why in hell Alison kept her on the team. She wasn’t good enough.” Eva shook her head. “Now I know why. So let me guess. Alison got carried away. Kept Dani turning the screws on Lynn if Dani wanted to be kept on the team.”
“I think things escalated quickly, from trading information to trying to throw a game. Both Dani and Lynn got in way over their heads. And the hot tub photo?”
“My money’s on Dani.”
“You’re right, it was her. Lynn, if she’s to be believed, tried to stop Dani from using it. But I think Dani got some kind of perverse pleasure in watching Lynn squirm under the pressure. She’s sadistic, that one. And I think it’s time you filed a police report on her assaulting you. We can’t and shouldn’t protect somebody like that.”
“You’re right, but shouldn’t I wait until after the gold medal game?”
Niki’s eyes were sharp and uncompromising. “No, honey. Tomorrow. It’s time to blow the lid off what’s been happening. My ass is already out on a limb, and I don’t want to be alone out there.”
“But won’t charges against Dani now be a huge distraction? It’ll put the game, hell, the whole sport, in a negative light and right on the biggest stage in the world.”
“It’s already going to be a huge distraction for our teams, especially once the shit really hits the fan tomorrow with Hockey Canada and USA Hockey. I expect some pretty big announcements. We’ve got to see this through. And we have to shed light on the darkest corners of our sport if we’re going to keep it clean.”
Niki was right, of course, but so many people had sacrificed for so long for the chance to win gold. Now there was a chance that in less than forty-eight hours the game could be forfeited. Or worse, women’s hockey might suffer under a cloud of suspicion and contempt for years because of this. A black eye for the sport didn’t simply mean losing a few fans, it meant losing scads of financial backers, which could set development of women’s hockey back decades in North America.
“Jesus,” was all Eva could manage. The magnitude of the consequences was almost too much to fathom.
“Dan’s called an emergency meeting for tomorrow between himself, the brass at Hockey USA and the International Ice Hockey Federation. The wheels are already in motion for this, there’s no going back. Oh, and I told Dan that sweeping any of this under the carpet isn’t an option, because you’re filing that police report tomorrow, which will all be a matter of public record.”
Eva’s eyes widened in surprise. She had no idea Niki was capable of such brutal toughness. But then again, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Her spirit had been forged in the fires of grief and single parenthood the last few years. She was a survivor. “You’re really holding their feet to the fire on this, aren’t you?”
“Yes. There’s no other way. And I don’t want to be part of a sport that doesn’t hold people’s feet to the fire. Nor do I want my daughter or my lover to be part of a sport so corrupt.”
Eva grinned. “My girlfriend the whistleblower. Has a nice ring to it, as a matter of fact.”
Niki grinned back at her. “It does, does it?”
“Yes. And it turns me on.” Eva moved on top of Niki, inserting her good leg between Niki’s thighs. Her hands got busy unbuttoning Niki’s shirt.
“Well, you were in this with me right from the start. In fact, the whole whistleblowing thing was really your idea. So you know what that means?”
Eva pushed Niki’s shirt and bra aside, licked her lips at the rigid nipple awaiting her mouth. “No, what?”
“It means I’m as turned on as you.” Niki’s hand slipped between their bodies, cupping Eva between the legs, sending her desire into overdrive. “Which also means the night is still young.”
Eva glided her tongue over Niki’s nipple. “Yes, it certainly is, my love.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Slap shot
Niki could only imagine what was going through Lynn’s mind as she watched the nervous drumbeat of her fingers on the surface of the massive chrome and glass table in one of the hotel’s conference rooms. Chief among those thoughts, Niki hoped, was regret.
“I’m sorry,” Niki said to break the silence. And she was sorry, even though she was not responsible for any of this. But she was sorry her friend hadn’t the fortitude to stop things before they’d gotten so badly out of hand, that she hadn’t made better choices, that she hadn’t sought help. Lynn’s coaching career was forever finished. If she was lucky, though, she wouldn’t face criminal charges.
Lynn’s face was a blank page, but her voice—cool, disdainful—hinted at her feelings. “You didn’t do anything wrong. If anything, you’ll be the hero when all this is said and done, Nik.”
“You sound like you despise me.” Niki tried to keep her anger in check. “What did I ever do to you?”
Lynn’s gaze traveled to the ceiling, down to the far wall and back to Niki. Her eyes were moist and there was the tiniest tremble in her chin. “I don’t. I always wanted to be you, Nik. But I was never as good as you. Not as a player and certainly not as a coach. For a few minutes I fooled myself, thought I could actually figure out a way to coach this team to a gold medal. But Alison would have never let that happen. I got played. And I deserved it.”
“Alison didn’t make you do anything. You could have told her to fuck off. You could have gone to Dan. Or to the police. Or to the media.” Niki boldly reached for Lynn’s hand and was glad when she didn’t pull away. “You could have come to me. We could have figured this out together before anyone got hurt.”
“I know.” Lynn shook her head
in self-admonishment, her gaze slipping from Niki’s. “At first I thought I could handle things. And then I think I got seduced by the power, by the prospect of finally making head coach of this team. I…Shit, I don’t know anymore. Just don’t hate me, okay? I know you didn’t deserve any of this, and I know the team didn’t either.”
It was as much of an apology as Niki was going to get. “What are you going to do after this?”
“I don’t know. Try to stay out of jail.” Lynn’s laughter rang hollow.
The door pushed open, and through it strode Dan Smolenski and Megan Reed, the organization’s lawyer. Both carried bulging briefcases and expressions that looked as though they were about to sign someone’s death warrant.
“Please,” Dan said gruffly to Lynn and Niki, “don’t get up.” He and Megan took seats at the table, both, Niki noticed with interest, joining her side of it, leaving Lynn very much alone and looking dejected. “Things are moving quickly. And so they should. We only have thirty hours before the gold medal game. Megan?”
The lawyer removed a couple of pages from her briefcase and set them before Lynn, along with a pen.
“So the game is going ahead?” Niki asked.
“Of course it’s going ahead,” Dan said, his eyes as hard and as cold as the ice cubes in the pitcher of water before him. “I’d sell my firstborn, actually both kids, to make sure this game proceeds. My wife will be glad that won’t be necessary. You…” A terse nod at Lynn. “…need to sign the statement and the apology in front of you. We’ll disseminate it to the media at the presser we’re jointly holding with USA Hockey later this afternoon.”
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