by Dean, Ali
I unbuckled her seat belt and pulled her over to my lap. She came willingly, climbing onto me and curling her body into mine. We sat there like that as we watched the cops snap handcuffs onto Branden, Sean and Keegan.
“I definitely have the munchies now,” Bodhi volunteered, breaking the silence. “You think the cops will give us a ride to Dunkin? I could go for some doughnuts.”
* * *
I forgot about the follow-up appointment with my doctor but he made an exception and got me in early this morning. He gave me the all-clear to go to practice on Monday, but I had to sit out today’s game. If I went a few more days without headaches or sleepiness, I could play in next Saturday’s game. It was good news, and we had even more to celebrate now.
The cops had taken a good fifteen minutes dealing with the Malones before they’d approached the 4Runner. It was almost like they were giving us time to ditch our guns if we needed to. The thing was, it had only been me and Moody carrying and both our guns were registered. All of us had gotten consent from our parents to go to the range when we were minors, and Moody’s parents had gone as far as consenting to him registering a gun before he turned eighteen years old. I’m not sure how he talked them into that, but they were probably relieved now.
Since we’d been the ones to call the cops and it was clear from the shots the Malones came up from behind us, we weren’t arrested. We didn’t know for certain if self defense would keep us in the clear, but Uncle Cliff said it’d be a stretch to charge us with anything related to the incident. Well, we did get a ticket for having an extra passenger, but that was just a fine to pay.
The rest of the Malones were in jail, and it finally felt like we had won. With Hazel around Defiance Falls this weekend after all, we were planning another party after the games. This time, I knew I wouldn’t be acting anything out when I celebrated. It felt right to embrace the festivities.
It was weird sitting on the bench with the second and third string players as the ref blew his whistle and the game started up. I was never on the bench at kickoff, and it went against my nature to sit back and watch my own teammates. It took conscious effort to shift my mindset and soak in the atmosphere. We had a home game, and the women’s team was playing at the same time on another field. Half the town seemed to have come out for these games, and the vibe was celebratory, like we’d already won. Sun was warming up the chilly late morning temperatures, but people were dressed for fall. The concession stands with hot cider, hot chocolate and doughnuts were in full swing, the scents drifting over to the field.
Even on the bench, I could feel eyes watching me from the stands. They might hold some skepticism and uncertainty in their gazes now but they’d see with time that any power I might have wasn’t something they had to fear. We wouldn’t become the Malones.
A ball went whizzing by my feet and it took effort to remain seated. I wanted to be the one to pick it up and throw it back in the game, but I watched Emmett do it instead. He tossed it in front of his twin, who had taken my center position for now. Bodhi trapped it with his chest, and a defender reached to kick it away, but Bodhi was faster. With one smooth motion, he had possession of the ball and the opposing team’s player was behind him. Bodhi went straight to the goal, his strides strong and purposeful. The sweeper from the other team sprinted across the field to intercept, but Bodhi made a single fake, allowing him just enough time to kick the ball out of the sweeper’s reach.
He was at the top of the penalty line now and we were all on our feet, the noise from the crowd deafening. It was only the first few minutes of a regular season game, but that didn’t matter in this town. Every breakaway was something to cheer about.
Bodhi swung his leg in that picture-perfect motion and sent the ball straight to the corner of the net. The goalie barely had time to react, there was so much power on that strike. Bodhi liked to celebrate his goals and he did a little jog in a circular motion, arms wide, grinning at the stands. I saw him falter for a second and followed his gaze.
Ruby Firestone was seated in the back row, a ball cap on her head and the hood of a sweatshirt pulled over that too. But for anyone who knew her, she wasn’t exactly incognito. Maybe it should have sent a spike of fear through me. That was the reaction I was waiting for, the one I usually got when I sensed danger. But it didn’t come. As Bodhi continued lapping up the praise from our teammates and the fans, the opposite sensation washed over me. Calmness. A steadiness filled me deep and it was so unfamiliar, it nearly sent me to my knees with the force of it.
I found myself sitting again on the bench with the others when the play started again, my mind spinning as I reveled in what was happening. It didn’t last long. When halftime hit, the guys came over for water and a pep talk from our coach. We were up by three goals, and only needed to keep plugging forward. But before the guys could return to the field, the sound of sirens cut through the high school soccer fields. It sent a tremor through me, remembering the last time I’d heard that noise on school property.
As it grew louder, the guys shot me a questioning look, which I shot right back at them. We didn’t really start panicking though until a half dozen police officers came right up to our team. There was silence from the stands, our teammates, the opposing team.
And when the officers recited the charges, they did it quietly, like they were ashamed. I’d always assumed murder charges would be belted out loud and proud like they were in the movies, but that’s not how it went down. Bodhi, Emmett, Moody, Spike, each one remained tight-lipped as they were given Miranda rights. I waited for an officer to look my way, but I was ignored.
Each of my best friends worked to keep their expressions blank as hushed conversation began to take place in the stands. I thought of Ruby and what she must be feeling, but I didn’t look her way. It wasn’t until they’d been led off the field that I let my gaze travel to the stands. The twins’ parents and Drew were frozen and slack-jawed. Drew’s eyes shot to mine, and he started to move but I shook my head. He held back, understanding that with everything that went down this week – between the hitmen on Hazel and the car shootout yesterday – his grandsons were involved in ways he didn’t fully know about. The twins were still seventeen, Spike the only other one of us who was eighteen already, but cops could arrest minors for felonies just like they could adults. The twins’ parents and grandpa understood that making a scene now wouldn’t help them. Not that it wasn’t already a spectacle, but we couldn’t do anything else to make it worse.
I wasn’t going to stay for the rest of the game though, if it was even going forward. Getting up, I debated between heading straight to my bike so I could call my uncle and get the guys a lawyer as quickly as possible, or going to the women’s field where I could tell Jeremy and Mimi what had happened. Hazel would know what was up the second I went over there, if she’d heard the sirens. As soon as I was behind the stands I started jogging, even though I knew people were probably still watching me. But when I got to my bike, there was another police car pulling up, this one without a siren.
“Cruz Donovan?” the officer asked as he stepped out of the car.
I didn’t say anything, just watched him as he took several strides to meet me at my bike.
“I’m real sorry to do this, son,” he started and I tried not to bristle at his word choice. “But we’ve got to take you in on charges for assault and blackmail.” The officer rubbed the back of his neck.
I knew better than to say anything, my uncle had taught me that much, but I couldn’t help the questions escape my lips. “Who? When?”
“Kai Tillson has given credible statements and supporting evidence that you assaulted him without provocation several weeks ago and then bribed him to remain silent.”
Kai fucking Tillson.
“Fine. You don’t need to cuff me. Let me call my lawyer.”
It was strange, the way the officer let me do just that, even opening the passenger door instead of the back seat. He then waited outside the vehicle for me
to make the call in private. I didn’t say much of course, uncertain just how private the inside of a police car was, but I was able to relay to Uncle Cliff that the guys needed him too.
When we drove the now-familiar route to the Defiance Falls police station, I was surprised to find I was still hanging on to that sense of calm and steady I’d had on the bench. There had been a shift in Defiance Falls. A shift in power, definitely, but it hadn’t been forced by our hand. The people, even the cops it seemed, had welcomed it. And with it came a certain loyalty and respect.
This cop was doing his job, but he was giving me the benefit of the doubt. I could only hope the same sentiment extended to my boys.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hazel
We were tied 2-2 going into halftime. Powell High was one of the best teams in the state, and we’d been expecting a tough game. They hadn’t disappointed, and damn it felt good to be battling it out like this on the field. The ref blew his whistle for the second half and my adrenaline pumped as the opposing team passed the ball back to a midfielder. Hanna came on strong, preventing the midfielder from moving forward. She passed it back to the stopper, who sent it across to the other side of the field. The opposing team had control of the ball, but there was that taste in my mouth, that hunger in my belly. We’d get the ball back, and when we did, we’d attack.
Shantal blocked the opponent from dribbling forward, causing Powell High to kick out of bounds. The ball was ours as Aida took it in her hands to throw it back on the field. I shot forward, breaking away from one of the two players shadowing me.
“Aida!” I called and she turned, our eyes locking. Aida threw the ball down the sideline, knowing what I was asking of her. With a burst, I chased it down, outsprinting the other Powell player on me. Another defender tried to intercept as my foot connected with the ball, but I shook her off too, maneuvering past and along the sideline without going out of bounds. From the corner of my eye, I saw I had a clear field ahead of me and I went for it.
The crowd roared as a final defender tried to catch me. I threw down one more gear, leaving her in the dust until it was only the goalie in front of me. She came forward, on the balls of her feet, readying to dart wherever I sent the ball. But I didn’t take a shot. Instead, I kept my forward momentum, taking her entirely off guard when I dribbled right on past her, using a fake-out move I’d been practicing in Mimi and Pops’s back yard all summer. I crossed the goal line with the ball on my foot.
That was a hat trick – three goals – for me, and another reason I’d be celebrating tonight at the Lake with the boys. I loved this game and I couldn’t wait to play in the same school colors as my best friends next year in college. Assuming we all got in, which I had a feeling would happen.
When I started jogging back, a movement caught my eye. A young woman was jogging our way from the men’s field. Narrowing my eyes, I caught sight of frizzy hair flowing out from the sides of a baseball cap as the girl’s sweatshirt hood flew back behind her. It was Ruby Firestone. My blood ran cold and my eyes swung to where Mimi and Dad were sitting in the stands. They were actually standing now, off to one side, smiling like the rest of the Defiance Falls spectators. Dad started to wave and Mimi gave me a double thumbs up when I caught their eyes, but then Dad’s smile dropped and Mimi frowned.
I tilted my head toward Ruby and Dad’s eyes shot that way. He started jogging down the stands, and Mimi followed.
I heard my name being called and knew the game was about to start again, but I jogged off the field. Coach’s eyes widened when she saw me. “You okay?”
I shook my head. “I need to sit out the rest of the game.”
“Hazel, you can’t just sit out if nothing’s wrong. We need you, and you’ve been gone a lot this season.”
“It’s an emergency. A family emergency.” I didn’t wait for her response as I took off toward Dad and Ruby.
Before I even got there, I knew what had happened.
“Who’s driving?” I asked.
Dad and Ruby shared confused expressions. “Driving?”
“To the jail. I heard the police sirens a few minutes ago. Who got arrested?”
Ruby swallowed. “All of them.”
It wasn’t panic that hit me. It wasn’t like that frozen helplessness I’d been paralyzed by when Cruz was arrested in the high school parking lot. No, this news didn’t come anywhere close to breaking me. Instead, a shot of adrenaline coursed through me, just like it had on the field minutes earlier. It was game time. We weren’t the underdogs in this game anymore though, and it was time to show who was on top.
* * *
The party on Saturday night didn’t happen. A Saturday arrest made it awfully tricky to get a bail hearing right away. The first opportunity wouldn’t be until Monday, which meant the guys got a nice little two-night sleepover at the local jail. The major players from the Malones, including Seamus, Ray and Neil, had been moved yesterday to a state prison an hour away. Branden, Sean and Keegan, however, were in the same building. They were probably running low on space at this point.
“I think what Jake told you was true,” Ruby said. “At least, from what I heard over the years, Seamus was always in conflict with Flynn about how to handle things.”
We were sitting around the dinner table at Pops and Mimi’s. It was Sunday night dinner, but we’d gathered at noon and started with lunch. Instead of the twins and Cruz, we had Ruby, and we’d spent the last four hours telling my aunt, uncle and grandparents exactly what the boys had been up to these past three years. Okay, not exactly, but they’d gotten a watered-down version of everything I’d been told that night at the cabin. The night after Cruz had been arrested the first time.
“Okay, but don’t you think the timing’s weird?” I wondered. “This all happened right after Jake spoke to Seamus.”
Pops looked like he hadn’t slept all night and his voice was dry when he spoke. “We tried talking to Jake though, and he’s not really understanding what’s happening. Ten minutes after we told him Cruz was in trouble he forgot why we were at their house. Unless Jake has another good day like you explained he might, Hazel, I don’t think we’re getting answers.”
We’d visited Jake and Mitch yesterday trying to see if Jake knew anything, and it had been clear right away Jake wasn’t in a good mindset to help us out. In addition to learning the twins had been arrested and involved in a mafia takedown for years, Pops, Mimi, Aunt Vanessa, and Uncle Ian had learned of Jake’s diagnosis. We hadn’t actually confirmed how Flynn Malone died, allowing the twins’ parents to believe it had been someone else, some hitman hired by a different enemy. We could give them that.
“I know you all seem to think the charges will eventually get dropped or that if it goes to trial there’s not much evidence, but that’s not good enough.” Aunt Vanessa, who was typically super laid-back, had a tremor in her voice. “If these charges stay for more than a week or two, the twins will never get a soccer scholarship for college.”
“They’ve actually mentioned Harvard, dear. I don’t think they give athletic scholarships there. And anyway, it sounds like they’ve been making some money with this security business,” Uncle Ian attempted to reassure his wife by purposefully missing her point.
She called him out on it. “Ian, they won’t get into Harvard if they’re being charged with first-degree murder.”
“I don’t know, the Donovan and Braven names have a lot of weight, Cruz can probably pull some strings with Harvard,” Ruby argued, looking just as anxious. “That is, assuming he doesn’t lose credibility with these charges,” she mumbled. Ruby had her own reasons for wanting the twins at Harvard.
Mimi piped up, “Well, and our son can work magic with the computers. Not that I encourage anything nefarious,” she added in a syrupy sweet tone that told us she, too, was acting purposefully obtuse.
From my perspective, this was all weirdly a relief. It was like I knew it might happen, and now that it had we could go about getting the charges
dropped. I mean yeah, I was also terrified we wouldn’t be able to do it, or that we wouldn’t be able to do it quickly enough before it ruined their futures, but I knew we’d eventually pull it off. I understood the rest of my family’s fear though. It wasn’t that long ago I hadn’t trusted the guys when they’d asked me to have faith in their plan.
Cruz on the other hand, the charge against him was minor in comparison, but it actually seemed a little harder to get dropped. We hadn’t planned for this one.
“All right. Well, let’s start with Cruz then,” Dad said reluctantly. “If we can get him out and cleared, his testimony for the guys will hold more weight.”
“I can try talking to Kai,” I offered. “Convince him he should withdraw his testimony.”
Mimi shook her head. “I don’t want you getting in the middle of it, Hazel. The last thing we need is our third grandchild in jail for intimidating a witness or conspiring with the blackmail scheme.”
I tried not to smile at my grandmother. I’d never seen her so worked up. The woman was our rock, steady and sweet and a voice of reason. Seeing her pacing around the kitchen, hands on hips, snapping at me like this, it was cute. Reminded me of how frazzled I’d been with each episode when I first got involved again with the guys. Now I was the one acting like we had the whole situation handled, that it would all work out, even though I had no clue how. I just had faith in us. In our team. Our purpose.
“Okay, well, the only witnesses besides me are currently being charged with murder. Maybe I could say Kai started the fight, provoked him or something. It’s not entirely false…” I wouldn’t lie under oath, at least I didn’t think I would. I was really only saying this to poke Mimi now, which wasn’t nice.
She knew it too because she shot me a glare and pointed a little finger at me. “You will do no such thing.”
The sound of the doorbell had all of us nearly jumping to our feet. Who would be here at this hour? My mind immediately went to the twins, but of course that was impossible. Besides, they wouldn’t ring the doorbell. It couldn’t be Cruz, could it?