Page 87 of Breakaway

She shook her head, confusion on her face. “We didn’t do any of that…” She stopped as something came to her. “Dakota and Kurt,” she sneered.

I filed her reaction away, hoping it meant what I thought it did.

“Regardless, we decided to head back after each game moving forward.”

“Fine. Can I meet you at the airport, then?”

I nodded and stood, pushing my seat in as I walked away. The meeting hadn’t gone as I’d envisioned.

Now I just had to hope the risk would pay off. I had a gut feeling the information would pull Pippa to our side, and she might be the smoking gun we needed all along.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Henley

Trudging out of the stadium to the bus, I commanded my feet to move a few more steps. How bad would it look if I asked Dax or Reed to carry me? Asking for a friend.

That game had been the worst, and the fatigue had hit me full-force by the end. The Cavillers had squeaked out a win, beating us in a tied game with a last-minute goal after slamming most of our players into the boards, which resulted in a fight, sending three of our players to the penalty box.

I wasn’t positive, but I had a feeling Anders had said something about either Ana or Reese. It was the only explanation for Cam, Jack, and Braden to all go feral and not stop hitting when the whistle blew. But since no one would tell me, I had to take my best guess. As it was, I didn’t have it in me to discipline them over it. Even before that fight, the game had been messy.

I think we all just needed a few days off the ice.

The sight of Fletcher leaning against the side of the bus gave me the last boost of energy I needed to race toward him. I wrapped my arms around his waist, so happy he was here. He’d texted earlier, so I’d gotten the notification during the second period, but seeing him was a whole different level.

“You’re here,” I said, like it wasn’t the most obvious thing.

“I am.” He kissed my forehead. “I need to tell you something.”

I nodded and stepped back to take his hand. “Bus?” I asked, hoping he could say it there. My legs were about to collapse on me.

“Yeah. The others need to hear too.”

Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself to climb the stairs, but my feet wouldn’t move. Fletcher chuckled behind me, lifting me up and carrying me before depositing me in a seat. I was so grateful that I just sighed happily.

Reed and Dax climbed up after ensuring everything was loaded and did a head count. I was so thankful I had them with me. It helped to take off all the responsibility of keeping the team safe. Once they were done, they took the seats next to us, looking at Fletcher as they waited.

“I think we can trust Pippa. I have this feeling she wants out. She had no clue about the attacks. I don’t know for sure, but I’d say there’s some dissension and possible splitting among the ranks.”

“How do you know for sure? It could be a ploy,” Dax said.

Fletcher waved his hand back and forth as he debated. “I know it’s not much to go off of, but I have a hunch. She didn’t give off the impression she was happy with how things were, and when I brought up family, she was protective of them.”

“You told her?” I asked.

“No. Just that I had some information about Matilda. I wanted you to be the one to share if you chose to. She’s going to meet us at the airport. We can either have the plane wait while she talks or send it back and take another after we finish.”

“But,” I protested, a million obstacles piling up in my head.

“There are chaperones, Baby Shaw. Plus, most of the kids will sleep once they eat. They’ll be fine if that’s what you want to do. I can have a smaller jet here in an hour.”

I debated. I didn’t like sending the kids off on their own, but Fletcher was right. There were parents aboard the bus who would be flying back with the team. If Pippa was on our side, then I wanted to have time to discuss everything in the open, once and for all. Fletcher’s judgment was steady, so I knew if he took the risk to tell her, I could also.

“Okay. We’ll let her have her say and fly back after. I’m not telling her until she tells us something first.”

The guys agreed, and I sat back, reviewing different scenarios with Pippa as we made our way to the airport. When we disembarked the bus, I was still nowhere near ready for the conversation, but knew I just needed to get it over with. Thinking about it wasn’t helping.

“Hey, Connor, I need to take care of something here. Are you and Melinda okay with getting the kids back to school?”