Not only did she know far more about him than would ever make it possible for her to feel anything for him, except, perhaps, a passing attraction, he was well aware that she was engaged to David Carter, son of the owner of Manchester’s Carter Iron & Steel Company. The complement to Ada’s father’s munitions business. They were, as everyone said, the perfect match. The only question was why their wedding had not gone forward yet.
Ada and Jonny had both done the unthinkable in being two of the only people to ever escape Blackwood and his underworld. Only, while she was still treading above water, he was being sucked back under.
Jonny just had to be strong enough to swim out of it. He liked to believe that giving Sharpe the ledger would clear him of any ties, but he knew better than that, had seen time and again, from his own father to Ada’s, that the moment you gotin with a man like Blackwood or Sharpe, they smelled blood and became hungry for more.
He used his frustration with the entire situation to fuel his kick as he roughly took the ball from Felix, ignoring his cry of protest at his aggressiveness, and then sent the ball flying up the field to Colin.
Rhys put his fingers in his mouth to whistle them all to attention before he waved them in.
“What was that?” he asked Jonny, who shrugged and put his hands on his hips.
“I call it football.”
Rhys held his stare for a moment before turning to the rest of them. “I think that’s all for today. Tate, a word.”
Jonny had to fight not to roll his eyes as he crossed his arms and waited for the chastisement.
“Yes, Father?” he said as Rhys approached.
Rhys held his arms out to the side, and Jonny thought he was about to berate him, but as it turned out, he was wrong.
“What’s going on with you?” he asked instead. “You’ve been with us for a couple of years and while you might not be the most… polished, you’ve always been good to the team. We’ve barely seen you ever since the night we saved Minnie and Tommy on the docks. You going to fill us in?”
Jonny held his stare for a measure. Rhys was right. That had changed everything, and despite what Ada thought, he was trying to keep his distance so that he didn’t put anyone else at risk. If he told Rhys all of that, his captain would only try to fix it, and this wasn’t his problem.
“I’ll work on it,” he finally said. “I can’t share what’s happened, but I’ll make it better. I promise.”
Rhys nodded slowly. “Come to us with whatever you need. Understood?”
Jonny nodded. “Understood.”
“Good. We’re a team,Jonny. On the field and off.”
Jonny believed that, he did. But sometimes the best way to be a team player was to protect them from those who wanted to hurt them.
That was the position he found himself in now.
And one he would play well.
Ada watched Jonny speak to Rhys before running off the field to change.
“Interested in someone out there?” Emmaline asked Ada with a twinkle in her eye.
“I’m wondering what Jonny is up to, if I’m being honest with you.”
She wouldn’t share everything she knew about him with her friends. She had promised to keep his secret, but it also wasn’t her story to tell. As long as he kept the danger away from them, she would keep that part of their lives hidden.
“He’s a mysterious one,” Lily mused.
“The same could be said about you, Ada,” Minnie said, looking at her out of the corner of her eye as she absentmindedly rubbed her belly.
“Me?” she said in surprise. “I tell you everything.”
“Do you, though?”
“If this is about Blackwood,” Ada said in a low voice. “You all know about that already.”
“Would you have told us if we didn’t witness it?” Emmaline asked, lifting a brow.
