“She’s okay,” Faust says, his voice muffled as if he slides the phone down a second to tell someone else. No doubt Sylvan. Are they sharing a room now? Despite whatever is going down, the thought makes me smile.
“I’m still waiting,” I say anyway, keeping my tone hard.
“Detective Lincoln and about a dozen local police showed up in Kawartha tonight. Swarmed our hotel.”
I swing my legs off the bed, my toes dangling over the side. Depending on what he says next, I’m going to wake Cynthia up.
“They saw Nolan on security footage in the parking lot.” He speaks softly, like he’s afraid to upset me. “He knows he’s a suspect and I don’t think he minds hurting us now.” We both know by “us” he means him and Sylvan.
I don’t move from my bed but I feel anger claw at my insides as I squeeze my phone. If my brother touches a hair on their fucking heads, there won’t be any need for law enforcement finding him, and Detective Lincoln can arrest me instead.
“Are you safe?” The words feel stuck in my throat but I force them out.
“North. For you? We’re the safest we’ve ever been. But if you hadn’t answered our calls, we would have skipped the game tomorrow.”
“When did they see him on camera? Who called it in?”
“Half an hour ago. Lincoln woke us up by pounding on our door. Your brother’s photo is handed out everywhere we are, to catch him. The security guard must have seen him.”
“That’s some hotel security.”
“It’s a five star hotel.”
“Wow. Insane.”
“I mean, yeah. Most teams don’t get it but we’re us, so…”
I roll my eyes but a smile crawls across my lips too. “I thought only Sylvan was the cocky one.”
“Oh, no. He’s just the loudest.”
I hear my blond baby curse in the background and my smile grows wider.
“Hotel is locked down. No one in or out until check out tomorrow. Coach might cancel the game, or Lincoln could try and force it, although he’d lose.”
“Because it’s you.”
“Because Peterborough U wants to knock us down a peg and this isn’t Lincoln’s jurisdiction.”
“I’m surprised he’s there at all.”
“He told the police here we were unlikely to cooperate with anyone else.”
“Probably true.”
Faust’s tone grows quiet. “Not if it meant keeping you safe. You’re having a quiet night? In bed?” he asks pointedly, and I want to torment him a little and lie but I don’t. It’s too serious.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Fuck,”he says under his breath. Then, “And Nolan hasn’t tried to contact you?”
I swallow. The unknown number. I didn’t read the messages.
“Baby. Have you heard from him?” It’s Sylvan now, and there’s urgency in his words. For some reason, Faust passed the phone to him and that must mean he’s getting anxious.
But as my eyes scan the text from the unknown number, I know he’ll have to wait a minute.
It’s Nolan. The number isn’t his, but it makes sense he’d get a burner phone. His is being tracked, I’d assume, or was probably ditched long ago.
