And since Morelli has no intention of letting her and the guys quit, shutting down the whole thing is the best course of action.
Speaking about Morelli, I haven’t seen him in a hot minute either.
“Hey Lev.” I get my best friend’s attention as I rise from my chair. “I see Heather over there, but I can’t find Zara anywhere.”
He scans the room the same way I just did. “Shit, you’re right. I don’t see her. Did she come back from the bathroom? Let me text her.”
Lev sends a text, his fingers tapping on the screen of his phone almost as fast as he skates toward the net and rides to the finish line.
“Did she read it?”
“It shows delivered but not read.” Lev gets up too, pocketing his phone.
Dave chimes in. “Maybe the bathroom has shitty reception, and she’s trying to answer.”
“Then the message would show as read.” Lev argues. “Besides, after getting a few complaints about sketchy reception in some areas of the club and the golf course, the owners installed signal boosters all over.”
“Rich people.” Dave complains. “I bet you guys always have the latest phones. I had to get a job when I was in high school to be able to afford one. And you know how hard it is to work when you play varsity hockey.”
Lev ignores Dave’s whining. “Listen, I’m gonna go ask Heather if she’s seen Zara. Ares, why don’t you ask Chance? Dave, be a brother and stay here and ask Zara to text Ares if she comes back to the table?”
“Sure.” The Gamma president shrugs. “What’s the worst that can happen to her in the Country Club’s bathroom? Maybe she’s doing a couple of lines and chilling away from all these people.”
I don’t know how Dave Fox parties, but Zara doesn’t do drugs.
“Hey Tucker,” I fist bump the Cove Knights goalie. “Coach Harrison, good evening.”
“Ares Hunter,” my brother’s coach offers me a rare smile. “How are you, son? Such a shame that you didn’t decide tofollow in your father’s footsteps. I could have used a defenseman like yourself.”
I return Dad’s former teammate’s smile. “Thank you, Coach. I haven’t played hockey since after middle school. Dad’s skates were too big to fill. But if someone can do it, it’s my little brother.”
Chance looks surprised by my praise, but I mean it. He’s inherited Dad’s talent on the ice, and if he doesn’t let outside noise distract him, he can have an NHL career as impressive as our father’s.
“I agree.” Coach Harrison nods. “But he needs to work hard, keep his head in the game and not let the praise or the pressure go to his head.”
Coach Harrison might be a hardass most of the time, but he knows what he’s talking about.
“I was looking for my brother.” I say to both Coach and Tucker. “Do you mind if I borrow him for a few minutes?”
“Of course. We’re playing Bridgeport at home next week. Make sure you come to watch the game if you aren’t working. The Bridgeport Tigers are some of our toughest opponents.”
I shake the hand Coach Harrison offers me. “Will do, Coach. Nice to see you again.”
“Hey,” Chance chuckles under his breath when I grab his shoulder, squeezing as I guide him away from his coach and teammate. “Where’s the fire? You look like you double parked your car in a towing zone.”
I don’t even try to argue with him, because that’s exactly how I feel. “Have you seen Zara?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “You saw her too. She was going into the bathroom with Heather when we arrived.”
Fuck.
“You haven’t seen her since then?”
“No, Ares, what’s up?”
I have a bad feeling. “I don’t know. Heather is over there.” I point out our childhood friend, still giggling with her Zeta sisters. “I can’t see Zara anywhere. Lev texted her, and the text was delivered but not read.”
“Did you try calling her?”
