He sighed. “I know. I’m just angry.”
“We all are. We’ll figure this out.”
Joel closed his eyes. “Call me as soon as Quentin lands.”
“I will,” Billy promised. He ended the call.
Shivonne crossed the room and laid a gentle hand on Joel’s shoulder. “Look at me, Joel,” she said. Her voice was soft. She wasn’t the Shark right now. She was one of his oldest and truest friends. “Iwillhandle this,” she promised. “It will be okay. It might not seem like it right now, but itwillbe okay. I have several statements prepared for you to review.”
He shook his head. “I’m going to write my own. I need to think.”
And hereallyneeded to talk to Quentin.
Chapter 20
Quentin & Joel
Quentin was asleep when the plane landed in Boston. Henri was sitting next to him, and Quentin was jolted awake by Henri shaking his arm.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Henri was saying.
Quentin wiped his eyes. “Huh?”
Henri thrust his phone in Quentin’s face.
Quentin blinked at Henri’s screen, and his stomach dropped. It showed a news app, with half a dozen headlines all about the same topic:
What the Puck? Inside the Icy Hot Affair Between Quentin Hartley and Joel Beckett
Pop legend and Hockey Star Get Cozy
Sorry Beckettes, the Hockey Player Got There First
NSFW! Possible Leaked Images Show Quentin Hartley and Joel Beckett Baring It All
Quentin couldn’t breathe. “What the actual fuck?” he gasped. Around him, his teammates were murmuring, looking at their phones, and then glancing at him. He wondered if they knew. “I need to get off this plane,now,” he wheezed.
“On it,” Henri said. The plane hadn’t started letting passengers off, but he jumped to his feet and shouted at the top of his lungs, “MY WIFE IS IN LABOR, AND I NEED TO MEET HER AT THE HOSPITAL NOW!”
Several shocked flight attendants jumped to attention and motioned for Henri to leave the plane. Henri dragged Quentin after him. “HE’S HER BROTHER!” Henri bellowed when someone tried to stop them.“GET OUT OF MY WAY!”
They broke into a dead sprint when they got off the airplane, their luggage abandoned. Quentin’s phone was ringing nonstop. He handed it to Henri, unable to deal with it himself.
Henri seized the phone and called someone without breaking his stride. “BILLY!” he snapped into the phone. “LOCATION?!… BE THERE IN FIVE!”
He handed the phone back to Quentin, whose mind was spinning with so many thoughts it might as well be empty. “Haul ass, Hartley.”
Billy was waiting for them at arrivals, his face white and his eyes wide. Quentin and Henri didn’t even slow down as they reached him. He joined them, running to his car. He jumped behind the wheel, Quentin collapsed into the passenger seat, and Henri threw himself into the back. The doors weren’t fully shut before Billy stepped on the accelerator.
“I’ve talked to Shivonne and Joel,” Billy said between gasps. “We have different plans for how to handle it.” He punched his horn when a Subaru cut in front of him. “GET YOUR ASS OUT OF MY LANE, YOU MOTHERFU—oh, it’s an old woman. Whoops.” He waved at the other driver. “Quentin? How do you want to handle it?”
Quentin was staring straight ahead. He was sweating badly, unable to think.
“I…”
“Quentin,” Billy pressed.
“I…”
