“Thank God I found you,” Tane said, bursting into the physio suite and seeing Jacob sitting on the physiotherapy bench next to Ricki, the glum look on his face telling Tane that he needed to step up to the plate and make his boy feel alright again.
“I’m sorry,” Jacob said, his bottom lip trembling. “I screwed up. I don’t know what came over me. I just wanted to-”
“No, it was my fault,” Tane said, stepping forward and brining Jacob in for a hug. “I probably weirded you out when we spoke in the locker room. I had my mind on something else.”
Tane had been debating whether to reveal the truth to Jacob or not.
The problems with revealing what had been going on between Tane and Antonio were numerous. In fact, Tane could only see it leading to trouble for both him and Jacob too.
However the consequences of keeping Jacob in the dark could be just as serious. In fact, they could be deadly.
In his heart of hearts, Tane knew that his darling boy deserved to know what was going on. This had always been a difficult secret to keep, but recent developments had taken it way beyond that.
So, no matter how difficult it might be, Tane knew that it was time to tell Jacob the truth.
“Boy, you might want to hold my hand for this…”
“I don’t like the sound of…” Jacob said, his hand instinctively reaching out to Tane.
Tane held Jacob close and began to explain…
“There’s a situation,” Tane said, his brow furrowed. “It’s abusinesssituation. Cardini business.”
“Right, b-b-b-but that’s between them,” Jacob stammered. “I’m just a player. This won’t affect me. Or you. Right?”
“Boy, listen to me,” Tane said, his grip on Jacob tightening. “You’re the Toronto Enforcers largest and most public asset now. So, yeah, thisisabout you. If the Cardini family are at war, we’re all at risk. Trust me, I’ve been there enough times over the years. But, like I said, you’re the big new shiny star. And with that comes danger.”
“Holy fuck, I’m freaking out,” Jacob said, visibly trembling as Tane held him close. “Please. Take me away from here. Anything. I’ll go anywhere. I just don’t want to get hurt.”
“Easy now,” Tane replied, knowing that while he wanted to protect Jacob there was no use in trying to overly sugar coat the situation. Jacob needed to know the reality of what was going on, even if that meant some difficult to swallow truths. “Running isn’t an option. You’re too valuable to the family. You can’t run, and I won’t let you try. You have to be brave and stick it out.”
“But…”
“No buts,” Tane continued, leaning his forehead down on the top of Jacob’s head and almost whispering to him. “I’ll look after you. Believe me when I say I won’t let anyone hurt you. You need to listen to me, and you need to listen good. Here’s how it will go down…”
And once Tane was done explaining, he could tell by the look on Jacob’s face that the news had come very much as a shock to his system.
“B-b-b-b-but why would… why did… will I be able to keep on playing hockey?” Jacob said, finally finishing his sentence.
Tane had to smile.
Even after explaining to Jacob that his life was potentially at risk, all the boy could think about was whether he would be able to line up in the next Enforcers game.
“I don’t know, boy,” Tane said, his face now serious. “The Cardini and Cardini feud has been simmering for a while. Good men have lost their lives. Innocent men in some cases too. I know you want to play and do your best for the team, but I’m really not sure if playing is a good idea right now.”
“And Antonio Cardini thinks this too?” Jacob said, a look of sadness in his eyes that Tane hated to see.
“I don’t know,” Tane said. “I’m about as close as it’s possible for a player to get to Antonio, but even I don’t know how he thinks when it comes to matters like this. Honestly, I don’t we can trust him right now.”
Tane felt Jacob squeeze his hand in fear.
This was a lot for the boy to deal with, and Tane knew that it wasn’t going to be something that Jacob would have even the slightest experience of in his young life.
“Boy, we need to leave,” Tane said. “The longer we wait around here, the more likely we are to find ourselves surrounded by Antonio Cardini and his bodyguards. Or worse, we might have a visit from some of the higher-ups in the Cardini family. And trust me, that’s not something you need to experience.”
Tane could see that Jacob was scared.
The truth was that fear was coursing through Tane’s veins too at that moment.
