Gage Caldwell paced impatiently. He wasn’t the type to get nervous, but this was about as close as he’d come in a long time. What he was about to find out could potentially tear apart the hockey team and organization he’d worked so hard to build up, and that was the part that made him uncomfortable. He’d known something was going on, but he hadn’t expected the security specialist he’d hired to find something concrete after just two days. Of course, the man he’d hired wasn’t just a private detective and bodyguard; he was also a retired British spy.
He caught a flash of cropped blond hair atop broad shoulders and long, jean-clad legs, and he took a deep breath. He approached his old friend, holding out his hand. “Chains.”
“Hello, mate.” Darryl “Chains” Carruthers shook his hand.
“Thank you for taking a job like this; I know it’s not what you do anymore.”
“It was nice to do something different for a change.” Chains ran security for a high-end, private nightclub in Las Vegas these days.
The two men locked eyes, memories of a mission in Afghanistan gone horribly wrong briefly flashing through his mind, but it was a bond that would link them forever. Chains had been MI6, on a joint mission with American and Israeli military when they’d met, and despite the horrible circumstances, they’d remained friends over the years.
“How’s the family?” Gage asked, motioning for him to follow as they walked.
“Excellent.” Chains grinned. “The kids have us running about and Em’s pregnant again.”
“This is…number three?” Gage asked, a twinkle in his eye.
“For her, yeah, first with me.” Chains’ wife, Emilie, had two children from previous relationships.
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks. It’s a girl.”
Gage chuckled. “So it’ll be two girls and a boy, huh? You’re going to be a busy man.”
“Why do you think I jumped at the chance to get out of town?”
They laughed together, since Chains made no secret of the fact he adored his wife and family.
“So tell me what you found.” Gage was all business once they settled in his hotel suite, his eyes burning with intensity.
“It’s not pretty.” Chains handed him a packet. “There are printed pictures in there, along with a thumb drive with the pictures as well as video and audio.”
“Audio?” Gage couldn’t help but smile. “How the hell did you get audio?”
“Mate, we have the same skill set.”
Gage chuckled. “Not exactly, but I see your point.”
“That said, what was this really about?” Chains asked curiously, stretching his long legs out in front of him as he reclined in the chair. “We both know damn well you could have done this yourself.”
“I needed someone who wasn’t me to catch these guys in the act. You work for a top-notch security firm so not only do I trust you to be thorough, your company’s reputation keeps my personal reputation unblemished and impartial.”
“You needed an ex-spy who can kill people twenty-seven ways using only two fingers to get proof you have drug dealers working for you?”
Gage grimaced. “When you put it like that, no, but…” He hesitated and took a breath. “I already knew what they were up to, but the logistics of me personally catching them in the act could have gotten complicated. It was easier to hire you.”
“No problem at all. I was just curious.” Chains cocked his head. “What happens now?”
“I’m going to look at what you’ve got.” Gage reached for his laptop and signed in, plugging the thumb drive into the USB port and waiting as it loaded. High-resolution pictures appeared on the screen and his jaw clenched as he slowly flipped through them.
Dammit. He’d known, but he’d held out hope he’d been wrong. What the hell was wrong with these guys? They were coaching hockey at the highest level, with a team that was struggling but was on the upswing this season. Gage had busted his ass since inheriting the Alaska Blizzard from his late uncle Malcolm, bringing in stronger talent and making sure the front office was maximizing their marketing efforts. He’d inherited a mess, but turning things around had brought him a great deal of pleasure.
Many of the players had become his friends, and he’d managed to bring aboard new people that had begun to make a difference. He’d spent a lot of his own money to study professional hockey, learning not just the business side, but the physical and emotional parts as well. He’d hired people he knew and trusted, had built relationships with everyone involved in the organization, and had done his damnedest to make this team a success despite the naysayers who’d automatically assumed no man his age who lacked sports experience would ever be able to run a team like this.
Damn them for trying to destroy what he’d built.
Fury rocked through him and he yanked his phone out of his pocket, immediately dialing his assistant. “Rose, it’s me. I need you to contact the coaching staff—yes, Sylvester, Pierre, and Ellory—and tell them I want them to come to my suite immediately… I don’t care, make it happen. Thank you.” He disconnected and turned to Chains. “Can you stay for the meeting?”
“Of course. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to fire their asses.”
An hour later it was done, but not really. He’d fired the lot of them, but it had been brutal and Gage was pacing like a wild animal. It had been heated, filled with denial, excuses, and finally fiery indignation. Getting rid of the entire coaching staff of an NHL team was not something one did lightly, yet he had. And now he had to deal with the aftermath.
“What’s the plan, mate?” Chains asked as Gage finally put his phone down and ran his hands down his face.
“You need to get home to the wife right away?”
“Right away?” Chains shook his head. “Nah. Em’s good. She’s feeling great, working, and we’ve got a nanny for the kids. What do you need?”
“I need you to come back to Anchorage with me. This is going to be a media circus and on the off chance one of these clowns decides to come after me, it’s better if I have a bodyguard around instead of letting people see me kicking someone’s ass.”
Chains nodded. “It’s your money.”
“It’s about optics, my friend.”
“When do we leave?”
“We’ll be flying home with the team today.”
“Will you be calling the police?”
“I don’t want to.” Gage looked away. “I would have preferred it, but I think that’ll put the team in the middle of a shitstorm. I’m going to say it was unbecoming conduct and see what happens. If the press or the league makes a big deal about it, then I’ll have no choice but to turn it over to the cops.”
“All right, then, I’m going to call my wife and let her know it’ll be a few more days. Anything else you need me to do before we leave?”
“No, take your time. I have to make some phone calls as well. We’ll leave here in about an hour.”
Chains pulled out his phone as Gage got up and walked into the bedroom of the suite, dialing a familiar number. She wouldn’t answer—she never did—but the message he’d leave her would undoubtedly get her to call him back. For once. Maybe. Or not. He never knew with her.