Playing to Win(9)

And the Storm won by two with eight seconds left in the game.

"You'll get your money's worth."

The eavesdropped whisper haunted her.

It could just be coincidence, she reminded herself. It wasn't like 4 – 2  was an outlandish hockey score. And this was the first prediction on the  list that had come true. She had nothing but suspicion at this point.  Still, the words were on her mind as she conducted post-game interviews  with the guys.

"Hi, everyone. This is Holly Evans of the Women's Hockey Network,  reporting live from the Storm's dressing room after a big 4 – 2 win over  Colorado tonight. I'm with Portland defenseman Doug Kowalchuk." She  turned and held her mic in his direction.

"Doug, what do you think of the new jersey colors?"

On the ice, the burly D-man was a force to be reckoned with, but off  ice, he reminded her of a big cartoon bear-imposing but nonthreatening.  His grin was goofy and genuine. "They're great. Red and black is a  really classic combination, you know?"

Holly couldn't quite mask the withering look on her face at his answer.  She hoped Jay had zoomed in on the navy and teal jersey behind Doug  instead of her face. Seriously, this was her life now?

"No, Doug. Not New Jersey's colors-I meant the Storm's redesigned jerseys."

"Oh right. Yeah. They're awesome. Go Storm!"

Holly forced a smile as she turned back to the camera. She could see  Jay's shoulders shaking with laughter. "You heard it here, folks. Go  Storm!"

When she was sure the camera was off, she let out a frustrated sigh.

"You're doing great," Jay assured her. "Who's next?"

Holly glanced around the scrum in the dressing room. She'd been hoping  to sneak in an interview with anyone who'd made a direct contribution-be  it positive or negative-to the final score tonight. She wanted to get  an idea of their demeanors, a sense of their moods. But unfortunately,  all four players that had risen to the top of her list-Eric, J.C., Luke  and the rookie-were all big draws for reporters and had press queued up  and waiting for them.

"I think we've got enough. Kowalchuk's was interview number five, and  I'll do some highlight voice-overs later to cut with it. They only  wanted a three-minute piece about the game, right?"

Jay nodded as he removed the camera from the tripod. "Yeah, that should be plenty."

"Okay. I'll catch you in about half an hour."

"Sure thing, Holly."

Now that she was off duty, she angled her way through the bustling  dressing room toward the crowd around Eric Jacobs. He was known to be a  little shy and incredibly humble considering the breadth of his talent,  but he was always exceedingly polite to reporters and smiled easily.  Holly hadn't seen him smile once tonight.

She listened in as Corey Baniuk asked Eric about his spectacular goal,  but the handsome centerman seemed disinterested in the recap, a little  tired maybe.

And though he made the Storm's PR department proud by saying all the  right things-"Colorado played a great game and were worthy opponents,"  "I saw an opportunity and fortunately I was able to capitalize on it,"  "I couldn't have done it without my teammates"-there was none of the  quiet intensity that he usually brought to an interview and his gaze  wandered, like he was preoccupied.                       
       
           


       

Then the "Charge" anthem played, and panic flashed across Eric's  handsome face. He turned away from the cameras and microphones being  shoved in his direction and dug his phone out of the pocket of his  jacket.

What the...? Eric and Luke have the same ringtone?

Eric's expression darkened when he glanced at the caller ID, as if he  was expecting bad news from whomever was on the line. "Excuse me,  please, I have to take this," he said to the group of reporters.

After Eric left, the reporters dissipated quickly, rushing off to grab  quotes from other players before their allotted time in the dressing  room was up.

Holly pulled out her phone and typed her observations into the memo  she'd titled SUSPECTS. This investigation was the key to parlaying this  farcical job into something she could be proud of, and every clue  counted. To prove it, she added a note about the dark circles under  Eric's eyes and the fact that his last-minute goal corresponded to the  +2 win predicted by the list. And the ringtone, obviously.

"Texting or ‘Candy Crush'?"

Holly started, almost dropping her phone at the sound of a voice so close behind her. "Oh, geez. Luke, you scared me!"

He jutted his chin in the direction of her phone. "Your thumbs were really burning up the keyboard."

She tucked the phone back in her bra, trying not to notice that his  eyes tracked her hand, making the move feel far more suggestive than  she'd meant it. "Oh, you know. Reporter notes," she said vaguely, hoping  she was pulling off nonchalance. "So what's the story with the matching  ringtones? You and Eric have some kind of ‘linemates for life' pact or  something?"

"Team building. Everyone on the team is using it, kind of a ‘keep  hockey your top priority during the play-offs' type of thing."

"Your idea." It wasn't really a question so much as a statement. That  was exactly the type of hands-on captaincy she expected from the man  standing beside her. And also a huge hit to finding her guilty party,  since it put everyone on the team back on the suspect list.

"Yes."

"That's great! Do you mind if I talk about that in the piece we're putting together? People love fun little details like that."

"Sure. I know you're all about the fun little details," he said pointedly.

Man, he was tenacious. Even after the sexually charged moment in the  bathroom stall earlier, he wasn't about to let her off the hook. Holly  had to admit, she liked that about him. And she really liked that this  battle of wills they had going on made her feel as if he was talking to  the real Holly Evans, not the persona she'd agreed to play. It restored  her faith in men to see that Luke Maguire wasn't about to be derailed by  some off-the-charts sexual tension. For the first time all evening, her  smile was completely genuine.

"Well, I should probably go help Jay pack up. Good game tonight."

"No, it wasn't."

His candor stopped her.

It really hadn't been, but while she admired his honesty, she wasn't  going to get tricked into revealing her cover. He might be a worthy  opponent-his entire life was predicated on it-but when she put her mind  to something, she wasn't to be underestimated.

Except in this case, she reminded herself, since her entire goal was to  convince him to underestimate her. To that end, she scrunched her face  in a way she hoped might convey bewilderment. "What? But you guys won.  Aren't you happy?"

"It'll do," he said simply.

"Well, I thought you guys were awesome." She couldn't tell if he was buying her enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, his big sweaty body and mussed-up helmet hair were making her remember those stolen moments in the bathroom earlier.

Focus, Holly! She made a point to slow her steps to a reasonable pace  as she walked away, even though her thoughts continued to race.

Luke cared about his team. That was obvious. The question was, did he  care enough about them to cheat? For some reason, Holly hoped that her  investigation turned up nothing incriminating. At least, not on Luke  Maguire.

* * *

LUKE WATCHED HOLLY walk away.

Normally, he would have been glad for the team's win, but since it had  come at the price of the list being correct, he wasn't able to let  himself enjoy it.                       
       
           


       

And Holly had sidled right up to Eric, the one who'd fulfilled the list's prophecy.

Luke had planned on talking to the centerman, too. Eric had seemed  really down lately-quiet as ever, but in a different way. Like something  was wrong. Like his heart wasn't in the game.

What were the odds that Holly "I'm not that into hockey" Evans had  randomly chosen Eric to target... Luke didn't like the way their  instincts were lining up. And her whole demeanor had changed when she  thought no one was watching-the set of her shoulders, the look in her  eye. It was as though she'd flipped the switch from bubbly to...almost  predatory.

He recognized that look. It was the one reporters always gave him  before they sank their teeth into him. The way they'd looked after Ethan  got hurt. The way they'd come at the team after Chris Powell had been  traded. Luke had learned many times over that you couldn't trust anyone  whose livelihood depended on uncovering secrets.

So he'd circled up behind Holly, trying to see what she'd been typing  so furiously. But she'd bobbled her phone when he'd spoken, and he  hadn't managed a good look at the screen.