Red Card by Lexi Stone

Author:Lexi Stone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc.
Published: 2015-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Almost eight hours later, Quinn hung up from his last call and wiped his sweat-damp phone on his t-shirt.

He’d missed lunch and dinner and his ear ached, but a proud smile curved his lips when he glanced down at the notepad in front of him. A constellation of recommended phone numbers and half-remembered names cascaded down the page to a single date circled three times with such vigor that the ink indented the paper.

“Fuck yeah,” Quinn breathed and laughed out loud. Stiff and tired from his effort, he came to his feet and stretched. Only one more call to make and this was the one he looked forward to most. But his fingers paused as soon as he touched the screen. He tapped in a different number.

Mike answered after the first ring. “Quinn!”

“Hey,” Quinn returned. “Can you do me a big favor?”

“Sure,” Mike answered. “I’m at the facility right now. Do you need me to open it for you?”

Quinn tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling. “No, not today.” Cringing, he blurted out the request. “I need Ilya Biryukov’s address. You have it on the form he filled out to use the center, right? I know you gave him mine.”

Mike hesitated. “Yeah, but…” He sighed. “He’s scary when he wants something. I didn’t know how to say no to him. And Quinn, this’ll get me in a lot of trouble. We’re not supposed to be handing out people’s addresses.”

Quinn didn’t give a damn about federal privacy regulations. “Turnabout’s fair play,” he said persuasively. He searched for a way to sweeten the pot. “I’ll get you tickets to any local game you want to attend. I swear.”

Laughter from the other end of the line. “You don’t have to do that. And anyway I think that’s bribery. You’ve been nicer to me than anybody else who comes through there, so I’ll do it. But you didn’t hear it from me, okay?”

“Got it,” Quinn promised. He scribbled down the address that Mike rattled off, then said goodbye and dropped the phone to the couch. Pulling on his sneakers, he darted out the door and couldn’t help but whistle as he walked out to the parking lot.

He wanted to deliver this news in person.

Still, when he arrived at the glittering high-rise building at the address Mike had given him, he thought he’d come to the wrong place. The door that closed behind him immediately cut off the street noise and imprisoned him in a serene oasis of refrigerated air. A wonderland of immaculate tiles and twisting sculptures stretched out before him and an impeccable doorman zeroed in on him instantly.

“Damn,” Quinn breathed. Ilya had done well for himself. So this was what came of playing on a flush European team for a few years. Most players in the States couldn’t draw a top salary until their veteran years, but elite European clubs paid top dollar to remain competitive. Marveling, he glanced around the elaborate lobby and then blanched as he caught a glimpse of his worn t-shirt and frayed jeans in a mirrored panel nearby.

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