Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Another man joined the players, clapping a hand on Beltraine Moreaux’s shoulder.
Well… Shit. It was Phillip Moreaux, Beltraine’s father.
He ignored what their coach just said, grabbing the front of Manning’s helmet and jerking him around.
Phillip Moreaux was a few years on the other side of fifty, but the older he aged, the younger he cheated. He was loud, pompous, and had an ego that was going to be a problem.
He’d come to Dad’s funeral, and I’d met him again at a few of our follow-up meetings. The board members needed to be reassured I could step into my dad’s place and the company would be fine. The company was fine, except for whoever had lied to my dad and Moreaux’s recent movements. Because as I was staring at him now, the hunch he was going to make a play for the company was coming back to me.
“Hey, boys!” He jerked the Steele kid forward, shaking him before letting him go. He laughed loudly, pounding on Axel Johannson’s shoulder pads, then another kid’s before focusing on his son. “How are you feeling about that loss? Huh?” He shoved him back. As Beltraine stumbled, his dad advanced. He shoved him again, taunting, “Think you should be proud of that game? You lost. There ain’t nothing for you to be proud about.” His voice took on a menacing note as he shoved his kid a third time.
This time, Beltraine fell.
He stayed down.
The kid and his friends did nothing. They were taking it.
Brett glanced my way. I was aware of Mark watching me too.
The coach wasn’t doing anything.
“Get up. We aren’t losers in this family. And you.” He rounded on Manning, grabbing his helmet’s cage. “You’re staying at my place. Your sister is there on the weekends. You want to keep staying, you’re going to start earning your keep. You hear me? Starting with tonight. You lost tonight. That means no party. You and the others are going to meet me behind the shed. You can learn how my old man conditioned me never to lose a game. I’m going to whip you boys into shape.”
He jerked the kid again, and I was done.
I moved in a flash.
He began to shake that Steele kid again.
I warned, “You don’t let go of that kid right now, I’m going to remove your hand for you.”
He paused.
The others went rigid, and a tense silence fell over the group.
“Excuse me?” He looked my way, letting go of the helmet.
“Boys,” their coach said gruffly. “Get in the locker room.”
Phillip looked the coach’s way. “They aren’t moving. I’m not done with them.”
“You’re done for the night, Phil,” Coach Ravenry replied. “You’ve been drinking. We don’t want a repeat of our last loss. Word has a way of getting around.”
Phillip Moreaux took an intimidating step forward. “You threatening me, Conrad?”
First name basis here. I was noting that.
Sometimes I detested small towns. Being a big fish in a small pond gave some guys an ego they wouldn’t have if they were a small fish in a big pond.
When Ravenry gave me a look, I knew this was one of those parents who’d have an opinion about Nash playing varsity.
The boys were still standing around. I motioned to them. “Go inside. Listen to your coach.”
They took off. Moreaux’s kid only looked back once.
Ravenry stayed.
“You too, Coach,” I told him. “Moreaux and I have some other business to discuss.”
With a nod, he left, but he moved at a normal pace. He didn’t hurry, which made me wonder how the past interactions tended to go down between him and Moreaux.
Moreaux made a move to follow them.
I held up a hand and he hit it, bouncing back. “Not you.”
I turned back to see that Brett and Mark moved in, circling him.
He looked around, scoffing. “What do you think you’re going to do to me? You’re new here, boy. You’ve been off. Playing under the big lights, but you don’t know how things are handled here.”
“I know you’re not going to lay a hand on any of those kids again, not how you just did.”
He scoffed again, a wildness in his eyes that he was having a hard time hiding. “And here I thought we were going to be friendly. I welcomed you to town. Came to your father’s funeral. Introduced you to the other board members. How do you repay me for my kindness?” His eyes went mean. “You think you can get between me and my kid?”
“When it’s to hurt, not help, fuck yeah I am.” I moved toward him. “Not a hardship on my end. Every time I see you, I tend to want to punch you. You going to give me that excuse now?”
That mean glint grew before it shifted to calculating. He smirked, shifting back on his feet. “You know, I’ve heard a rumor that Kade Enterprises is struggling.”