All Chapters of THE CAPTAIN AND THE KILLER: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The second that burner phone started buzzing in my pocket during a late night at the arena I knew it could blow the whole season wide open if I did not handle it right.I had lifted it clean from the assistant GM's locker area after seeing him hide it during a shady huddle. No eyes on me. Now I sat across from Jax in this greasy coffee shop on the bad side of Toronto. Rain hammered the big windows and turned the street outside into a blur. The kid was nineteen with messy blond hair under a hoodie and fingers that never stopped moving on his laptop. His older brother anchored our defense and swore Jax could hack circles around most pros."You really want to do this Evan?" Jax asked keeping his voice down. He eyed the door like someone might burst in any second. "This burner looks basic but syndicate types rig them with kill switches sometimes. My brother loses his roster spot. You lose the captaincy. We both end up in deep shit.""I get the risks Jax. But t

The phone vibrated on the nightstand and lit up the dark hotel room like a flare in the night.I sat up fast in bed, still half tangled in the sheets from our win earlier. Kade grabbed it before I could reach. His whole body went rigid as he read the screen. Those gray eyes narrowed into slits. We had just crashed through the door laughing about the game winner and now this crap hit us out of nowhere."Hand it over," I said, leaning across him. "What does it say?"Kade held the phone so we could both see. The message glowed harsh. "Your cover is slipping, Volkov. The Warden sees everything. One more loose thread and the syndicate pulls you down. Fix it or your captain pays first."My blood ran cold. "The Warden. You mentioned him before but not like this. Who is he exactly?"Kade swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He paced the narrow strip of carpet between the bed and the TV stand. "He is the voice that never shows up

The second I heard Kade grunt in pain through the hotel door I knew someone had gotten to him.I glanced down the empty hallway one more time then slid the spare key card into the lock. It clicked soft. I pushed inside fast and shut the door behind me. The room was dim with only the bathroom light spilling out. Kade sat on the edge of the bed shirt off. Blood ran down his side from a fresh cut just above his ribs. He pressed a towel against it hard his face tight."Shit Kade." I crossed the room quick dropping my bag. "What the hell happened?"He looked up gray eyes flashing surprise then anger. "Ryder? The fuck are you doing here? Get out.""No chance." I knelt in front of him and pulled the towel back gentle. The stab wound was maybe three inches long messy but not too deep. Blood still seeped. "Talk to me. Now."Kade hissed when I touched the edge. "Parking garage. After the bus dropped us. Two guys jumped me. Knives. I handled it but

The second the red dot hit our goalie's mask everything exploded into pure chaos.I was racing up the ice late in the second period when it happened. Chicago was down by one but playing dirty as hell. Our goalie Jake dropped like someone had punched him in the face. He clutched his helmet screaming about the light burning his eyes. The refs froze. The crowd roared confused and angry."What the fuck was that?" I yelled skating hard toward the net.Players from both teams swarmed the crease. Sticks clashed. Gloves flew. Fists started swinging before the whistle even blew. I grabbed one of their wingers by the jersey and shoved him back."You assholes cheating now?" I shouted over the noise.The winger laughed in my face his eyes wild. "Not us pretty boy. But your boy Volkov knows all about dirty tricks."Before I could swing at him the brawl went full out. Bodies crashed everywhere. The arena lights flashed off helmets and pads. I

The second Kade dragged me down that dark alley in Chicago's south side I knew secrets were about to rip everything apart.Rain poured hard turning the ground slippery under our feet. We moved quick between broken buildings and trash piles. My hoodie barely hid my face but I kept my head low anyway. Kade gripped my elbow tight like he thought I might bolt. We had ditched the team after morning skate with weak excuses about personal stuff. No one followed us. At least I hoped not."This better be worth it," I said breathing fast as we stopped at a rusty door covered in graffiti.Kade knocked a pattern. Three times. Two slow. "It is. You need to hear this from someone who saw it. No more half stories."The door opened a crack. A huge guy with neck tattoos checked us over then let us in without a word. We went down concrete stairs that smelled like mold and old blood. At the bottom a hidden gym opened up. Dim bulbs swung over heavy bags and cracked m