All Chapters of THE CAPTAIN AND THE KILLER: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The second Coach Harlan locked the locker room door I knew something ugly was about to drop on all of us.The place smelled like sweat and fresh tape. Guys sat on benches or leaned against lockers half dressed after practice. Nobody joked around. The air felt thick enough to choke on. I stayed near the back my arms crossed trying to look calm while my mind raced. Kade sat across the room his gray eyes flicking to me for a split second before locking on Coach."Listen up," Coach started his voice rough like gravel. He stood in the middle of the room hands on his hips. "This stays in here. No phones. No leaks. League office called me this morning. They are launching a full internal investigation into suspicious referee calls in our last six games."The room exploded."What the hell does that mean?" Jackson our goalie barked from the front. "Suspicious how? We won most of those."Coach held up a hand. "It means some of the calls that went ou

The second the cameras zoomed in on us during the open practice I knew this fake fight had to look real enough to sell.The Scotiabank Arena felt electric even though it was just a Tuesday session. Fans packed the lower bowl for the televised practice and reporters lined the boards with their lenses ready. Coach wanted us sharp after the league heat but Kade and I had our own plan. We needed to throw everyone off. Make it look like the tension between us had exploded so nobody suspected what really went on behind closed doors.I lined up for a drill and Kade came flying in hard on purpose. Our shoulders collided and I shoved him back with everything I had. The crowd gasped loud."Watch your damn space Volkov," I yelled loud enough for the nearest mic to catch. "You skate like you own the ice but you are just a loose cannon."Kade spun around his gray eyes flashing under the helmet. He got right in my face stick raised. "Loose cannon? Says the gold

The second I cracked open that hidden folder on my old contact's drive I knew the truth would shatter whatever was left between me and Kade.My hands would not stop shaking as I sat alone in my apartment late that night after another brutal win. The team had gone out celebrating but I begged off with some excuse about resting my shoulder. Really I had been chasing leads for days digging through old emails and financial scraps my dad left behind before he stepped back from the league. One file stood out. A ledger. Scanned pages full of numbers dates and names that made my stomach drop.I scrolled faster heart hammering. There it was. Volkov. Kade's brother listed with a massive transfer payment funneled through shady accounts tied to the team owner. Notes about "cleanup" and "silence the complaints." Dates matched the rumors perfectly. My father's signature sat at the bottom of half the pages like a goddamn confession.This was the proof. The syndicate had

The second Toby rounded the corner into the locker room I felt the whole plan with Kade start to crack.Most of the team had already headed out after practice leaving the place quiet except for the drip of a shower down the hall. I was shoving my gear into my bag when Kade reached up toward the ceiling tile above his stall. The encrypted flash drive glinted for a split second in his hand before he slid it into the hiding spot. That was when Toby walked in still in full practice sweats and froze like he had seen a ghost."Volkov what the fuck was that?" Toby asked voice pitching up high. He pointed straight at the ceiling. "You just hid something up there. Looked like a USB or drive. Why hide it like that?"Kade dropped his arm slow and turned with that cold stare of his. His gray eyes narrowed on the rookie. "You got bad timing kid. Walk away and forget what you saw. This does not concern you."Toby did not budge. His face went pale then flushed a

The second we stepped off the ice after beating Boston I could not shake the feeling that Toby's disappearance had just gotten a whole lot worse.The locker room buzzed with guys yelling about the win and Kade's big goals but my mind stayed locked on the missing rookie. Kade sat stiff on the bench ribs wrapped tight by the trainer. He caught my eye and jerked his head toward the door." Evan we cannot wait any longer" he said voice low and rough as soon as most of the team cleared out. "Toby should have been here grinding on that fourth line. Something is wrong. We go look for him now."I nodded pulling on my suit jacket fast. "Agreed. His roommate texted nothing new. We hit his apartment first then the spots near the arena. You sure you can move with those ribs? That hit looked nasty out there."Kade stood up slow wincing but his gray eyes stayed hard. "Ribs hurt like hell but I am not sitting this out. I scored those goals for us tonight. Now we