Page 101 of Play Dirty

That got my attention.

I leaned back against the bench, watching him now.

“Yeah?”

Sebastian nodded, slower this time.

“His numbers,” he said. “Six straight wins. Two shutouts.”

I said nothing.

“Save percentage is up. Way up.” He lowered the weights, controlled. “Like… not normal up.”

“Hot streak,” I said.

He shook his head.

“No.”

Flat.

Certain.

I watched him for a second.

“You’ve got something to say,” I said. “Say it.”

He hesitated. Then—

“He wasn’t like that here.”

“No,” I agreed.

“He wasn’t even close.”

No argument there.

Sebastian stepped forward, dropping the dumbbells into the rack.

“He didn’t just get better,” he said. “Not like that. Not that fast.”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to.

Because I already knew.

He took a breath. Looked at me.

“You ever get the feeling something’s off?” he ventured.

A corner of my mouth twitched.

“Yeah,” I said.

A beat.

“Yeah, I do.”

Silence stretched between us. I pushed off the bench. Grabbed my phone.