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Vikka’s eyes widened, and she looked from Ned to Shae, then Hudson. “I had no choice.”
No choice. And with those words, a hard ball formed in his gut.
“They have Zurab. And I…I’m sorry, Twenty-Three.”
“Sorry?”
Hud looked at her. She nudged a memory inside him, but he couldn’t place it.
Wait. Earlier— “You filled the water bottles.”
Vikka’s jaw tightened.
“The water. Oh my gosh—thewater.”
Ned looked at him. “What about the water?”
“Abe Bartmann was poisoned. I watched him on camera. He fell right after—oh no.” Two-minute warning.
Iris would come off the field and…
He looked at Vikka. “It’s in the water bottles.”
He didn’t wait for her confirmation, just turned and took off down the tunnel. The far doors were propped open, and he ran out onto the field.
Two minutes, four seconds left on the clock, according to the massive scoreboard, and the Admirals still had the ball.
A run play, and as Hudson searched for the officials’ bench, the player was called down.
The clock stopped at Yannick’s call of the two-minute warning, and the players broke for the sidelines.
Hud spotted Iris on the field, running up to Arne. Together they began walking off the field toward their bench.
He was still fifty yards away. She was jogging, thirty yards, twenty...
He took off, bumpering past players, dodging trainers.
“Bly!” someone shouted, but he ignored it.
She’d reached the bench. Was listening to something Arne said, now laughing.
Reaching for the bottle.
He cleared the last of the players and nearly took out a linesman with the down markers. “Iris!”
She didn’t hear him as she flipped open the top on her bottle. Smiled and nodded again at Arne. Twenty yards away.
“Iris!”
Ten.
She jerked, hearing her name, looked even as she lifted the bottle to her lips.
Her eyes widened as she spotted him, even as he vaulted her bench, his body flying toward her.
He didn’t mean to take her out. Just wanted to swat the bottle away. But she put up her arm—a defensive move—and he had no choice.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and then turned.
