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Hud’s words swooshed back to her.What if your whole crew is in danger?
“Are you sure it’s safe to…I mean, Hud said that maybe Abe was…murdered.”
Yannick blinked at her, then looked at Zach. Back to her. “What?”
Oh. “I thought…I mean…”
“Listen, we don’t know anything,” Zach said. “Camille said the hospital thought he’d been poisoned, but it could have been anything—food, or maybe an allergy. He’d gotten sick between the quarters, I remember that. And was acting a little disoriented, but no one knew anything until he just stopped breathing and dropped dead. So, yes, she thinks it might have been poison, but that’s a leap, don’t you think?”
She gave a slow nod. Because her other option sounded a little cray-cray, and as the only female member of the crew, she didn’t want to be the one dubbed nuts.
“We have two more games added to the roster before the event in Lauchtenland in December,” Yannick said, “and I need to know if I can count on you being there.”
She blinked at him. “Yes. Absolutely.”
“We had to put Zach in your spot.”
“He missed a pass interference call.” She looked at Zach.
“I know, sheesh.”
“He’ll get it, Iris,” Yannick said. “But more importantly…we need you at ump, Iris.”
She stared at him. “Abe’s spot.”
“Yes. We know it’s the most dangerous spot on the field—”
“Please.”
Yannick held up a hand. “But we know you’ve got the eye for the illegal movement, illegal blocks and holds, and line of scrimmage infractions. And you’re the only one who’s worked Abe’s position.”
She folded her plate of macaroni and moved past Yannick and Zach to put it in the nearby, overflowing trash. Then set her fork in the sink, her back to the door. “I never thought I’d take Abe’s place for good.”
Silence, all around.
“Where are the games?”
“Berlin next weekend, and two weeks after that, a tryout game with the Amsterdam Admirals. They’ve put together another team and are hoping to get into the ELF.”
Maybe by then, the nightmare would be over.
“We’re all going to Berlin early to watch tape and get ready for the game. You’ll need to be there by Wednesday.” Yannick had turned now and waved to someone behind her. His gaze returned to her. “I’ll see you there?”
“Yes.”
Yannick pushed past her, but Zach stopped her. “You sure you’re okay?”
She frowned.
“I know you and Abe were close.”
Oh. “Yes. He was a mentor. It won’t be the same without him.”
Zach’s mouth tightened, and he nodded. “If you ever need to talk…or just…whatever, I mean, you know…” He blew out a breath.
Wow. Her voice lowered. “Thanks, Zach.”
“Mm-hmm.” He smiled and walked away.
