Gamma

Savannah waited until she got home to call Maren back. She needed to know the details but she really didn’t want to have the conversation in front of her Uber driver so she waited.

As soon as she got home, she dialed Maren’s number. She may have been tipsy earlier, but she was completely sober and focused now. Maren picked up on the first ring. “I take it you got my message?” she asked.

She stood next to the couch, and Tyler was staring at her, waiting to hear what was going on. “Yeah, tell me exactly what happened,” she stated.

“Someone came into the hospital. Threatened Brophy with a gun before a nurse came in. The guy went running,” Maren explained.

“Nelson?” Savannah asked. She may have still been in her dress from the party, but she definitely was in work mode now.

“I don’t think so,” Maren said. “Brophy is in shock and not being super helpful. But, the nurse’s description of the guy doesn’t match Nelson.”

Savannah cursed under her breath. Now there was another person in the mix. She shouldn’t have been surprised, though. Sonny had a whole team of people working under him. All he had to do was call any of them and tell them to hurt someone and they would, no questions asked. And, Sonny wasn’t afraid to eliminate anyone that was threatening to get him caught. Even if that was an eighteen year old kid.

Savannah heard someone talking in the background. “What’s going on there?” she asked Maren. It didn’t sound like she was in the office, but Savannah couldn’t be sure. She assumed she was at the hospital and it was just people there.

“Sorry, that’s Toews,” Maren said.

“He was at the hospital?” Savannah asked with wide eyes. If he was a part of this, it was bound to reach the media soon.

“No,” Maren said quickly. “He was with me when I got the call,” she explained. Savannah was about to question her more on that topic, but let it go when Maren continued talking. “Look, I’ll take care of things here, that’s not why I called you.”

“There’s more?” Savannah inquired.

“We got some more info out of Brophy. I guess a former teammate of his, one that was just drafted by Dallas, is using this stuff, too.” This piqued Savannah’s interest. “I think it started out here. The kid got it from Nelson and then when he went down to Dallas, he was trying to figure out how to keep getting it. That’s where Tommy Conway comes into play.”

“No fucking way,” Savannah breathed, earning a look from Tyler.

“He’s for sure the connection down there, which we already know. But, now this other kid is getting ready to talk. Oliver Tremblay. You should look into him. And now it’s officially in your territory, so you can go after Conway down there. Plus, if he admits that it’s from Sonny Diego, then he’s as much yours as mine as well,” Maren stated.

Savannah’s excitement picked up. She could take Sonny down herself. First, she needed to figure out where this Oliver kid was and if he’d heard from Conway, Nelson, or anyone else in this drug ring. “Thanks, Maren. I’ll let you know when I find anything out. Have a good night...with Toews,” she added with a smirk. She hung up before Maren could argue with her.

Savannah looked over at Tyler to see him staring at her. “Well…?” he waited on her to tell him what was going on.

“Do you know an Oliver Tremblay?” she asked him.

She could tell he was trying to figure out what that question had to do with anything. But, he answered her anyways. “Yeah, he was one of our draft picks last year. Why?”

“He knows Louis Brophy. They were teammates,” she began explaining.

“And he tried killing Brophy?” Tyler asked, confused by everything.

She shook her head. “No! He’s not trying to kill Brophy.”

“Savannah, start from the beginning,” Tyler urged. “All I know is that you said someone tried to kill Brophy and then you talked to Maren, and now you’re asking me about Tremblay. Start explaining, please.”

Savannah sat down on the chair, while Tyler sat across from her on the couch, his elbows on his knees as he waited for her to start talking. “We don’t know who tried to kill Brophy, but someone in Sonny Diego’s crew did it, I know that. Brophy’s talking to the DEA, and that worries Sonny. So they’re trying to take care of him before he says something that can help us capture Sonny.”

“So where does Tremblay fit into this?” Tyler asked, trying to keep everything straight.

Savannah sighed. “I’m not exactly sure. Tremblay is a former teammate of Brophy, and apparently he’s using this Gamma drug, too. Maren said he’s getting ready to talk, too. It sounds like he started out getting the drug from Nelson in Chicago. And then he moved here and he has been getting it from your scout, Conway.”

Tyler shook his head. “You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s an actual drug ring in the NHL. In the Stars. Un-fucking-believable,” he mumbled.

Savannah stared at him. “Tyler,” she spoke, and he looked up at her. “Please be careful,” she pleaded.

Tyler gave her a small smile. “It’s cute you’re worried about me,” he teased. “But, I’m not hanging around with Tremblay or any of those kids.”
“Do you think Jamie would know anything?” she asked suddenly.

“If Captain knew there was something going on, he’d get to the bottom of it immediately. He doesn’t know, Savannah,” Tyler told her. “Let’s go to bed,” he changed topics.

She looked at him incredulously. “Tyler, I’ve got to figure all this out,” she said, determined. She was closer than ever to catching Sonny. Plus, now there was drugs going around not only Dallas, but the Stars organization.

“Savannah, you’re half drunk. And it’s late. You can work on it in the morning,” he told her. She wanted to argue even though deep down she knew he was right. “Look, I’ll make a call to Tremblay tomorrow if that will help,” he said.

Savannah hung her head. “Okay, let’s go to bed,” she said in a defeated tone. She was tired now that she thought about it. But, Maren’s call had her adrenaline rushing. She allowed Tyler to lead her back to the bedroom. She must have been more tired than she expected because she was asleep before Tyler even got in bed with her.

She woke up the next morning trying to figure out if everything had all been a dream or if there really was some kid in the Stars’ organization connected to this case. As she looked at her phone and saw that she had made a call to Maren last night, she realized it was all true.
She looked over at Tyler, passed out on his stomach. She didn’t want to bother him, so she got out of bed and tried as quietly as possible to make it out to the living room to make a few calls. The first one was to Liam. “What are the chances you can add another case to your load?” she asked him.

“Depends on what it is,” he replied, though Savannah knew he wouldn’t say no to helping with this one. After she told him the details, he immediately agreed to help. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

“Get into Conway’s phone records. See if he’s had any contact with this Tremblay kid.”

“On it, boss,” he told her.

“And, Liam, don’t call me that,” she muttered before hanging up the phone. She immediately called the next person on her list.

“Hello?” she heard Alex’s voice on the other end.

“Answering your boyfriend’s phone, how is he going to feel about that?” Savannah asked in an amused tone. She knew Jamie didn’t care if Alex answered his phone. He had nothing to hide now that his ex-engagement was out in the open.

“The better question is how is Segs going to feel that you’re calling another man?” Alex joked. “Why are you calling Jamie, by the way?” she asked curiously.

“Seguin is still asleep. I’m kinda surprised you’re up right now...unless you never went to bed,’ Savannah teased.

“I was exhausted last night. I passed out immediately. I don’t think I even said goodnight to Jamie,” Alex laughed.

Savannah sat down on the couch as she glanced in the direction of the bedroom. “Yeah, I don’t think I said goodnight to Tyler, either,” she admitted. “But, is that boyfriend, soon to be fiance, around?” she asked Alex. “I need to talk to him.”

Alex must have understood the urgency in Savannah’s voice. “What’s going on?” she asked her.

“I’m honestly not quite sure. Still trying to put the pieces together,” she told her honestly.

“Jamie’s here,” Alex said, and the next thing Savannah knew, Jamie was on the phone.

“Alex looks a little worried. What’s going on? Are you okay? Did Segs fuck up again?” Jamie asked, and Savannah knew he was getting into protective mode with her. He had always been protective of her, so she could only imagine what he would do if someone tried hurting Alex.

Savannah chuckled. “No, but he’ll love you think he messed up. I actually have a random question for you. What do you know about Oliver Tremblay?” she asked straightforward.

“Tremblay? He was one of our draft picks last year. The kid is good. Got a good chance of making the team this year...why?” he asked slowly.

“He may not be so good for you guys if he’s dead,” she muttered.

“Dead?!” Jamie exclaimed. “Savannah, what the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.

“He’s not dead yet,” Savannah said plainly. “But he’s connected to my case.”

“The one about the scouts?”

“Yeah,” she replied. She decided it was time to reveal all to him if she wanted his help. “The scout in Chicago, he’s dealing drugs to the up and comers there. Their number one kid wound up in the hospital overdosing on it. And now it looks like there’s a target on his head.”

“And this has to do with Tremblay how?”

Savannah opened up her laptop to multitask while talking with Jamie. She logged onto her email while continuing the conversation. “Tremblay played with Brophy. I guess they both started taking this Gamma drug. When Tremblay moved to Dallas, he wanted to keep up the use. So he found a dealer here.”

“What!?” Jamie practically yelled in disbelief. “Who’s dealing drugs to our players around here?”

“Prospects, not current players,” she corrected him. “At least I don’t think current players, but obviously I don’t know for sure.”

“Well I’m going to fucking find out,” an angry and determined Jamie stated. “Who’s dealing this shit, Savannah?”

“Tommy Conway.”

“Our fucking scout?” he cursed.

“It appears so. And I think he knows who I am,” she told him, recalling a few nights ago when he had made eye contact with her and then bolted from the hockey game.

There was a pause on Jamie’s end, and Savannah briefly wondered if he had hung up. “Are you in trouble?” he asked quietly, and she realized he was trying to keep it under wraps from Alex. She appreciated that since she hadn’t really told Alex or Shea the details and everything that had occurred dealing with this case.

“I’m fine,” she told him. And as far as she knew, that was the truth currently.

“What do you need me to do?” he asked, realizing she must have called him for a reason.

“Find out what you can about Tremblay. And Conway for that matter,” she answered. She couldn’t believe she was asking so many civilians for help on this case. Especially NHL players. First Toews and now Jamie.

“Have you asked Segs?” he asked.

Savannah inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. “He knows about it.”

“Savannah,” he drawled out her name. He knew she wasn’t telling him the whole truth.

“I don’t want him to get involved,” she admitted. “To get hurt,” she added.

“But you don’t care about me getting hurt!?” he exclaimed sarcastically.

Savannah rolled her eyes at him. “You kept your ex-fiancée from my best friend. You deserve what’s coming to you,” she said without missing a beat. She obviously didn’t want him to get hurt either. But she felt Jamie could handle himself. So could Tyler. But she was more protective of him, and she could never forgive herself if she brought him into a case and then he got hurt.

“Ouch,” Jamie’s voice brought her back to reality.

“Sorry, that was a little too far,” she admitted. “Please be careful, Jamie,” she told him sincerely. “Alex would never forgive me if anything happened to you. She still needs to have babies and you’re an integral part of that,” she added, trying to lighten up this conversation.

“Well I could say the same to you,” he replied.

Savannah furrowed her eyebrows, confused. “I need you for my babies?” she asked, knowing as she said it aloud that she was understanding what he was saying in the wrong way.

Jamie laughed. “No, you need Segs for those. Or rather he needs you for his babies. Be careful, Savannah.”

She wanted to chastise him for sounding like Tyler, but she let it slide. “I always am,” she said instead.

“What do you need to be careful for, Van? And why are you talking to Jamie about it instead of me?” Alex’s voice rang out, and Savannah assumes she had stolen the phone from Jamie.

“I’m safe and sound,” Savannah reassured her. “And I just needed your soon-to-be fiancé to ask him about a prospect for the Stars. He’s safe and sound, too,” she promised her. “He’s not going anywhere, Alex.”

“Van, you’re worrying me,” Alex told her.

Savannah temporarily abandoned her computer to fully focus on her conversation with Alex. “Jamie is fine. I’m fine. Please stop worrying, Alex,” she said to her best friend.

She heard Alex sigh. “I sometimes hate your job,” she said.

Savannah laughed. “You sound like Tyler,” she told her.

“Well sometimes he’s right,” Alex replied.

“Okay, I gotta go, Alex,” she told her, knowing she had a lot of work still to do today. “I’ll text you later. Tell Jamie I said thank you for his help,” she added before hanging up.

She was about to re-focus on the computer when Tyler snuck up behind her. “Jamie’s helping you but you won’t let me?” he questioned.

Savannah turned her head to see him standing there with his arms crossed over his bare chest. He was pissed at her, but she found him utterly sexy in the moment. “Stop, Tyler,” she warned him. She didn’t need him to argue with her right now over this.

“Just let me help you, Savannah! For once in your life, let someone help you,” he told her. The look in his eyes said he meant more behind his statement. He was referring to more than just him. He knew she was independent and never asked anyone for help. Especially boyfriends. Especially after being in an abusive relationship with Jason. That really had changed who she was.

Savannah looked at the ground as she relented. “Fine,” she agreed.

“Good. Because I already got a hold of Tremblay,” he revealed.

Savannah looked up, her eyes big. “What?” she questioned.

Tyler laughed as he took a step for her. His anger had dissipated. “I told you last night I’d talk to him this morning,” he reminded her.

“I thought you were just saying that to get me to go to bed,” she admitted.

“Eh, part of it was. Part of it was true. So what are you waiting on? Aren’t you going to shower before meeting him?” Tyler asked with a grin on his face. He knew he had surprised her and made her happy, even if she wasn’t going to say thank you.

“Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be ready,” she said, hopping up off the couch and headed towards the bathroom. She was halfway down the hallway when she turned back around, coming back to Tyler. She gave him a big kiss before separating from him. “Thank you for dealing with my stubbornness,” she told him.

“You got fourteen minutes now,” he smiled at her.

She smiled back. “You’re a pretty decent boyfriend,” she winked at him.

“You better not forget how lucky you are to be dating me,” he joked.

“I’ll show you later how grateful I am,” she gave him a sinister smile before biting her lip, taking her top off and throwing it to the ground as she walked back towards the bathroom again.

Notes