Page 24 of Fierce Storm
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“I don’t?”
“Nope. I was going to ask about the pizza. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I’m pretty sure it featured in my dream.”
“The pizza?”
“Yeah, the pizza.”
My dream from last night comes back to mind and I laugh softly. “Me too. Told you it was amazing.”
“It sure is…was.” He shakes his head with a chuckle. “Anyway, where was it from again?”
“Riccardo’s.”
“Thanks. That’s all I needed. Now I better go and rehearse my speech.”
“No one will fault you for reading from a script.”
“I know. But…”—he pauses, his smile fading—“I want to get this right. I want it to sound genuine because I genuinely care.”
“You’re a good man, Sal.”
“Not all the time.” He squeezes my arm and walks back toward his office, stopping by his assistant’s desk before heading inside. My brows furrow as I watch him, but when Wes calls my name, I snap out of it, instantly reverting back to business mode.
Though I can’t help wondering, was he really talking about the pizza?Because I know I wasn’t.
The media crowds our practice field, and when I note the disgust on some of their faces, I’m relieved that Zane stayed away. And that Blair’s with him.
Sal stands to deliver his statement, and before he even says a word, Jeff fromSports Unfilteredbellows out from the crowd, “Have you dropped Zane from the roster? With this being a family team, I’d say it goes against your belief system to have a murderer in your lineup.”
I cringe as my stomach sinks, my fists clenching at my sides as I struggle to hold back from ripping into him.
“Thank you for the valid question,” Sal says calmly, his stance confident, his gaze directed Jeff’s way. “Though if you’d waited a few minutes like everyone else, you wouldn’t have wasted your breath voicing it.”
I stifle my amusement while others around me aren’t so polite. “In other words, keep your mouth shut until question time,” one of the reporters fromNews Break Internationalcalls out, and I have to stop myself from yellinghear, hear.
Chatter begins throughout the crowd until Sal waves his hand and clears his throat, the simple actions bringing everyone to silence.
“Thank you all for coming on short notice. As you will have heard by now, one of our rookie players, Landon McKenna, passed away a few days ago. His family asked that the news be kept quiet until they could arrange a private burial for him, but that didn’t go to plan as they had hoped. No matter the circumstances surrounding his death, we are all saddened by the news, and have sent our condolences and support to his family during this terrible time.
“But while a young life was lost, there are others who are suffering because of an incident that never should have happened in the first place. Zane Fitzpatrick being one of them, along with Reed Coombs and his partner, Hayley.”
Sal pauses, subtly swallowing back his emotions, and while I know he’s nervous, because he told me as much, you wouldn’t know it by looking at him. His voice is even, his stance remains tall, and his composure is solid. He’s a man of great integrity and right now, it’s pouring out of him through his words.
“As Jeff so kindly pointed out, the Storm franchise is a family-oriented team, and Zane is and always will be one of our family members. We ask that you don’t throw stones until the police have finalized their investigation. For now, Zane has not been charged with anything surrounding Landon’s death, and it’s likely to stay that way.”
Murmurs begin but Sal’s quick to shut them down. “I will not hear any ill will toward either Zane or Landon now or in the future. If you have a genuine question, I’m here to provide answers to the best of my ability, but I will not tolerate false accusations or negativity. I can’t stop you from publishing your gossip, but I refuse to be a part of it. Now, I have five minutes before we have to clear the stadium for our closed practice today.” A sea of hands shoot up and I search the faces, pointing to one of my college buddies who I pray does me a solid.
“Mr. D’Angelo, how is Zane’s mental health in all this?”
I breathe a sigh of relief, making a note to thank him later. These are the types of questions I wanted, but I don’t expect it to be all that smooth sailing when their articles go live later today.
After Zane is officially cleared, as he should have been from the start, I spend the next week fielding question after question about his life—past, present, and future—while doingmy best to keep the impact on his mental health as minimal as possible. Which is not easy.
I know it’ll pass. The news is fresh in everyone’s minds, and despite proving his innocence, there are still some assholes out there that need someone to blame. Supporters that want answers, believing they’ve somehow been wronged or lied to.
The San Francisco Storm is once again in the heat of controversy, but this time, the entire team is rallying for their teammate, refusing to let anything bring them down.
