Read The Innocent: The New Ryan Lock Novel for Free Online

money had tainted college sports. He always told his kids to worry about the game first, and the money would take care of itself. It was an increasingly tough pitch to make in a country where the only thing that seemed to matter, these days, was the mighty dollar.
     
     
    He arrived at the stadium with ninety minutes to go before tip-off. Unlike last night, the parking lots were full, with students, alumni and locals partying. He lowered his window, and waved to people as he drove through. The smiles and whoops he got as he inched the car forward couldn’t help but make him feel good.
    This was what sport was about, he thought. A way of bringing people together.
    He parked and ducked in through the side door as he had last night. The corridor was crowded with people. He couldn’t help but glance at the visitors’ locker room as he opened the opposite door and headed into the home-team area.
    His boys were already there, some with headphones pumping rap and rock into their ears, others standing about chatting to each other or to the assistants. He worked the room, shaking hands, patting backs, offering words of encouragement to the nervous, and trying to keep a lid on one or two players who had let the mood outside carry them away. They had reached the final, and that was great, but they still had a ways to go, and while they were favorites, there was no such thing as far as Malik was concerned. You treated the opposition with respect or you paid the price.
    The players went out to warm up. He could hear the crowd rise to them. As they filtered back in and sat down, Malik kept his final words brief.
    Enjoy it.
    Leave your game out there on the floor.
    Make sure you won’t have any regrets later.
    He repeated the last part, which was more for himself, a testament of faith, than for the young men huddled around him.
     
     
    They were three down at the half, some sloppy defense having cost them. They huddled up one more time. Malik dug a little deeper, got a little more serious, reprimanding a few of his players.
    He sensed the determination in them. By the time they went out to start the third quarter, he would have bet his home that they would win.
    He was right. By the end of the third they were in the lead by five points. He kept at them, losing himself in the game as he stood at the side of the court. All thoughts of the previous evening were gone now. There was only the present. Only the here and now.
    Malik, the crowd and the team were one, playing every pass, jumping for every rebound, holding their collective breath in the seconds between the ball leaving a player’s hands and whooshing through the net, or rattling off the back board.
    Forty seconds to go. Up by nine. All they had to do was stay cool. It was their game to lose. He called a final time-out. He wanted to kill the pace. They needed to nag and niggle and frustrate.
    He looked over their heads into the stands for Kim but caught the eye of Tromso. The short, burly cop, his face flushed with beer, raised his hands and gave him a double thumbs-up. It was as much as Malik could do not to wade into the stand, pull Tromso out and kick his ass right then and there.
    As the players headed back out on to the court, whatever rush Malik had going on evaporated. Not even the final buzzer could bring him back. As the crowd erupted, and one of his assistant coaches hugged him, Malik stood, impassive.
    He plastered on a smile. Shook hands and exchanged hugs. He feigned anger as a cooler was dumped over him by the players, ruining the suit he’d put on and leaving him soaked. As he stood there, water running down the back of his neck, he thought of the boy.
    As the celebrations continued, Malik Shaw pushed his way through the crowds, headed down the corridor, got into his car and drove off into the night.

Ten
    He drove for miles, heading south for no particular reason and with no destination in mind. Driving helped clear his mind. It always had. He craved empty roads,