Page 132 of Hard Count
“Yeah.”
“You bought me a troll.”
“I did buy you a troll.” Piper grabbed Noah’s arm.
“For luck.”
Noah closed his fingers around it. He never knew he needed a fucking troll as much as he needed this troll.
“Thank you, Piper. This little guy will be with me at the Conference Championship. My locker during every game. In my bag for life. Are you fucking aware? Forever.”
“I am fucking aware,” Piper smiled.
Noah gave the troll a smile, “You are gonna take me all the way, aren’t you, little guy.”
He reached out and put his palm flat against Piper’s cheek.
Piper laughed, “Dude, it was probably the same price as those Ralphs flowers you got me.”
They both laughed and Noah’s hand stayed on Piper’s face. The troll was in his other hand, held loosely against his thigh.
Noah said, “I have an idea.”
“Okay.”
“Kristín left a phone number.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m going to call her.”
“What for?” Piper asked.
“I am not telling you, Piper.”
Noah got out of the bed, took the troll with him, and went downstairs in his boxer briefs to call Kristín on the kitchen phone. Piper sat in the bed and waited and didn’t ask what Noah was doing.
Thirty minutes later, Noah came back upstairs.
“I am taking you somewhere tonight.”
“Where are we going?”
“Trust me.”
“Noah.”
“Piper. Trust me.”
***
Noah drove later that night to the secret location. The road ran along a ridge for about twenty minutes through a volcanic landscape.
Noah pulled off the road at an unmarked gate. A man in a heavy coat came out, looked at Noah, nodded, and opened it. The gravel drive went a quarter-mile to a low building built into the side of the ridge.
Noah parked and turned off the engine.
He said, “Put this on.”
