He swiped at his forehead with his sleeve as he tried to figure out what to do about Ron. Since he couldn’t explain what had happened over the headset, he grabbed his clipboard and scribbled a quick note, making it cryptic enough so that it would be meaningless to anyone else who read it.

I spoke with the player we were discussing at halftime. Your negative assessment of the situation was correct. It is urgent that you take no further action. I’ll explain after the game.

He slipped the note to one of the equipment men to deliver and told himself that Phoebe would come out of this unharmed. Anything else was unthinkable.

For the first time, he let himself consider how his actions would affect her ownership of the Stars after all this was over and she was safe. Although there was no precedent for what was happening, he couldn’t imagine the NFL would let this game stand—not unless the Stars won despite his coaching, which he wouldn’t let happen. Once the NFL learned that he had deliberately thrown the game, ensuring a Stars’ loss, they would schedule a rematch and she would still have a chance to keep the team.

And then an ugly thought struck him. What if the police didn’t believe that she had been kidnapped? If Hardesty got away, there wouldn’t be any tangible proof other than her own testimony. Dan was the only one who could back up her story, and his personal involvement with her would make his word suspect. She could very well be accused of fabricating the kidnapping simply because the Stars had lost and she wanted another shot at retaining ownership. There was no way the NFL would let this game be replayed.

He forced himself to face the painful fact that his failure to notify the police was going to cost Phoebe the Stars. Still, he couldn’t do anything else. He wouldn’t take a chance with her life, not for the world.

Gary Hewitt’s voice crackled through his headset. “Dan, what the hell’s going on? Why did you tell Jim to keep it on the ground? That’s not our plan. He’s never passed better.”

“I’m making some changes,” Dan snapped. “We’ve got the lead, so we’re going to play smart.”

“It’s only the third quarter! It’s too early to get conservative.”

Dan couldn’t have agreed more, so he simply removed his headset and glued his eyes to the field. No matter what he had to do, he was going to keep Phoebe safe.