Isaac was convinced he was about to get traded. What he got instead was a credit card, a set of tickets and a hotel reservation in Asheville, North Carolina. It took Isaac a few seconds to work out that the Spitfires’ general manager was sending his players to cheer against the team that had knocked them out of the playoffs. The Jacksonville Sea Storm were up two games to none in their series with the Ravens, and Isaac was giddy at the idea of watching their rivals lose on home ice. “Drake, this is one of those things you don’t tell Coach Samarin,” Belsey said, holding out an envelope and what appeared to be an American Express black card, which until that point Isaac thought was just an urban legend. “You know how he is.” Isaac had agreed not to tell Misha, even though he felt a bit like he was making a deal with the devil. Although the devil was supposed to be hot, wasn’t he?
