Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
"Andrew," Renee said. "Give her back to me."
They were drawing too much attention now. In another moment someone was going to step up where the Foxes wouldn't, and Andrew would react to that threat in the worst possible way. Neil had maybe ten seconds to make this right and no idea where to start. Andrew wasn't worried about hurting Allison, so Neil couldn't exactly appeal to his better nature. The last time Andrew looked a breath away from killing someone Neil had used Kevin as a distraction. That wouldn't work this time, but maybe—Neil hesitated, then gave up second-guessing.
"That's enough," he said in German. He was close enough to grab Andrew, but Andrew had warned him he didn't like being touched. He held his hand out over Renee's head instead and waited for Andrew to flick it a hooded look. Satisfied he had Andrew's attention, Neil said again, "That's enough, Andrew."
"You don't get to decide that."
"If you hurt her, you disqualify us," Neil said. "The ERC won't let us play with eight people."
"Your single-mindedness is as nauseating as always."
"You promised," Neil insisted, bending the truth until it almost broke. "You said you'd stop cutting them off at the knees. You said you'd cooperate at least until we destroyed the Ravens in finals. Were you lying to me?"
"I didn't promise that," Andrew said.
"You promised to have my back this year," Neil said, "and I told you where I was going. It's all the same at this point whether you want it to be or not. So do you have my back or don't you? Andrew," Neil insisted when Andrew didn't answer fast enough. "Look at me."
Andrew's mouth gave a violent twitch, a grimace he forcibly repressed, and he finally looked up. The darkness in his stare almost took Neil's breath away. Fast on the heels of shock was a bolt of triumph. Andrew had been back from Easthaven for almost two weeks, and this was the first sign that there was anything real going on behind that blank mask. Neil would have preferred to see the real Andrew under safer circumstances, but knowing he could be reached was a desperate relief.
"Fuck you," Andrew said.
The edge in his voice had every hair on Neil's arms standing on end. Neil held Andrew's stare, silently daring that anger to break against him instead of Allison.
"Do you or don't you?" Neil asked again.
"I made him a promise, too," Andrew said. "I won't break his to keep yours."
Neil didn't understand, but Aaron was finally startled into choosing a side. "Andrew, that's—" He faltered, and Neil wished he dared look away from Andrew to see Aaron's expression. Every hint of anger had vanished from Aaron's voice; he sounded almost lost. Andrew didn't look at him, but the slight tilt of his head toward Aaron said he was listening. "No, Andrew. No. It's all right. I'm all right. It didn't even hurt."
Neil filed that away to ask about later. He was afraid he already knew what the answer would be. He hoped he was wrong, because if he found out Aaron really was that stupid he was probably going to choke the life out of him.
Andrew stared at Neil for another endless moment, then relaxed his death grip on Allison and let her collapse, gasping, to the asphalt. With the immediate threat out of the way Neil expected retribution from Dan or Matt. He put his hand out toward them to warn them off just in case. He couldn't stop them if they really wanted to get past him, but luckily they obeyed his silent order to stay put.
At their feet Renee buried muffled reassurances against Allison's hair. Allison's response was too hoarse to understand but she let Renee help her to her feet. Renee turned her away and guided her to Dan and Matt. They were quick to take her in their arms, holding her up between them. Renee stood back a bit, a quiet but physical barricade between the upperclassmen and Andrew. Neil risked a glance at Aaron. Aaron was staring at Andrew like he'd never seen him before.
When Dan was sure Allison was all right, she shot Andrew a look that should have flayed the skin from his bones. "You asshole. You could have seriously hurt her!"
"You do not have the right to act surprised," Andrew said. The fury was gone from his eyes; his expression was back to its dead slate and his shoulders were relaxed. He sounded bored again, like none of this had happened or mattered. "That is the second time in as many weeks one of you has forgotten yourself. You should have learned your lesson the first time. You do not get to take offense when you force my hand."
"This isn't—"
A booming voice cut Dan off. "What the fuck is going on here?"
Neil's heart almost punched a hole through his ribcage. He'd been so intent on Andrew he hadn't heard Wymack's approach. He darted a look over his shoulder but had to quickly look away from the anger on Wymack's face. Wymack raked his team with a glare and waited for them to recover. Dan was the first to find her voice again.
"Nothing," she said, a heated and obvious lie. "Just rethinking every time we defended our decision to recruit the monsters."
"Hey," Nicky said, too uncomfortable to sound offended. He winced when Dan glowered at him but persisted with, "Andrew might have overreacted, but he has a point. She did start it."
"Don't even try to justify it," Matt said. "You don't return a punch with a broken neck."
"Where you come from, maybe not," Andrew said.
"The real world?" Matt said, heavy with sarcasm.
"Don't," Andrew said, with a calm Neil didn't believe for a second. Andrew tapped his finger to his lips twice, warning Matt to silence, and pointed at him. "A privileged child like you has never seen the real world. Don't speak of it like you understand."
"Enough," Wymack said, and snapped his fingers at the upperclassmen. "Where are you parked?" Dan gestured over her shoulder, too angry to answer aloud. Wymack pointed. "Go wait with your cars. I'll be there in two seconds. Go, I said." He waited until they'd squeezed between cars to get back to their row, then turned a stony stare on Andrew's lot. His gaze landed on Neil last. "No one answered my question. What the fuck is going on?"