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)
"Abby, I just got out of the hospital," Nathaniel said without looking away from Andrew. "I'm as good as I can be right now."
"Neil," Abby tried.
"Please," Nathaniel stressed. He didn't hear her step back but he knew she did by the way Andrew's death grip on his skull relaxed. Nathaniel kept one hand buried in Andrew's hair but finally lowered the other. In quiet German he said, "Did they tell you who I am?"
"They didn't have to. I choked the answers out of Kevin on the way here." Andrew ignored the way Nathaniel gaped at him and said, "Guess you weren't an orphan after all. Where is your father now?"
"My uncle executed him," Nathaniel said, wondering. He crossed a precarious line and pressed two fingers to Andrew's chest over his heart. The memory chilled him to the bone, and he couldn't suppress all of a shudder. "I spent my whole life wishing he would die, but I thought he never would. I thought he was invincible. I can't believe it was that easy."
"Was it easy?" Andrew asked. "Kevin told us who he worked for."
Nathaniel didn't think either agent could understand them, but names were hard to disguise in any language. He was glad Andrew was smart enough to not say the Moriyamas' name aloud. "My uncle said he was going to them to try and negotiate a ceasefire. I don't know if he's strong enough to bargain with them, but I'd like to think he wouldn't have risked it without real ground to stand on. Promise me no one's told the FBI about them."
"No one's said a word to them since they said we couldn't see you."
Nathaniel's heart skipped a beat. The heat that gnawed at his chest was an ugly mix of gratitude and shame. He tried to speak but had to clear his throat before trying again. "But why? I've done nothing but lie to them. I willingly put them all in danger so I could play a little longer. They got hurt last night because of me. Why would they protect me now?"
"You are a Fox," Andrew said, like it was that simple, and maybe it was.
Nathaniel dropped his eyes and worked his jaw, fighting for a center he was quickly losing hold of. He barely recognized his own voice when he said, "Andrew, they want to take me away from here. They want to enroll me in the Witness Protection Program so my father's people can't find me. I don't want—" he started, but that wasn't fair. "If you tell me to leave, I'll go."
He didn't say it would kill him, but he didn't have to. Andrew hooked his fingers in the collar of Nathaniel's sweatshirt and tugged just enough for him to feel it. For a moment Nathaniel was months away from this moment, standing in the darkened front hall of Andrew's house for the first time with a warm key digging into his palm. It felt like coming home, and it was enough to take the edge off his fear.
"You aren't going anywhere," Andrew said: the same words, the same promise. He was speaking in English again, and Nathaniel understood why when he heard Andrew's next words. Andrew was playing instigator and inviting the Foxes to the fight. "You're staying with us. If they try to take you away they will lose."
"Take you away," Dan echoed. "To where?"
"Are we talking about 'away for some questioning' or 'away for good'?" Matt demanded.
"Both," Browning said.
"You can't have him," Nicky said. "He belongs with us."
"When people find out he is still alive they will come for him," Browning said. "It is not safe for him here anymore, and it sure as hell isn't safe for you. It is better for everyone if he disappears."
They understood better than he ever would, since Kevin had already told them of the Wesninski-Moriyama alliance. They'd been dealing with Riko's madness for a year now thanks to Kevin, and they looked wholly unimpressed by Browning's warnings.
"What part of 'go to hell' do you need us to explain to you?" Allison asked.
"We're all legal adults here," Matt added. "We've made our decision. Unless he wants to stay with you, you'd better bring Neil back to us when you're done with all your questions."
"'Neil' isn't a real person," Browning said, fed up with their willful ignorance. "It's just a cover that let Nathaniel evade authorities. It's past time to let him go."
"Neil or Nathaniel or whoever," Nicky said. "He's ours, and we're not letting him go. You want us to vote on it or something? Bet you it'll be unanimous."
"Coach Wymack, talk some sense into your team," Browning said.
"Neil," Wymack said, and Nathaniel lifted his stare to look over Andrew at Wymack. Nathaniel had seen that look on his face only once before, when Wymack tried putting him back together after Christmas. It was the look of a man made ancient by his players' tragedies; it was the look of a man who'd have their backs no matter what it cost him. Nathaniel felt wretched for causing that expression again but infinitely comforted by Wymack's unhesitating support. "Talk to me. What do you want?"
Nathaniel swallowed hard against an unexpected lump in his throat. His words came out so jagged they all had to go quiet to understand him. "I want—I know I shouldn't stay, but I can't—I don't want to lose this. I don't want to lose any of you. I don't want to be Nathaniel anymore. I want to be Neil for as long as I can."
"Good," Wymack said. "I'd have a hell of a time fitting 'Wesninski' on a jersey."
Browning rubbed at his temples. "I would like a word with you."
"About?"
"Your willingness to put your players in considerable danger, for one."
"Giving up on Neil now goes against everything we are," Wymack said. "I'm game to argue with you about it for as long as it takes, but not if it means using up Neil's allotted time. That's not fair to any of them."