Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“No,” Jean said, staring up at her. “He does not have access. He does not have the authority.”
“A rude awakening for him,” Renee admitted, with a grim smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “It took a half-dozen calls to facilities and security to get the door open, and once he was in?” She spread her hands in a there you go gesture. “He demanded to see you, and the Ravens didn’t know not to show him the way. Riko was on the court at the time,” she explained before he had to ask. “He didn’t make it back inside fast enough. Oh, thank you.”
The last comment was directed past him. Jean couldn’t turn to see who’d joined them, but soon enough an older woman came into view holding a tray. She looked distantly familiar in the way he knew meant she was associated with the sport. He’d seen her on the sidelines or at a banquet, surely, which meant she had to be the team nurse whose home he was being held in. Jean watched with hooded eyes as Renee cleared off the nightstand. Two glasses of water, a glass of pale juice, and a bowl of soup were set down within reach.
Abby made sure the tray was stable before turning a considering look on Jean. “How are you feeling?”
Jean stared stonily back at her, but a woman who had to deal with Nathaniel’s and Kevin’s attitudes day-in and day-out wasn’t likely to be intimidated by his anger. Indeed, she just leaned in to check his injuries. Her gaze was clinical as she inspected his bandages and stitches, but her hands were light as she felt the line of his shoulders.
“He’s been speaking?” Abby asked Renee.
“There’s a noticeable rasp in his voice,” Renee said, “but it doesn’t sound like anything was damaged beyond repair.”
Renee collected one of the glasses and held it out in offering. Jean hadn’t even realized how thirsty he was, but he’d be damned if he took anything from them. Renee seemed content to outwait him, keeping it within easy reach without forcing it into one of his bruised hands. She watched Abby work for a minute before belatedly remembering she’d been trying to explain herself.
“I gave Andritch a choice: let me take you home with me to recover or accept that my mother would run a very thorough and graphic article on what had happened to you at his campus. Unsurprisingly, he was very happy to buy my silence. He promised to investigate, and I promised to keep him updated on your health in return. I doubt we’ll see any major changes at Edgar Allan this close to championships, but I will take my victories where I can for now.”
Jean forgot his decision to remain silent. “This is not a victory, you arrogant fool.”
Abby winced at the sound of his voice and pressed careful thumbs into the sides of his throat. “Breathe in for me.”
He tried batting her hands away, but the attempt hurt him a lot more than it did her, and Abby simply waited for him to settle down again. He sullenly did as he was told, and Renee watched Abby carefully as the nurse felt the way his neck moved beneath her fingers. Abby shifted her grip for the second inhale, but the pressure that had been negligible before felt like a poker here, and Jean flinched beneath her touch before he could stop himself.
He tried hiding it behind irritation and waved her off. “Get away from me. How am I getting home?”
“You’re not leaving,” Renee reminded him. “Andritch pulled you from the lineup—or he will once his investigation is done. In no universe will he allow you back at Edgar Allan after seeing you like this.”
“I am a Raven now and always,” Jean said. “It does not matter what one insignificant man says.”
“Perhaps,” Renee said, in a light tone that said she did not believe it.
“Take me back to Evermore.”
“I will say it until I’m blue in the face if I must. I will not let you leave.”
“You don’t have the right to keep me here.”
“He didn’t have the right to do this to you.”
Jean laughed, short and sharp, and let the pain burn through him. Renee knew more about his relationship with Riko than she ought, thanks to Kevin’s reckless indiscretion, so surely she knew what a baldfaced lie that was. The master bought Jean years ago, but with so many Ravens underfoot he hadn’t had the time or energy to discipline an angry child. He’d gifted him to Riko instead, trusting his nephew to handle Jean’s conditioning. Riko had the right to do anything he wanted to Jean; Jean was his property from now until death.
The master would run his Ravens into the ground for their misstep and beat his displeasure into every hidden inch of Riko’s skin, but Riko would forward that agony to Jean with interest as soon as the season was over. Jean hadn’t let Andritch in, but it was his fault Renee had known to come looking for him. He was hundreds of miles from home because he hadn’t been smart enough to keep his mouth shut.