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)
That got Jean’s attention immediately. “Yes.”
“Fair warning, though: Davis knows you’re getting in today, and I promised I’d tell him if we were stopping by. He wants to get a look at you. One of our nurses,” he said belatedly.
Jean was undeterred. “Take me to the court.”
Jeremy stopped by the kitchen to let Cat know they were heading out, but he was only halfway back to Jean when the lock on the front door clacked undone and Laila arrived. She made it two steps inside when she realized there was a stranger in her living room doorway. She didn’t have to ask, seeing how Jean had a number on his face, but she didn’t take her eyes off him as she slowly closed the door behind her with her heel. She’d come back with just a bag of rice in her hands, and she chucked it down the hall in Jeremy’s general direction.
“Jean Moreau,” she said, stepping closer to Jean to study him. “I’m Laila Dermott.”
“Goalkeeper,” Jean said with a nod. “You’re very good.”
He didn’t say it with any warmth, but there was nothing grudging or hesitant to it either. It was simple fact, recognition from one talented athlete to another. Laila was too startled to smile immediately, but when she got her wits about her, she answered with a wry, “I’ve had better seasons.”
“You were sabotaged,” Jean said. “Next year the Trojans will be champions.”
He said it with such easy surety that Jeremy’s heart kicked up a notch. “You think so?”
“Going to make that much of a difference on our backline?” Cat asked, following the sound of Laila’s voice to the hall. She sounded more amused by Jean’s arrogance than offended. “I notice you didn’t say I was any good.”
She was teasing, but Jean answered: “You are, but you’re weaker on your left side and you don’t know where your own waist is. You miss every single ball that passes between your hip and your rib cage. Your coaches should have corrected that issue years ago.”
Cat laughed, delighted. “Oh, he’s good. A bit rude, but I like him. I think we’re going to be good friends.” If she noticed the cool look Jean sent her for that, her smile didn’t dim. “Any other trade secrets that’ll give us an edge over the Ravens in the end?”
“You won’t have to worry about them next year,” Jean said. “The Court is gone, as is the—head coach. Losing the Nest will be the last strike. They will implode before long, no matter how desperately Edgar Allan tries to save them.”
The edge in his voice wasn’t regret, but Jeremy couldn’t narrow it down. He was too distracted thinking about Grayson and Lucas. He wondered if Jean knew that one of his former teammates was in the state. Judging by Jean’s tone and the nastiness circulating online, Jeremy wasn’t sure this was the best time to bring it up.
Laila peered up at Jean and asked, “Are you going to be okay with that?”
Jean was silent so long Jeremy wondered if he’d already backed out of this conversation to wait for the next, but finally Jean turned a steady look on Laila. “Yes,” he said, and if he didn’t sound sure, he at least sounded angry. “Let them all burn. I hope none of them survive.”
“I appreciate your conviction, but you’re definitely off press duty,” Laila said dryly.
“You mean the Nest is real?” Cat asked, eyes alight. “I’ve looked at Edgar Allan’s campus map, you know? The Ravens have two houses earmarked for their dorms. I figured the Nest was a rumor to sell the whole ‘we’re a creepy cult’ image. What?” she asked when Jeremy sent her a pained look. “It’s been bugging me for years! I want to know all about it.”
“I’m showing Jean the route to campus,” Jeremy said. “Laila, good luck in the kitchen. Cat destroyed it.”
Laila looked to the ceiling for patience. “Babe, I left you alone for twenty minutes.”
“It’s not that bad anymore,” Cat protested. When Jeremy laughed, she aimed a light kick at his calf. “At least pull the knife out of my back before you go, Jeremy. Damn.”
“We’ll be back before dinner,” Jeremy told Laila when he caught up to her.
Rather than move out of the way, she got the door open for them, and Jeremy led Jean down the narrow porch steps back to street level. He stopped at his car, waited for Jean to move up alongside him, and pulled his key ring out of his pocket.
Jillian’s key was hanging alongside his copy, and it took him just a little bit of wiggling to get it off its hook. He held it out to Jean, who took it after only a moment’s hesitation and slipped it into his pocket. Jeremy traded his keys for his phone so he could tap out a heads-up to Jeffrey Davis that they were on the way. The response was almost immediate, and Jeremy put his phone away in favor of his newest teammate.