Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 163209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 816(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 816(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Laila put it together first: “You were with the FBI when Grayson died. The local office vouched for you with the LAPD.”
“Yes.”
Jeremy looked toward his friends then and finally explained, “Jean’s parents were arrested by Interpol a few hours ago. It hasn’t made the news here yet, but Bailey’s crew must have put flags on his family as they researched his background for the interview. They had a French speaker on hand to help interpret if Jean needed it, and she found the article on a foreign press site.”
“She didn’t ask you about it,” Laila said. She saw the answer she needed in the look on his face, and the edge in her voice was all righteous fury. “With no warning?”
Jean held onto his mug like a lifeline and stared down at his dark coffee. It was a minute before he thought he could trust his voice, and then the best he had to offer was, “I promised I would represent the Trojans appropriately, but I walked out. I will apologize to Coach Rhemann as soon as I am able.”
“You didn’t attack or insult her,” Jeremy pointed out. “Even your anger when she made that awful comment about Zane will work out in your favor, as it was a genuine burst of empathy. No one associated with our program is going to have a problem with how you handled yourself today. I’m glad you walked out,” he stressed when Jean didn’t react. “It was unbelievably cruel of her to spring it on you like that. It wasn’t what you’d agreed to talk about.”
Cat was still staring at Jean. “Your parents are French gangsters? Like for real?”
“Yes,” Jean said.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?” Cat asked, tossing her clump of chains from hand to hand as she looked for a new loose end to pick at. “Why’d they let you come all the way to America where they couldn’t keep an eye on you? After how they treated you and what they did to you, that’s either some serious self-delusion or some unbelievable trust, that they thought you’d keep their secrets when you were so far away.”
Neil had come up with this part of the story, though it was anyone’s guess if it would hold up. “It is hard to run an empire with a child underfoot,” he said. “I was a liability, a potential bargaining chip to be taken and used against them. I was rarely allowed to leave the property if not for games and practices, and I was forbidden to interact with anyone outside of their crew. It was better for them if I simply went away. So long as I kept my mouth shut and sent money home after graduation, they would never come for me.”
“Two children underfoot,” Cat said, frowning at the inconsistency in his story. “You told me you—”
“Cat.” That was Jeremy, in a tone that would brook no argument. “Let’s not.”
Cat flicked him a startled look but wisely went quiet. Jean knew she’d work through it on her own, and he could only pray she’d go to Jeremy for answers instead of him. He squeezed his mug until he thought it might crack between his palms.
Jeremy bought him time by turning on Kevin, but the question he presented was one Kevin didn’t have the scripted answer for: “Did you know about them?”
“He found out at the banquet last fall,” Jean said. “Neil and I recognized each other and panicked. We were too busy trying to figure out if we were safe with one another to remember that Kevin could also speak French.”
Uncomfortable silence settled in the room for a minute as they each tended their own thoughts, and then Laila said, “It’s not the sort of thing to come up in casual conversation, and you’ve only known us for three months. I can’t hold it against you for keeping it from us.” She let that sink in before continuing, “That said, this has potential to blow up in a bad way. How can we help?”
“I don’t know,” Jean admitted.
“I have people I can talk to,” Laila promised him. “I will make sure you are safe.”
Jean didn’t understand, but Cat couldn’t hold out any longer. This was exactly the kind of gossip that would get her going for days, and the gleam in her eyes was unbridled fascination. “Not alleged, you said. Then you’ve met the Butcher before? Ouch!” she complained when Laila thunked her temple. “Am I supposed to ask about his family instead? ‘Hey Jean, wow, what was it like?’ We’ve seen him naked, Laila, we know the answer to that.” She waggled a hand at her chest, indicating the scars Jean had blamed on his father. “I was trying to be considerate.”
Jean half-tuned her out as his thoughts wandered. The official story he and Neil settled on had him meeting the Wesninskis in France when he was young, but Jean had never been face-to-face with Nathan. He knew the Butcher had come by Evermore years ago, but only Kevin had been snatched into the Moriyamas’ embrace then.