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)
“-emy! Jeremy!” Cody was sprinting back up the beach toward them, waving their phone wildly above their head. They skidded to a stop, looking a bit like they’d seen a ghost, and flicked a sharp look at Jean. “It’s Colleen Jenkins. She’s gone.”
Jean’s stomach bottomed out. Jeremy turned on him, anguish and worry too bright on his face, but Jean didn’t see him. The only thing that mattered was his phone as he pulled it out of his pocket and punched in a number out of memory.
Jean had never needed to memorize the Ravens’ contact information, seeing how they were in his face all day every day, but he’d called Josiah so many times he could never forget his number. He wasn’t sure Josiah would answer an unfamiliar caller, but the Ravens’ head nurse picked up on the second ring with a curt, “Josiah Smalls.”
“Jean Moreau,” Jean answered. He half-expected Josiah to hang up on him, but when he got an annoyed grunt in response he asked, “What happened to Colleen?”
“Stepped onto the subway tracks,” Josiah said, and if he didn’t sound broken up about it, he at least sounded tired. “I assume they have TVs in California? You could’ve watched the news instead of bothering me for specifics.”
“Find Zane,” Jean said. “When he hears about Colleen, he’ll try to follow.”
Josiah hung up without a word, and Jean could only hope the man was dropping him in favor of the more important emergency. Jean fought the urge to call him back, not wanting to distract him if he was going for Zane’s file. Jean flipped his phone closed and squeezed it between both hands. Cody and Jeremy were watching him closely, watching for an explanation or an explosion.
“He loved her,” Jean said at last. He shouldn’t be so cold when the day was so hot; he had frost in his heart and sweat running down his back. “He wasn’t allowed, and he knew it, but he did anyway.”
If Jean and Zane weren’t roommates, Jean doubted he would have ever picked up on it. With Zane trying so hard to catch Riko’s eye, getting caught with a steady partner would have been disastrous. Jean’s schedule had always been out of alignment with the rest of the Ravens’ due to his status as perfect Court, but he’d walked in on them more than once. In exchange for his discretion Colleen checked Grayson with unmitigated violence during scrimmages.
She hadn’t been back to their room since January. Zane hadn’t been able to face her, not after what he’d done to Jean, not after what Riko made him do to Grayson. Her absence had done more harm than good in the long run, leaving Zane thoroughly unmoored. If she was well and truly gone—
Jean put his phone away before he could throw it and scrubbed at the goosebumps prickling at his arm.
Cody’s voice startled him from dark thoughts: “And now you’re trying to save him. I was under the impression you and the Ravens hated each other.”
“We do,” Jean said. “We don’t. We are Ravens.”
“You are not a Raven,” Jeremy said, a quiet but firm reminder. He treated Cody to a long look before asking, “Cameron?”
Cody got a stubborn set to their jaw. “Not gonna ask. Not my problem.”
Jeremy nodded, and Cody jogged back to where the others were still kicking wet sand at each other. Jean stared after him, waiting for the pieces to fall into place. “Winter. Cody and Cameron Winter.”
“Cousins,” Jeremy confirmed, “but willfully estranged. Cody’s extended family has some pretty vulgar opinions about their lifestyle that Cody knows not to tolerate.”
That tracked; Cameron was a bigoted asshole who had far too much to say at any given time. Jean tucked it aside to mull over later. He didn’t want to stay there with his thoughts and their unfinished conversation, so he collected the bag of clothes and set off down the beach. He expected Jeremy to pick up where they’d left off, but news of Colleen’s suicide had taken the wind out of his sails.
“I’m sorry about Colleen,” Jeremy finally said, so soft Jean could barely hear him over the wind. When Jean didn’t respond, Jeremy tried again: “Zane was your partner. Do you want to talk about it?”
If Jean thought about Zane, he’d go mad. “There is nothing I want less. Leave me alone.”
He didn’t expect Jeremy to respect that, but his captain held his tongue for a solid ten minutes. When he couldn’t tolerate the silence anymore, Jeremy started talking about the local area. Jean wanted to tell him he didn’t care, but listening to Jeremy was better than listening to his chaotic and conflicted thoughts, so he kept his mouth shut and let Jeremy distract him from his Ravens.
Now and then Jeremy peeled off to charge into the water, needing a break from the harsh midday sun, but he always came back to Jean’s side. Jean wasn’t sure what was worse: watching his head go underwater for far too long or watching him emerge again with wet shorts plastered to his well-toned thighs.