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)
Andrew tugged Nathaniel's hoodie and said in German, "Get rid of them before I kill them."
"They're waiting for answers," Nathaniel said. "They were never able to charge my father while he was alive. They're hoping I know enough to start decimating his circle in his absence. I'm going to give them the truth, or as much of it as I can without telling them my father was acting on someone's orders. Do you want to be there for it? It's the story I should have given you months ago."
"I have to go," Andrew said. "I don't trust them to give you back."
Andrew let go of him and got to his feet. Nathaniel got up without his help and looked past Andrew to Wymack. "I'm sorry," he said in English. "I should have told you, but I couldn't."
"Don't worry about that right now," Wymack said. "Twenty minutes isn't near long enough for this conversation. We can talk about it on the ride back to campus, right?"
"Yes," Nathaniel said. "I promise. I just have to talk to them first."
"Then go," Dan said. When Nathaniel looked back at her, she stressed, "But come back to us as soon as they're done with you, okay? We'll figure this out as a team."
"As a family." Nicky attempted a smile. It was weak, but it was encouraging.
This had to be a cruel dream. Their forgiveness threatened to burn Nathaniel up from the inside-out, as healing as it was damning. He didn't deserve their friendship or their trust. He'd never be able to repay them for rallying behind him like this. He could try the rest of his life, however long it was going to be now that Stuart was in the picture and Nathan was out, and he'd always fall short.
"Thank you," he said.
Allison waved his thanks off with an airiness that didn't match her tense expression. "No, thank you. You just closed three outstanding bets and made me five hundred bucks," she said when Nathaniel glanced at her. "I'd rather find out exactly why and when you two hooked up than think about this awfulness any longer, so let's talk about that on the ride back instead."
Aaron's gaze bounced from Allison to Nathaniel to Andrew. He was waiting for them to shoot her down, Nathaniel thought, and his expression went slack when neither one of them did. Nicky opened his mouth, then closed it again without a word and stared at Nathaniel. Kevin, surprisingly, didn't react at all.
Nathaniel didn't have the energy to confirm or deny anything right now, so he just looked at Andrew and asked, "Ready?"
"Waiting on you," Andrew reminded him.
"I didn't invite him," Browning said.
"Trust me," Wymack said. "You'll fare a lot better if you take them both."
Browning flicked a calculating look between them and gave in with an impatient, "We're leaving now."
Wymack moved out of the way to let them pass, but as Nathaniel reached the door, he said, "We'll wait for you, all right? As long as it takes, Neil."
Nathaniel nodded and stepped out onto the balcony. He and Andrew went down the stairs behind Browning and got into the backseat of the SUV. Browning sat ahead of them and slammed the door. Nathaniel watched until the hotel disappeared out the window, then looked to Andrew and asked in German, "Can I really be Neil again?"
"I told Neil to stay," Andrew said. "Leave Nathaniel buried in Baltimore with his father."
Nathaniel looked out the window again and wondered if that was possible. He knew in a sense he could never really leave Nathaniel behind. Even if Stuart could talk the Moriyamas down, they'd all know Nathan's child was alive and kicking. Nathaniel would always be a security risk to them. But the thought was thrilling and chilling in turns, and Nathaniel turned his hand over to consider his palm. He traced Andrew's key into his skin with a bandaged finger.
"Neil Abram Josten," Neil murmured, and it felt like waking up from a bad dream.
-
Neil knew talking to the FBI wasn't going to be easy, but he hadn't expected it to be this strenuous. He spent the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday cooped up with them in their offices. The only time Andrew and Neil left each other's line of sight was when someone came by to check Neil's wounds, and the two of them were never left alone together. The agents brought in food so he wouldn't have to leave the building, escorted him to and from the restroom, and set up cots so he and Andrew could sleep on-site under surveillance.
In exchange for their questionable hospitality, Neil told them everything. They started with Lola's phone call and went through the shootout, where Neil put as many names to faces as he could. Almost as important as who died was who'd survived. Neither Romero nor Jackson had been at the house. From there they bounced to Neil's childhood and all the terrible things that entailed.
After they ransacked his memory for everything about his father's people and known heists, they moved on to Neil's whereabouts for the seven years between Baltimore and Millport. Neil took them step by step through every alias and residence, but he refused to give up his mother's contacts. He plead ignorance based on his age at the time, and after asking him the question twenty different ways the agents eventually gave up. Neil told them where his father's people had caught up with them, the places where Nathan himself had shown up on their heels, and stopped with his mother's death.
They had to acknowledge the Hatfords at one point, but it made for a cagey conversation. The FBI couldn't admit to whatever deals they'd struck and Neil couldn't prove anything. Instead they focused on what Neil knew of Stuart from his youth. Neil didn't have much to offer, but what little he did have became a turning point in how some of the agents viewed him. Until that conversation they looked at him and saw only Nathan's son. Finding out he'd chosen a life on the run over a sedentary life with another crime family earned him points with more than one fed.