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)
Jean wanted to ignore the food, but he was so hungry he felt ill. In the end he decided to go with it, if only because he needed to get his strength back. Wymack didn’t have the decency to look victorious when Jean reached for the spoon; he simply pointed his gaze at the far wall so Jean could eat without Wymack’s stare boring holes in his battered face. Jean’s fingers throbbed as he set to work feeding himself, and he was belatedly grateful for Wymack’s assistance.
Wymack traded the empty bowl for Jean’s coffee. By now it was the warmer side of tepid, but Jean obediently drank through half of it. When he tilted his head away in silent refusal, Wymack put it aside and drained his own mug. Bodily functions finally tended to, Wymack leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. He treated Jean to a searching look Jean knew better than to return.
“I spoke to Coach Moriyama last night.”
Jean forgot how to breathe. “How dare you speak to him while he is grieving.”
“I’m sure he’s real broken up,” Wymack said without an ounce of sympathy. “He didn’t say it in so many words, but he’d already gotten his ass chewed out by Andritch by the time I called him. I told him we’d foot your medical bills on account of us interfering before we were invited, and I agreed to send him timely updates on your convalescence. It’s the same type of arrangement we had when Kevin came south. He knows I can be discreet when it suits me.”
Jean wasn’t sure if that curl in his stomach was regret or disgust. Wymack didn’t even know how precarious his position was. The master wasn’t interested in destabilizing the Class I teams by interfering with the coaches, so until Wymack forced his hand he wouldn’t strike him down no matter how annoying he was.
Riko, on the other hand, had wanted to kill Wymack for over a year. His restraint could have been fear of his uncle’s retribution, but Jean knew the heart of it was Riko’s complicated father complex. He’d read Kayleigh’s letter nearly as many times as Kevin had. Riko couldn’t quite cross that line yet, and he absolutely hated that part of himself.
Jean idly wondered if Kevin had figured that out yet. “Where is Kevin?”
“Blue Ridge,” Wymack said. “The Foxes rented out a cabin for spring break.”
“Not Kevin,” Jean insisted. “He would not go so far from a court.”
“He will if he’s properly motivated,” Wymack said, sticking to the ridiculous lie with a carefree shrug. “They should be back in town this weekend. Sunday, I think? If you want to talk to him, I’ll have him come by soon as he’s unpacked. Speaking of the resident drama queen…” Wymack started, but it took him a minute to figure out how to sort out his words.
“I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but I know what sort of man he is. Your so-called master,” he said, with a lilt in his voice that was all hatred, “and that bitch of a nephew of his. Kevin told us the truth when he transferred so we’d know what we were getting into. I know why you think you have to go back to Evermore, and I know what’s waiting for you there. I will burn this house down before I let him touch you again.”
If his hands ever started working again, Jean would choke the life out of Kevin next time he saw him.
Renee started texting him back in early January, but Jean had waited two weeks before responding to any of her cheery questions and check-ins. It wasn’t until she’d said “Kevin told me everything” that Jean was startled into breaking his silence. Finding out Renee knew about the Moriyama family was hard enough, but Jean assumed Kevin confided in her because of her past. Hearing now that all of the Foxes knew and didn’t have the good sense to be terrified was ten times worse.
There was something seriously wrong with them, but Jean couldn’t say that without inadvertently admitting that Kevin was right. Still, he had to wonder what could possibly cause so much irrevocable brain damage. Something in the water this far south, perhaps? Maybe carbon monoxide poisoning at the Foxhole Court.
“No one touched me,” Jean said. “I was injured during scrimmages.”
“Shut up. I’m not asking you for a confession,” Wymack said. “I don’t need one, not with you looking like this and especially not after I had to pick Neil up from the airport in December. But I need you to know that we know so that you believe me when I say we’re in this fight with eyes wide open. Renee knew what she risked by going after you. She made that call knowing who she was crossing, and we will stand with her no matter what it costs us.”