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)
“He moved out there twenty...one?” Jeremy glanced at his hands as if he meant to count on his fingers, then shrugged and continued with that best guess, “years ago, when his wife’s father fell ill. Settled in her parents’ house and just never came back. Guess the culture suited him better.” Jeremy shifted like he was readying to get up from the couch, but he hesitated long enough to say, “I’ve asked you a lot of questions today that I knew you didn’t want to answer, so it’s only fair to ask: is that enough?”
“It is not my place to ask you for more.”
“You’re my friend. Just because I don’t talk about my family doesn’t mean you can’t ask.”
“You are my friend,” Jean returned, testing the way it sounded aloud, “and you don’t want to talk about them. I won’t ask.”
Jeremy’s smile was slow and radiant, and Jean had to look away. He needed to leave before he got himself in trouble, but of course Jeremy followed him to the kitchen.
Luckily there were three other people to serve as a distraction, and Cat was halfway through making lunch. Food wouldn’t sate this gnawing hunger, but Jean would take what little relief he could get.
They were nearly done eating when Neil got back to him. Browning didn’t want Jean talking about it yet, so if anyone pressed him about his parents he was simply to deflect: the arrest was tied into an ongoing investigation, so he was not at liberty to speak about it. It was a flimsy defense, but it was better than nothing. With that settled, Jean turned his phone off and put it aside to forget about for a while.
For a few hours it was like the interview had never happened. The Trojans and Kevin could carry a conversation without any help from him, so Jean watched with quiet interest as they got to know each other properly. It was inevitable that Exy would come up again and again, but Cat and Laila were good at steering Jeremy and Kevin to other things when they were at it for too long. It was a surprisingly pleasant afternoon until someone started pressing nonstop on the doorbell.
They’d gathered in the living room for board games and gossip, but at the echoing tones they all went quiet. Laila motioned for everyone to stay put as she got up. She disappeared long enough to check the peephole and came back with her face a thundercloud. With a finger to her lips, she said, “It’s Bryson. Sit tight while I get rid of him.”
It was almost impressive how quickly Jeremy’s expression went blank. Jean glanced at him as Laila left, then the empty doorway, and got to his feet. Jeremy caught his wrist before he’d taken the first step away. Jean heard the locks clacking undone on the front door as he turned a cool look on Jeremy. He wasn’t sure what he could say that wouldn’t be picked up by those at the front door, so he leaned down into Jeremy’s face and murmured, “Let go, captain.”
“She can handle it,” Jeremy said, barely loud enough for Jean to hear.
“—at the stadium with Kevin,” Laila was saying down the hall. “You’re welcome to wait outside the Gold Court for him if it’s that important.”
A haughty voice said, “I will wait here.”
Jean caught hold of Jeremy’s chin and forced his attention away from the doorway. Jeremy looked thrown, like he’d already forgotten Jean was standing there. Cat hadn’t oversold it, then; Bryson was a problem. Jean dug his fingers in and insisted, “I am your partner. It is my place to assess and handle threats against you, not hers. Let me go.”
Wood hit flesh with a dull thud in the hallway, followed by Laila’s fierce, “I didn’t invite you in. If you’re going to wait here, you can sit in your car.”
“Exactly the sort of hospitality I’d expect from a sand ni—”
Jeremy hurried to speak over his brother’s awful words: “I’ve got to go.”
He had to let go of Jean to get to his feet, and Jean was out of the living room in a heartbeat.
Jean got Laila out of the way with a quick hand on her shoulder. She was all that was keeping Bryson from getting inside, but Jean caught a fistful of his shirt as he stumbled through the doorway into the hall. He had a half-second to take him in: Jeremy’s caramel hair, Jeremy’s brown eyes, the same cheekbones and jawline, and then he threw Bryson off the porch with everything he had. The sickening crunch of glass as Bryson hit the windshield of Laila’s car said Jean owed her a thousand apologies, but Jean didn’t slow on his way down the steps.
Bryson was spitting outraged curses as he tried to roll off the hood of Laila’s car, but Jean caught the collar of his shirt and threw him into the glass a second time. This time he put his weight behind it, choking off Bryson’s air.