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"I am not a lost cause." Denial was automatic and a waste of time. Andrew put his hand over Neil's mouth to shut him up and said, "Liar. But that's what makes you interesting. It's also what makes you dangerous. I should know better by now. Maybe I'm not as smart as I thought I was. Should I be disappointed or amused?"
He withdrew completely, leaving just the memory of his heartbeat against Neil's mouth, and spun away.
He ran until he couldn't breathe, but he never stopped hurting.
I trusted you more than I was scared of him. So trust me now if you can. I'm not going anywhere. I'll take care of Kevin until you return.
Neil waited, but Andrew didn't let go. With so many people watching them Neil couldn't lift his shirt. He did the next best thing and dragged one of Andrew's hands under the hem. He pressed Andrew's palm to the ugly scarring across his abdomen.
"Do you understand?" Neil asked. "Nothing Riko does will make me leave him. We will both be here when you get back."
"Yeah, kid. We're friends. You're stuck with us, like it or not."
It's about family. Not necessarily the one we were born with, but the one we chose. This one," Nicky emphasized, gesturing between them. "The people we trust to be part of our lives. The people we care about."
You're very interesting, Neil." She wasn't the first to say that, but Neil wondered if Andrew's opinion of him would change when he was off his medication.
"Do girls need kid-glove treatment? I thought they were tougher than that." Dan's grin was approving. "Most of us are. Some of us are like boys, though, and have delicate egos."
"Thanks, but I can handle him," Neil said. "We noticed," Dan said dryly,
"I am not a dog. I'm a Fox."
"What the hell was that?" "Coach?" "Don't you dare 'Coach?' me, you malfunctioning retard." "No, but really," Nicky said, looking wide-eyed at Neil. "What happened?" "Neil hit Riko," Matt said. "It was beautiful." "What?" Nicky squawked. "Not fair! I missed it! Go do it again. Or not," he added quickly when Wymack leveled a death glare at him. "You can't blame a guy for dreaming, right, Coach?" "Shut up." Wymack returned his glower to Neil.
"He will break you." "He wishes he knew how," Neil said. "Trust me. I promise I'll come back, and when I do I'll bring Andrew back with me. It's going to be fine.
Facing Riko like this went against everything his mother taught him. He'd been raised to run, to sacrifice everything and everyone to ensure his own survival. His mother had never given him ground to stand on. Maybe that was why he hadn't been strong enough to save her in the end. A jumble of lies had nothing to fight for.
But Neil Josten was a Fox. Andrew called this home; Nicky called him family. Neil wasn't going to lose any of it. If two weeks with Riko was the price to keep his team safe, Neil would pay it.
"What does Andrew have to do with this?" "Everything that matters," Neil said.
He was their family. They were his. They were worth every cut and bruise and scream.
