The King's Men (All for the Game, #3)

by Nora Sakavic

He straightened and turned to find Andrew had shifted closer. There was nowhere for Neil to stand except up against Andrew, but somehow Neil didn't mind. They'd been apart for seven weeks but Neil keenly remembered why he'd stayed. He remembered this unyielding, unquestioning weight that could hold him and all of his problems up without breaking a sweat. For the first time in months he could finally breathe again. It was such a relief it was frightening; Neil hadn't meant to lean on Andrew so much.

"Your crumbling psyche is your problem, not mine," Andrew said. "I said I would keep you alive this year. You make it infinitely more difficult for me when you actively try to get yourself killed."

"I hate you," Andrew said casually. He took a last long drag from his cigarette and flicked it off the roof. "You were supposed to be a side effect of the drugs." "I'm not a hallucination," Neil said, nonplussed. "You are a pipe dream," Andrew said. "Go inside and leave me alone."

"Is your learning curve a horizontal line?" Andrew asked. "I told you yesterday to stop making my life difficult." "And I told you I wouldn't promise anything."

"I didn't think I was a personal problem. You hate me, remember?" "Every inch of you," Andrew said. "That doesn't mean I wouldn't blow you."

"He moved back in the house and found out your mother was beating you. He said if you couldn't defend yourself against a woman he'd have to. Didn't he? All you had to do in exchange was stick with him until graduation."

So would you if you'd paid attention to how he treated you in Columbia," Neil said. "You knew before I did why he turned on Allison today. The only one who can stop this is you. Figure out what you have to do—what you have to forgive—to make him let you go."

Renee nodded. "Kevin told Andrew the truth about the Moriyamas first. Andrew knew letting Kevin stay could mean serious consequences for the rest of us. He was willing to protect his own against the backlash, but he didn't care enough to fight for the rest of us. He gave them to me instead."

"You've lost the right to call me difficult," Neil said. Andrew shrugged that off, so Neil said, "Make a new deal with me." Andrew tipped his head to one side, considering that. "What would you take for it?" "What would you give me?" Neil asked. "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to."

I?" "You'll lose him if you don't," Neil said. "He'll keep pushing Katelyn away if you tell him to, but he'll resent you for it. He'll count down the days until graduation and when it comes you'll never see him again. You're not stupid. I know you can see it. Let him go now if you ever want him to come

"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."

"But after that?" Neil asked. "I have no secrets left to trade." "Come up with something else." "What would you take?" "What would you give me?" "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to," Neil said.

It was the first time he'd smiled since coming off his drugs, and Neil couldn't help but stare.

"Your close calls are getting old," Andrew said. "I thought you knew how to run." Neil affected confusion. "I thought you told me to stop running." "Survival tip: no one likes a smart mouth." "Except you," Neil reminded him.