"I guess so," Nicky said. "I'd have to call Mom back and ask but—wait. Andrew said yes? You're not serious."

Neil looked from him to Matt and back again. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

Nicky scrambled to his feet. "That's what I wanted, but I didn't really think you'd get it, especially not on the first try. I just knew you were my best shot at getting Andrew to listen. You're amazing, you know that?" He yanked Neil into a fierce hug before Neil thought to dodge. "Oh, you just might be the best thing to happen to the Foxes."

"I doubt that."

"I don't." Nicky beamed as he let go of Neil. "How did you do it?"

Neil neatly excised ninety percent of the truth and said, "I asked."

"Yeah, right. Do you know what would have happened to me if I asked? Violence, Neil. Extreme and uncalled-for violence."

Neil shrugged. Nicky let it slide, maybe too happy to care how Neil won his cousin over. He dug his phone out of his pocket and gestured toward the door. "I'll call her back. Maybe we can head down next weekend. Sunday, I guess, since we'll be on a bus coming back from Florida all day Saturday. Sooner's better than later, right? I don't want to risk Andrew changing his mind."

"Good luck," Neil said.

Nicky's ear-to-ear smile was answer enough, and Nicky sailed out to make the call. Neil watched the door close behind him, then sent a questioning look at Matt. Matt was studying him with a curious intensity.

"Why are you so special?" Matt asked.

"I'm not," Neil said, confused.

"Andrew doesn't give ground to anybody. Why does he keep saying yes to you?"

"He's high," Neil said, twirling a finger near his temple. "He thinks it's funny."

Matt eyed him a bit longer, then shook his head and relaxed against the back of the couch again. Neil took the seat he'd given up earlier, and Matt turned the movie back on. They weren't much further into it when Neil's phone buzzed with a text from Nicky. Maria had agreed to the date and the extra guests. Half of the message was smiley faces and exclamation points.

Satisfaction was a quiet heat in Neil's chest, uncomfortable and unfamiliar. Neil brushed it aside, but in its wake was the cooler edge of unease. Neil was glad for Nicky, but he wasn't stupid. He was really only going so he could keep an eye on Andrew. Andrew's drugs kept him happy, but they didn't make him harmless. If Luther stepped out of line this weekend Andrew might hurt him. The courts would lock Andrew up and throw away the key, and the Foxes' season would screech to a sudden halt. Neil couldn't let that happen.

He just hoped he'd be fast enough if worse came to worst.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN