"No," Neil said, with a ferocity that had even Matt eyeing him warily. "We've got to break him first. If Exy is the only thing he cares about we're going to take it away from him. First we destroy his reputation, then we destroy him. I don't want us to lose a single game this spring. Can we do that?"

"Not a single damn game," Dan said in a hard voice.

Neil looked around at them, at the cold rage on their faces, and focused on Kevin. He tried again in French with an insistent, "Do you have my ticket?"

"You're not going," Kevin said. "Do you know what he'll do to you?"

"Do you know what he'll do to Andrew if I don't go?" Neil said. "I don't have a choice. I have to go. You have to trust me."

"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. So do you have my ticket or don't you?"

Kevin pressed his lips into a hard, white line and looked away. "I have it."

When the strikers fell quiet, Dan looked at Wymack. "Let's go home, Coach."

The banquet was hours from being over, but it was too dangerous to stay any longer. The next time one of them saw Riko they'd try to break his neck. Wymack trusted Renee's self-control the most, so he sent her in search of the missing dates. As soon as Renee returned with Katelyn and Thomas the Foxes high-tailed it to the bus. They slowed to grab their bags from the locker room but not long enough to change. Wymack had them on the road in minutes.

The ride back to Palmetto was silent. They made it back in the dead of night, but despite the hour none of the Foxes could sleep. Wymack dropped the dates off first, then took his team to Fox Tower. They rode the elevator up together. Kevin passed Neil a folded slip of paper as they stepped into the hallway. Neil didn't have to open it to know it was the confirmation for his flight.

Matt tried to bring Neil to the girls' room so they could finally talk about what happened, but Neil went next door. He kicked his shoes off to one side and pushed the window open. He tried to light a cigarette but his hands were shaking too badly. He ended up crawling into bed fully dressed. He checked the departure time so he'd know how early to set his alarm, then shoved the paper under his pillow with Andrew's bands. He pulled his blankets over his head to block out the room and willed himself to stop thinking.

When he finally slept, he dreamed of death and blood.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN