"Go, Abby, go." Andrew shooed her with both hands. "Bring him back when he's drunk. We've got Neil. Right, Neil?"

Neil had used all his words on Kevin, so he just nodded. Abby hurried after Kevin, but she looked across the court toward the Ravens' table. Neil saw her wave and followed the gesture to Wymack. Wymack was heading the Foxes' way, his face a thundercloud. Neil clenched his fingers tighter and willed them to stillness.

"Neil," Dan said, taking Kevin's seat between him and Andrew. "Are you okay?"

"Does he look okay to you?" Andrew asked.

Dan shot Andrew a livid look, but his smile said he wasn't impressed by her anger. Andrew held onto the table edge and leaned back until his chair was balancing on its back legs. It gave him an unobstructed view of Neil behind Dan. Neil looked at him because he didn't trust himself to face anyone else just yet. Andrew shielded his mouth with his hand but didn't bother to lower his voice.

"I told you so."

"Sit down, Minyard," Wymack snapped, coming up behind Dan's new chair. Andrew gave an exaggerated sigh and let his chair fall back to the ground. Wymack turned on Neil next. "Did you or did you not tell me you weren't going to start a fight?"

Nicky spoke up on Neil's other side. "In Neil's defense—"

"I didn't ask you," Wymack interrupted. "Neil, talk to me."

In his head Neil was already counting steps to freedom. Their new seating arrangement made them the closest table to the court door. He'd just have to cross the inner court and get through the locker room. The fence around the stadium was ringed with barbed wire to prevent vandalism and theft, but he could leave the way they'd come in. It was a toss-up as to whether or not the guards would stop him. A young man in nice clothes running breakneck speed away from a public event was suspicious.

If he had an excuse to get out of here, like following Kevin to the vodka on the bus, he could conserve his energy until he passed the guards. From there he just had to find a taxi, because hitchhiking wasn't going to be fast enough this time. He needed to get back to Palmetto State and get his papers from his safe. He needed his money and his numbers. Maybe it was finally time to call—

Neil's escape route ground to a sickening halt in his head. He pried his fingers apart and pressed one hand to his pocket. He could feel the hard lines of his phone through the cotton.

"Neil, if you can't be here say so," Wymack said. "Abby can take you elsewhere until it's time to leave. Get out of here and get some fresh air."