I wonder if I’ll get arrested for lying to police.
But he says, “I saw Faust Darling walk up your outdoor staircase one night. Then he left, maybe fifteen minutes later. Black hoodie. Dark pants.”
My heart flutters.
The night he texted to check on me.
The scratching at the door.
“He held a knife in his hand. Nothing serious. A pocket knife, as far as I can tell.”
I stare at the dark wooden door to the study, imagine Faust’s silence as he sears meat, mashes potatoes.
“Did he bother you then? Neve, are you…” Lincoln blows out a breath. “Are you safe with him?”
I swallow hard.
Faust was arrested, but he was never formerly charged. Based on my testimony. And Sylvan’s.
Self-defense, but an accident, at that.
Are you safe with him?
“Because we only have your word. We know a teammate will lie to save their careers. This would taint them. It already does.”
They still play for the Dragons, but there are questions. Decisions to be made.
Faust has a contract. His mother wants him close, but mostly, she wants him with me. We met, in the aftermath, andI met Rachel, too. His former nanny. They both hugged me close. Embraced me. Said I helped him sleep better, made him happier. But they said it all between sobs.
Because we know what he did.
And we know it wasn’t a fucking accident.
“All you need to do is say one word. Are you safe with him, Neve? Yes, or no?”
I let my eyes flutter closed.
Some of the rigidity in my spine goes out. Forgiveness flows. Because maybe I’m as bad as they are.
Maybe I know why my mom gave up on us.
I’d never do that to my kids—ourkids, when we have them—but I understand it better now.
When I think of the food the boys are cooking, the table with my friends, the meal I’ll fully participate in, like a weight that kept me small has been lifted, I feelwhole.
“Yes,” I say. “I’m more than safe.”
And a cruel smile curves my lips. Because I mean it.
NEVE
EPILOGUE
“You could sign the contract.” Sylvan’s words. Low and quiet.
“It’s not that easy?—”
“And why not?” It seems simple to me. A secure future. Money. Prospects. I stare into Faust’s dark eyes as I ask, the three of us on the bottom steps of Salvatore Hall. My personality seminar is over, Edmond promised to bring his boyfriend to Castle Darling this weekend, and now we’re arguing before we head there ourselves, to meet Cynthia and Tylone.
