Page 190 of Scrimmage

As if on cue, another man strides in. He’s wearing military cargo pants, a nice button down shirt, and a fucking bulletproof vest. His men clear the hospital lobby in moments, looking like a swat team. He comes straight over to Penny and straps a vest onto her without a word.

“They’re the ones who found her?” he asks.

She nods, biting her nails.

“Sinclair, why don’t you take Penny to get something to eat?”

He nods, jaw flexing, and wraps an arm around her. They head in the direction that must be the cafeteria. The moment they disappear the man is on us. He has an unsettling ease in his stance, and the smile on his face it too friendly. He's trying to lure us into a false sense of security. I’ve met men like this before when my parents died.

He sticks out his hand to Alexi. “My name is Jeremy Pilsner, and you are?” His brown hair has been slicked back with a short brown beard to match. A badge sits on his belt.

“Alexi Daemon.” He shakes his hand.

“And you?” Jeremy asks.

The last twenty-four hours have been so traumatic that instead of calling my dad and asking him what to do, I shake his hand. “Koda Armory.”

Jeremy sits next to Alexi, across from me, without asking. “So you two have been posted up here with Penny, huh?”

“I picked her up from the airport,” Alexi offers.

“You did? That was nice of you.”

“We’re friends. It’s what you do,” he murmurs, a faraway look in his eyes. I wouldn’t be shocked if he was dissociating. I’m too present in my body right now between everything Penny just told us and this government asshole looking at us like we’re predators.

“Friends? That’s nice to hear.” Jeremy hooks his ankle over his knee, spreading himself out despite the awkward vest. “Pretty dedicated friends to be sitting here.”

I stare at him with a tight jaw. I’m not giving in to whatever he is trying to make us admit. Alexi isn’t an idiot. He looks stoic, too.

“How did you meet Ashland?” Jeremy asks.

“We went to brunch at this place called Sunny’s, and we met her there,” Alexi answers.

Jeremy stares at me, looking deep inside. “What about you, Koda?” I hate the way he casually says my first name like we’re fucking friends.

“Yeah, he was there.” Alexi leans back and crosses his arms.

“That wasn’t the first time,” I admit.

Alexi raises his eyebrows in complete and total confusion. “Do you have a concussion? I was there.”

“No. The first time I met Ashland was last year at the weekender. You, too.”

It looks like he’s struggling to put the pieces together, and Jeremy watches with a look that’s impossible to discern by design.

“At the weekender?”

“After you blacked out. We played beer pong with her and Penny. They were winning by a long shot, but a fight broke out and some guys smashed into the table. Cole was there, too.”

Jeremy sits forward, intertwining his fingers with his forearms on his knees. Something about that has caught his interest.

“Woah.” Alexi sits up with realization. “It’s fuzzy. I barely remember the fight. They were there?”

“Yup. Kept cheersing to the Cunts of the Century. I forgot until that football party you invited her to.”

“Who is Cole?” Jeremy feigns disinterest, but there’s glaring curiosity in his gaze.

“This guy they were friends with.”

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