Page 106 of Haze of Obedience

"Ask me when you get back?"

"Yes." He pecks me and pats my ass.

I obey him, and when I enter the kitchen, I say, "Let's make some dinner. It'll be nice to have something besides snake."

"Snake?" Naomi asks.

"Yep. Dirk has a thing for snakes."

"He does pride himself on his ability to hunt those suckers," Andre confirms.

I snort, thinking about when he killed the snake by hurling a knife at it.

"It's protein," Naomi offers.

"A good rattlesnake can taste like Tilapia," Andre continues.

"Feels like I've been eating chicken forever. Let's see what Tinker has for us to make." I open the fridge, hoping Tinker has ingredients so I can make Dirk tamales.

Andre announces, "I'm going to shower."

Naomi follows him within a few minutes.

"Looks like those two are about to have some fun shower time," I remark.

Penelope smirks. "And what about you?"

"What about me? What about you?" I throw back at her and do a happy dance when I find the final ingredient I need to make my recipe.

"Not sure what you are talking about."

"Please. He's tall, dark, and handsome, and you're gorgeous and could be a runway model. Plus, I saw how he looked at you."

"How he looked at me?" Red creeps up her face.

"Yep."

I fill a pot of water and turn it on to boil. I sort through Tinker's cooking utensils and pans, so I have everything I need.

The water doesn't take long to boil. I put the strainer over it to steam the husks, and the house shakes. The pot of water flies off the stove and comes crashing down on my arm.

Sharp, prickly pain covers my arm, and I scream.

"Zoe. Penelope," Andre yells.

"Kitchen," Penelope replies and jumps up. She moves me to the sink and holds my arm under cool water.

"Oh God! It hurts so bad!"

"Shhh." She holds my head to her chest.

Andre comes into the kitchen in a towel. "What happened?"

"I think we just had a small earthquake. The pot fell on her arm," Penelope says.

My arm is red and blistering quickly.

"Let me get my first aid kit," he replies.