Page 58

Something Bad’s About To Happen

A fter the dance marathon, my guys and I chilled at the table we claimed. Drinks are flowing, laughs are echoing, and it feels like we’re all gelling as a family. It makes me smile, and I wish the rest of my companions were here.

I miss the kitties, dogs, and even Euryale. Isis’ arriving has helped the anxiety buried deep within me at being at the site of one of my deepest traumas calm, but having the full complement would be even better. I can’t help but look around the room and feel the bottom drop out of my stomach when memories flash through my mind.

“Sugarplum, you’re frowning again. Are you sure you don’t want to escape while people are distracted?” Wolfie leans over from his perch on Teddy’s lap, looking into my eyes in concern.

I shake my head. “No, it’s okay. We’re expected to stay until the last dance, and with all of you close by, I’m doing okay. I promise; I will not lose my shit.”

Edgar sits up suddenly, tilting his head in a manner that is very reminiscent of Kali and Hecate. “I’m not sure I agree. Perhaps we should go.”

“Teddy, it’s fine. Don’t get all alpha on us. I’ll let you know if I need a change of scenery.” I reach around Wolfie and Prez, squeezing his hand.

“No, Tíogair. I don’t think he’s wrong. There’s something odd in the air; even I can feel it.” Doyle’s brow furrow and he scoots his chair closer to our group. “I should dispatch Odie to fetch the other animals.”

“Who or what in the fuck is an Odie?” I ask, punching his shoulder. “I thought you said there are no secrets!”

Doyle grins and shrugs carelessly. “Odie’s not a secret, Tíogair. He’s my raven, and I haven’t brought him around yet because your house is turning into a veritable wildlife preserve.”

Giving him an annoyed look, I punch him again. “As if one more bird is going to matter when Prez is building a fucking aviary! What were you going to do when you all moved in?”

“I live by the seat of my britches. I figured it’d come up, eventually.”

Rolling my eyes into the back of my head, I sigh and rest my forehead on Wolfie’s shoulder. Doyle loves to cause trouble, even a little shit like this, and I know he’s enjoying himself. Giving him the reaction he wants will only make him enjoy it more. I lift my head and shrug. “So call this Odie and get the others if you feel it’s the right thing to do.”

Wolfie flat out snorts at the pout on Doyle’s face when he realizes I will not fight with him. “Oh, sugar, you clipped his wings, but good. He was spoiling for a fight.”

“Good girl, Tilly. Make him work for it,” Teddy rumbles, his eyes dancing with mirth. “Can’t have him thinking he’s in charge.”

Doyle rises, walking past me and ruffling my hair. “Ah, Tíogair. You make life interesting. I’ll be back to continue our dance once I’ve contacted Odie.”

As he walks away, I look at the others with a frown. “Did you know?”

They shake their heads, and I wrinkle my nose. “He’s such a goddamned mystery. None of you were this hard to get close to.”

“Honestly, drugar , you’re closer to him than anyone in town outside Mayor Nelia. That jackass has lived here for years and he hasn’t batted a lash at anyone. You’re the first woman he’s paid attention to since he showed up. Hell, I don’t even know where he lives.” Teddy looks at the others and they nod in agreement.

“Does that strike you as odd?” I ask, tilting my head. “I know he’s on our side—I don’t believe he’d do anything to hurt me—but I want to get to know him better. I want… I want us all to fit together.”

Prez leans over, making Teddy growl as he shifts on his lap. He and Wolfie switched places after they got a fresh round of drinks, forcing Edgar to give in and let him sit on his lap. “Magpie, he’ll come around. He strikes me as a lone wolf and he has to learn to play on a team. Give him time. He asked you if you wanted him to call his raven—in his own way. That’s progress.”

“I didn’t think about it that way. I suppose it is better than doing whatever the hell he wants without telling us.” I ponder for a moment, then smile at my McSteamy doc. “Thank you for saying that, Prez. It helps.”

“Uh, guys?”

All four of us look up at the lumbering giant in front of us. Benjamin Louis Foster, the jovial proprietor of the Speakeasy, is wearing a Beast at the ball costume. It couldn’t be more appropriate for his hulking frame or mane of wild dreds. His chestnut colored skin is perfectly suited to the golds and royal blues of his formal waistcoat and my jaw drops as I take him in. Scrawny Benjy was decent looking at the door of the bar, but this Benjy is straight up on fire.

“Hey, man. What’s up?” Teddy grins, holding his fist up to bump.

“I… I have a bad feeling, E. Something is going down, and soon. Sherilynn and all of her friends are MIA. They literally disappeared—one by one—and I didn’t notice because I was trying so hard to avoid her.” He shuffles his feet, looking uncomfortable. “She hasn’t taken the separation well. I hope she isn’t acting out because of?—”

“Dude, Sherilynn was a viper in high school, and she made you miserable from the moment you married her. Whatever she has cooking isn’t about you—it’s because she and the other girls follow Amy Matilda like lemmings off a cliff,” Teddy chides, shaking his head.

“She knows we didn’t separate solely because of her behavior. I didn’t tell her, but she’s not stupid, man. I’m worried they have something ugly planned—again.” His gaze cuts to me and my entire body freezes in place.

Oh, no. No. No. No.

They can’t have some elaborate bullshit planned in this place, at this event… I can’t. I don’t think I can go through this again—not a repeat of the past. I’ve been healing, but the wound is not closed and I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to relive it.

“Sugarplum, I’m gonna need you to breathe,” Wolfie whispers, leaning in to put his forehead on mine. “I can feel your pain. I wasn’t here when it happened, and I’ve only heard stories. But I know you were a kid and you’re a beautiful, accomplished woman now. They can’t hurt you like they did before.”

The golden sheen of glitter on his skin intensifies, and I can feel his warmth surrounding me. It helps, as does the tightening of Isis around my ribs. A tear slips from my eye as I whisper, “Wolfie, you don’t understand. It wasn’t just them. There was more to it—more than people know.”

“Jolene, I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, but I came to help you guys slip out before whatever happens goes down. I saw Haggerty outside. He’s waiting for your companions, but he knows to be on alert just in case something is coming from outside of the building.” Benjy shifts uncomfortably, holding his hand out.

I look at the boys, surprised when Wolfie stands and they all nod at me. “If you think we should follow him, I trust you.”

“Benjy tried to stop what happened in high school, Tilly. He’s the one who came out to find us when he overheard the girls giggling in the back. We were all too stupid, high, and full of our parents’ toxic bullshit to understand what was going on,” Teddy says quietly. “We didn’t listen and by the time we got inside, the damage was done.”

I blink, looking at the enormous man holding his hand out. “Is that true, Benjy?”

He nods, flushing red under his copper hued skin. “It is. Teddy convinced me that there was a secret room upstairs, and I saw her approach them. I heard what they offered and how it came about. I ran to tell the guys, but they were… hell. They were stupid kids; we all were. I never got to tell you how sorry we were.”

Fucking hell. That makes me madder than a cat being baptized. For years, I thought everyone in this town took part or took pleasure in my humiliation, and I was wrong. Benjy tried to prevent it and the guys might have helped if they weren’t stoned out of their gourds. I had allies; they were just fuck-ups.

“Thank you for telling me that,” I whisper, taking his hand. I’m not a small girl, but his size dwarfs me a bit and I’ve never had that happen before. At least, not up this close. Tharin is easily this size, but I’ve never been this close in proximity.

“We should get moving, guys. If Benjy’s feeling is right, whatever those bitches have planned could happen any minute.” Prez tugs Teddy up after he stands, looking around the room suspiciously.

“He’s right, Tilly. We need to get gone before it all goes to hell. Benjy has a good sense of impending doom. It’s eerie.” Edgar peers across the room, his gaze piercing as he takes in the scene.

“Okay. Let’s figure out how to get five people in outrageous costumes out the back before anyone notices,” I concede.

“I think we should part ways. Magpie, you stay with Benjy. Pretend to dance and we will all split up. Once we’re clear, he can pretend to walk you out to the garden. No one will suspect anything because we’re not along for the ride,” Prez murmurs.

“Agreed,” Wolfie says. “Once we’re all outside, Teddy can bring the car around. I’ll go with you, and Benjy can round up Doyle. He’s got a truck, so the rest will fit in the back.”

Benjy gives me a shy smile, and I follow him out to the dance floor. He holds my hands carefully, starting the waltz as the music plays. I follow him easily, trying not to let the emotions running through me show in my face. It’s not his job to clean up a messy, weepy Jolene and I hate letting people I don’t know well see me vulnerable. But the tears slide down my cheeks unbidden and when I sniff, he stops for a moment.

“Jolene, don’t cry. I’m a big , burly dude and people will think I’m scaring you,” he jokes, reaching up to wipe a tear off my cheek. “Guys like me already have a bad rap with women.”

I snort, the tears making the sound gurgly. “Benjy, your giant Hulk-ness is not making me cry. If anyone thinks that, they can get the fuck right off. I’ve kicked asses as big as yours in the ring.”

That’s not exactly true, but it made him smile, and his shoulders loosen up. I hoped he’d relax a little with a joke because I can’t control the waterworks at the moment and I don’t want people to figure out that we’re a diversion. He winks at me, then twirls me in a circle before tugging me back into the two-step frame.

“Well, you are kicking my ass at dancing. I took the ballroom classes for the wedding, but we didn’t end up using it. I think it was because Sherilynn never could find a foot that wasn’t her left one.”

Laughter bursts free before I can stop it, and I smile up at the Disney prince in front of me. “That is the second best thing I’ve learned all night. Thank you again, Benjy.”

He grins and leans in. “I think Prez is the last one out. We should start making our way to the?—”

“ Ladies and gentleman, if we can have your attention please !”

I look up at the orchestra with an icy ball of fear in my stomach. At the microphone, Amy Matilda Behle and her four sycophants stand tall in their five versions of Harley Quinn costumes. Not one of them has the depth to understand that character’s inner turmoil, madness, or redemption arc, but there they are, tarted up and sashaying across the stage.

“ We have an amazing surprise for you. Are you ready, Whistler’s Hollow ?”

Squeezing Benjy’s hand hard, I wait for the shoe to drop. Something bad is about to happen, and I’m going to need all the support I can get.