Our what? Hailey snorts.
“Niamh, yes. I meant her.” I make a leap of faith, knowing I may get shot down. “Is she why you hate Clay Skinner?”
He flinches then eyes the ground before he answers. “Yes. Someone I know said they think she was in a car they sawspeeding away, with Clay in the back with her. She was celebrating with some girlfriends, they all got drunk, and they let her walk home alone.” His mouth twitches. “I should have been there to help her. Fuck, though, the world sucks.” His glare is intense. “I think they were right about him being there, even if the law doesn’t seem inclined to agree.”
I nod. “Okay. Good reasons for hating.”
The cop has stayed back near his car and cannot be hearing this quiet conversation.
“Sure is. I’ll see you at that party, I guess.” Then he sucks in a breath and seems to lose his anger. “I’ll do anything.”
“Esau,” Hailey asks, “How much do you trust Zedder?”
“Enough.”
I have to say this, though I glance at the law officer before I do. “Even though he is paying off the cops?”
“Like I said, enough. I wouldn’t trust him with my new Porsche, and maybe not with my daughter, if I had one. Make that, definitely not.”
He smiles then walks away, looking lonely but formidable, hands in his pockets. He nods at the cop as he passes him then continues right, down the street.
“Not a man I’d want to cross. I like Esau,” Hailey says.
“Yeah, me too.”
“Kail, what if Ron and Molly hear what this party is about? They’ve been left in charge of the house.”
“The day I stole my hoodie from the house, I found some old photos in the attic, tucked away with the clothes. It was from a party like Zedder wants, and they were there, in leather gear.”
“Are you fucking with me?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die. I think Ron and Molly will be okay with it.”
Not that I’m sure I can still die… There’s a question for another day.
Can I die?
We’re a few yards from where we stashed the Jeep down a dark side-street when Hailey swings around to look at me and stops dead. “If Sheriff Baxter reports he saw us to Clay Skinner, he’s going to know where we’ve been.”
“And might be able to figure out where we are going.”
“Yes. Like this party. We need to move fast. I wonder if we can get the party moved up to tomorrow night?”
“Good idea. We can text Esau and ask him to ask Zedder.”
“Sure. And Kail.” She pokes my chest with her forefinger. “Don’t get too many cray-cray notions about what you can do at the party. We’ll be busy figuring out food and drinks and?—”
I remove her finger from my chest and put it in my mouth, suck it in to the last knuckle, then I bite down. Her gasp zings to my cock.
“Ow!” She tugs.
I pull out her finger and cup my hand over her mouth. “Shhh. I will make sure someone else is in charge of catering.” Like Ron and Molly. I can ask them? They seem neck deep in everything in Revenant, like sneaky alligators in a swamp.
I’m being paranoid, which might be my damaged brain acting up.
It’s distracting, but not as distracting as Hailey dragging my hand off her face and her warm tongue licking across my palm as she does so. The wicked gleam in her eyes says it all.
“Someone is asking for it.” I pick her up by the waist and carry her to the Jeep.
