“Marietta?” It’s Merrick.
He didn’t call me Mouse. “Yeah?”
“Iron Jack was asking what you think.” His forehead is creased with concern. I wonder what all they saw when they brought these two back.
“About them?”
“Yeah,” Iron Jack says. “You live here. We don’t know them, and Lucifer’s Kin might try to get them back. We’ve put you in a predicament.”
I glance at my bins. “I wouldn’t mind having a place to put my things. Get them out of the way. I have lots of textbooks, and gosh, you know. When they get stronger, they might be … mad. Might act out. I can leave, but my stuff …”
“I get it,” Iron Jack says. “We have a room set aside for Merrick. We’ll move you to that room until we have a handle on what we’ve got here.”
A room of my own! Merrick’s, even.
“Okay. Thank you.” I find a pair of gray leggings on the shelves and toss them over my shoulder.
“It’s next to Adam,” Iron Jack says. “If that’s working out.”
I glance at Merrick. He’s staring in the other direction, his jaw tense.
I better speak up while I can. “I don’t, um, think it … will. But I guess maybe I don’t know.”
Iron Jack nods. “That’s fine. It was just an idea.” His eyes shift between watching Merrick, then me, then back to Merrick. “Prospect, why don’t you move her things to the room? And I might want you to stay with her there tonight. If the Kin are going to retaliate quickly, they’ll do it before daybreak.”
I turn back to the shelves, pretending to dig but my hands are shaking. Did he order Merrick to stay with me in his room? Are we going to be alone in there?
I find a zebra print sweatshirt that would make the ‘90s proud, but it’s worn and soft, so I pull it, barely breathing, waiting for Merrick to answer.
“I can do that,” he says. “But if you’re going to leave me alone with her, things might happen.”
I freeze, my hand on a shelf. Did he just say that?
“I see,” Iron Jack says. “Mouse, are you amenable to this? Is he your choice?”
My hand is still shaking, so I shove it beneath the sweatshirt folded over my arm. “Yes.”
“All right, then,” Iron Jack says. “I hope that it’s sooner rather than later so we can stop concerning ourselves with Marietta’s innocence.”
I have a name. Does that mean I won’t be a mouse anymore?
My throat catches. “Will I have to leave the clubhouse if I’m not a mouse?”
Iron Jack looks between us again. “I’d feel better if you were here. And if Merrick would commit to spending a short period,say two weeks, living in the club for your protection. Then, you can decide what Marietta’s role will be. She can return to being a mouse if she chooses. She doesn’t have to be an ol’ lady to be here.”
Now it’s Merrick’s gaze that flicks between me and the president. “I can do that.”
“Good. I’ll leave you to the work. I want to talk to the rest of the club about how we will handle patrols tonight.” He takes off in long strides.
I hug the clothes as I turn to Merrick. “So, it’s tonight, then?” I ask. “And for a couple of weeks?”
His gaze is hot, and my throat constricts. “Yes.” Then, he picks up a stack of my plastic bins and heads out of the bunkhouse.
I glance at Betz. She’s opening crackers and handing them to Crystal. I guess she’s awake now, too.
I dig quickly through the clothes and find another T-shirt and some loose jeans. Good enough.
As I walk back to the front bunks, it hits me.
