“Sundance said you cannot kill him.”
“Sundance needs to mind his business,” I hissed. “Why the fuck did you even tell him what I was doing?”
“You might be heir, brother, but he’s still king.”
“So, Grimace is here more to babysit me than provide backup.”
“He’s here to take your back, and if that means keeping you out of prison, more the better.”
I sighed, then made my way down the hall and found Grimace leaning up against the wall.
“Hey, Ori.”
“Hey.” I smiled. “Looks like it’s time to gut us a fish.”
“Hell, yeah.”
I pushed open the door and smiled. “Hey, Orca. How ya doin’?”
He was zip tied to a chair that was bolted into the concrete floor, his mouth duct taped shut, and it looked like he’d pissed himself.
“Orion figured we could start by seeing how well your gills work,” Grimace said.
“Whales have blowholes, dumbass,” I corrected.
“You just said it was time to gut a fish.”
“It’s a figure of speech. Orcas are technically whales, therefore mammals.”
“Orcas are whales?”
“Jesus Christ, where did you go to school?” I asked.
“But Orca’s not fat,” he continued without answering my question.
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, if he’s named after a whale, shouldn’t he be a great big fat guy?”
“We’re getting off topic here,” I said, trying to keep my irritation at my biker brother under control. “Just fill up the fuckin’ tub.”
* * *
Raquel
I walked out of class as the sun was beginning to set. I hated Wednesdays. They were always long, and I’d get home practically unable to form sounds, let alone words.
I walked down to where I was supposed to meet Orion, but his bike wasn’t there, and this gave me pause. In fact, I couldn’t stop a shiver as I tried to find him in the sea of people.
“Raquel!”
I turned at the sound of my brother’s voice and let out a sigh of relief. He was rushing toward me with a look of irritation on his face. “Am I late?”
“No,” I said. “I got out a tiny bit early.”
“Shit. Okay.”
“What’s wrong? Where’s Orion?”
