“Thanks, Prez,” I said and ended the call. “Fuck!”
Dice leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “I think they knew about the fire and weren’t there. Hell, maybe they’re the ones who did it.”
“Yeah, or they could’ve known we were coming,” I suggested.
“How?” Dice asked skeptically.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe that Silas kid or his sister told someone they’re staying at the clubhouse. It gets to Bill, he tells Willy, and somehow the ass suckers put more than their lips and asses together.”
“How long have you been waiting to use that one?”
“Since I saw the room Ariel’s staying in. It has an under-the-sea theme, and there are these fish?—”
“Stop,” he interrupted.
“No, listen. Some of the fish have these huge-ass lips, and they’re swimming behind these mermaids with huge asses.”
Dice tilted his head back and closed his eyes—a tell I recognized immediately. He did it every time he admitted defeat.
“If you don’t tell me, Daphne will.”
He exhaled heavily. “If I tell you, you’ll tell Daphne.”
“Fuck, now you have to tell me.”
He sighed and closed his eyes again. “Daphne said something similar about the mermaids and the fish.”
“I’m listening,” I said as we started to walk back to our rooms.
“Daphne mentioned the fish lips first, and Walter disagreed. She pointed out the asses, but Walter said he didn’t see it. Then she showed him the mermaid with the red tail, and Walter said you were a bad influence on his daughter.”
“Me?” I laughed. “Just me?”
“Yep.”
“Liar,” I said as we reached the elevator.
Dice clapped me on the shoulder. “You good?”
“Yeah,” I said seriously. “I am now. Thanks for that.”
“Any time.”
21
PRESLEY
Ithought I would have a hard time falling asleep after Ink told me about the phone call with Phoenix, but that wasn’t the case. In fact, Ink had to wake me up because I slept through my alarm—something I hadn’t done since before Ariel was born.
It wasn’t until I was in the shower after breakfast that I realized why.I felt safe.Even with the danger to me and my daughter still largely unknown, I felt safe.
I knew it didn’t have anything to do with being surrounded by able-bodied adults hidden away in a castle. We were leaving the next day, and I wasn’t worried about our safety at home, because I knew Ink would protect us.
The shower door opened, interrupting my thoughts. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Ink said as he joined me in the double shower. “What were you thinking about?”
“What we’re going to do today,” I lied as I rinsed the last of the conditioner from my hair. “Do you know what my mom has planned?”
“Not a clue,” he said, his mouth suddenly next to my ear as his hands slipped around my waist. “I know whatIhave planned.”
