"That's not how gravity works!" Becker yells.
We leave them to their bickering and pile into the car.
Candy's already asleep in the back, her head resting on one of the carriers. Lulu and Boba are whining softly but not panicking. Taco's barking at nothing. Sir Reginald is maintaining a dignified silence. The cats are plotting our deaths, I'm sure.
Ace starts the car, and we sit there for a second, engine running, heat slowly filling the cabin.
"This is insane," I say.
"Completely."
"We're taking seven animals to your apartment."
"Yep."
"For two days."
"Yep."
"And we just..." I gesture vaguely between us.
Ace's mouth quirks into a smile. "Yep."
"Okay. Just checking we're on the same page of chaos."
"Same page. Same chapter. Same book of absolute fucking chaos."
I laugh, and he does too, and Candy wakes up just long enough to wag her tail before going back to sleep, and somehow, despite everything, this feels like peace.
CHAPTER 20
DEVON
GETTING SEVEN ANIMALS out of a car and into an apartment building should not be this complicated. And yet.
"Grab Cheeto!" I yell as the orange menace makes a break for freedom the second I crack open the carrier.
Ace lunges, holding Candy with one arm, and somehow manages to scoop up the cat mid-dash with his free hand. "Got him!"
"Impressive."
Everything about this man is impressive, really.
Meanwhile, Taco's barking at a volume that might get us in trouble, while Sir Reginald stays silent but shoots me a look that clearly says ‘I'm judging you.’ Lulu and Boba are trembling, looking like they're having Vietnam flashbacks.
Smoke, the gray tabby, has somehow escaped and is currently sitting on the roof of Ace's car, watching us struggle with what I can only describe as smug satisfaction.
"There’s a cat on your car," I point out.
Ace looks up. "Smoke, get down here."
Smoke slow-blinks at him.
"Please?"
Another slow-blink. A cat's version of ‘fuck you.’
"I'll get him." I climb onto the hood, carefully, because this car probably costs more than my education, and reach for Smoke, who allows me to pick him up like he's doing me a favor.
