Chewing and swallowing the offending pasta, she cocks her head to the side. “Actually, if we had just killed the guy and dumped his ass in the desert, we wouldn’t need a babysitter.”
“Fuck, why didn’t we do that?” Lil asks, throwing her hands up in the air.
“How exactly would you have explained Ariana’s face if you hadn’t called Dad for help,” Mia asks.
“Well, I’m not going to tell you that now. We might need itlater.” Lil grins while Mia purses her lips and shares an eye roll with Becca.
“Even together, the two of you couldn’t have moved him.” Marco looks a lot more amused than Mia does by the turn this conversation has taken.
“Not in one piece, no.” Ariana smiles sweetly, like she didn’t just allude to dismembering a body.
Mia sighs heavily and shakes her head, but there’s a hint of a smirk on her face as the conversation returns to my role and if I have an official title. The girls start throwing words like “nanny,” “chaperone,” and “warden” around.
There hasn’t been a moment of silence since we sat down for dinner, until Mia says, “Lights out at midnight tonight, girls,” before disappearing to go do… fuck, I wasn’t paying attention, so I have no idea where Mia went. Or Becca. Marco holds up a finger at me and then follows his wife. I lean against the wall to wait for him.
Ariana and Lil freeze in the kitchen, where they’re looking for dessert, and stare at each other, mouths open like fish.
“Now we have a babysitteranda bedtime? It’s like we’re eight again!” Ariana whines. Even her whine is cute.
“She knows we’re both twenty, right?” Lil asks.
“I’m pretty sure she knows, Lil. I just don’t think she cares.”
“What did we do to piss them off this bad?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it was, I’m sure it was your idea.” Ariana points an accusing finger at Lil.
“Possibly. It’s far more possible that it was your idea.” Lil taps her chin thoughtfully before whispering, “Maybe Dad told her about the cigarettes.”
“I don’t think so, but who really knows anymore?” Ariana whispers back.
Lil drops her head to the counter and fake cries while Ariana chuckles and says, “Well, we had a good run. I guess we’ll juststart that homebody spinster shit now. Maybe we should fight about what type of pet we’re getting again.”
“I mean, they could have found out about the?—”
“Shut the fuck up, Lilith! Our watchdog is listening!” Ariana hisses.
Lil looks up and jerks her head toward me. “I bet he doesn’t have a fucking bedtime.”
Chapter 10
That's not a napkin in Dad's pocket
Ariana
Dad can call Luca whatever the hell he wants to, but he’s a fucking babysitter.
We haven’t had a babysitter in years. Not full-time, at least. A day or a week here and there, maybe, but after I got my license, we begged not to have one of the guys with us. Made a presentation and pled our case.
When that didn’t work, we were as annoying as possible until Mom and Dad broke. Everyone broke. It was a beautiful thing, really. We felt bad, but only a little bit. Mostly, we felt free. Sure, there’s still the trackers, so most of what we do isn’t exactly a secret, but it’s close enough for us most of the time. And when it’s not… well, that’s what Bruce is for.
Lil storms down the hallway toward Mom and Dad’s room, the sugar rush from all the candy we ate after dinner making her extra ballsy. By the time I catch up to her, she’s already knocking on their door.
“Mom.” Knock. “Moooom.” Knock, knock, knock. “Mom,Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom.” She raps her knuckles against the wood with every repetition.
I interrupt her after about fifteen. “I bet she’s cleaning herself up after getting railed by Dad.”
Her hand freezes in the air, and she turns to glare at me. “Why must you put that image into my head?”
