“King?” she asked as she looked at me with a furrowed brow. “You mean, Brutus?”
I slowly turned my attention toward her and crooked an eyebrow. “You think Anna’s that worried over the guy she torments with pickle breath?”
We laughed about that as we leaned back, talking about the antics of Anna and Brutus. We talked about how Amanda and Wrecker were much too loud at night, and how her favorite thing that Ranger did had nothing to do with the bedroom, but thebathroom. Apparently, Ranger was a fan of shaving her legs, and she held her leg up for me to touch just to boast of his straight razor shaves.
“Wow,” I said as I smoothed my hand up and down her leg.
She beamed with pride as she rolled her pants leg back down. “That’s three days of growth.”
My eyes bulged. “I’m a woolly mammoth after three days. What!?”
Marla’s head fell back in laughter. “I swear, it’s the shit he uses to shave me with. I’ll have to check out the label. I always forget the name, but Ranger uses the same product on his hair. Says it keeps it from getting all tangled up under his helmet.”
“Must work,” I said with an impressed smile.
Em wiggled her eyebrows. “Does Doc do anything like that in the shower?”
We talked until my voice was damn near hoarse. We laughed until it hurt to breathe. And before we knew it, the morning sun crested through the trees, spraying shots of sunshine through the windows of the safehouse.
And the guys still weren’t back.
“I’m sure they’re all right,” I said as I reached out and rubbed Marla’s back.
“How did you know what I was thinking?” she asked as she peered over her shoulder at me.
But I just found myself staring at the front door.
Please walk through. Please walk through. Please walk through.
“I can’t stand this shit,” Anna said as she stormed down the hallway. “This is bullshit. None of us are sleeping. We’re barely eating. We deserve to know what the fuck is going on!”
“Yeah!” Jasmine said as she pumped her fist in the air from the chair she was still perched in.
Reading the same book.
I wondered how many pages she actually turned in it.
“I think that we should call someone and demand some answers right the fuck know!” Anna declared.
“Yeah!” Amanda exclaimed as she came out of her room.
Ariel dipped her head out into the hallway as well. “Who are we harassing for answers? Because I’m in.”
“You guys know they’re doing this to keep us safe,” I said as I went back and took my position up at the front window.
With my shotgun.
Just in case.
“Well, you know what I think?” Anna asked as she stormed up to me, staring at the profile of my face. “I think that?—”
Vroom-room-room-room-room.
The girls gasped as they leapt to their feet.
I smiled at Anna. “What was that?”
Her wide eyes turned to the window.
