Meg:Gah! Are we so easily bribed by food?
Kate:We are shallow.
Meg:What am I going to wear???
Kate:It’s not like you guys are going out to a swanky bar in Manhattan, right? Just wear some jeans and a low-cut top.
Meg:I need to make more of an effort.
Kate:Let me see what’s in your closet.
I video chatted her.
“Let’s have a look,” Kate said, peering through the screen. “Band tee, cutoff shorts, and rows and rows of cheap suits. You could re-wear the sexy debate dress.”
“I spilled chipotle sauce on it.”
Kate sighed.
The doorbell rang.
“Is that him?” Kate shrieked.
“I hope not.” I opened the door. There was a courier standing there with a long shallow white box wrapped with a large red ribbon.
“Delivery for Meghan Loring,” he said, handing me a tablet to sign.
“What is it? What is it?” Kate yelled through the phone screen.
I opened the package. Inside the white tissue paper was a note card with Hunter’s handwriting.
I figured you would say yes to the date.
And if you didn’t, then I am still available to come fuck you in this dress.
“Good lord,” Kate said, fanning herself. “Maybe you should just skip the date!”
56
Hunter
“Can you pay attention?” Greg snapped at me. We were in the home office. Though the room was huge, it still felt a bit crowded with all of us in there—especially with Crawford. He paced around the room.
“You cannot raid the compound,” Garrett insisted. “I have plans in motion.”
“I don’t care,” Crawford barked. “You all had years to figure this out.” His upper lip curled, and he looked at me. “Hunter is a classic example. You let Meg jerk you around. You have all these elaborate schemes to try and win her back as opposed to taking charge and telling her that she is your woman.”
“I’m not Dad; I’m not just going to kidnap her and drag her off back to my house.”
“And you’re implying that’s what I would do?” Crawford snarled.
“Fuck you, Crawford,” Greg said, jumping up. “You can’t just breeze back in here acting like you’re the only person able to save our sisters. The situation is more complicated than that.”
“It’s not.”
“It is,” Garrett insisted. “Dad’s going to see you coming a mile away. He’ll have his cult members run off with the girls. Then he’ll probably call the state troopers on you for trespassing.”
“You tried this before, and it didn’t work,” I reminded him. “Leif is manipulative; look what happened to Parker.”
