“Please stop calling me that.”
“No.”
I sighed.“Everyone here has a real problem with the word no.”
Push grabbed his cut from the back of a chair.“Says the woman who refused to accept it for ten straight minutes.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“I was right.”
Prime grinned.“She’s got you there.”
Push shot him a look.
Prime lifted both hands.“I’m not involved.”
“You are literally standing right there,” I said.
“Emotionally, I’m not involved.”
Piney laughed and clapped once.“Come on.Let’s go before Anchor decides to send Lost, too, and this turns into a damn parade.”
We headed out through the front door, and I tried very hard not to feel victorious.
I failed.
The second I stepped onto the porch, sunlight hit my face and I breathed in like I’d been trapped underground for a week.Technically, I had not been trapped underground.I had been trapped in a comfortable clubhouse with good coffee, breakfast food, and a rotating cast of bikers who acted like arguing was a love language.
Push walked on my right.Piney fell into step on my left, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans as we headed down the porch steps and onto the gravel path leading away from the clubhouse.
Behind us, I heard Vin say something to Cross, followed by the crack of pool balls.
The path from the clubhouse to the haunted house area wound through trees that were just thick enough to make the buildings feel hidden from one another.During the day, sunlight filtered through the leaves in shifting patches across the gravel.At night, those same trees looked much less friendly.
I’d already cracked my skull open near a dead body here.My review of Skull Island nightlife was one star.Would not recommend.
Piney strolled beside me like we were going to a picnic.“So what exactly are we looking for?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“I need context.”
Push glanced down at me.“Context?”
“Yes.When I watch footage, I’m seeing pieces.Angles.Seconds.Tiny bits of movement.But I need to understand the layout.Where someone could cut through.Where they’d be visible.Where they’d be invisible.Why the guy in the hoodie chose certain routes.”
Piney nodded slowly.“That actually makes sense.”
I looked at him.“You sound surprised.”
“I mostly came for the walk.”
“At least you’re honest.”
