Page 14 of Property of Bob

I looked from Shay, the redhead, to Prime. “Yeah, that I can see.” They looked like they went together.

Prime tipped his head to the side. “I don’t know if that is insulting or not.”

“It’s not,” Shay called with a laugh. She pointed at the curvy woman, who had to be Pearl. “Which one do you think Pearl belongs to?” she asked me.

I looked around the room at all of the guys. I looked at Pearl, and then my eyes went back to Anchor. “Yours.”

“More like he’s mine,” Pearl chuckled.

Anchor glanced at Pearl and smiled. “Not wrong about that.”

“Now me!” the other woman on the couch called. “I bet you can’t tell which guy I am with.”

I didn’t even need to look around, because I had clocked the guy by the pool table making eyes toward her earlier when I had walked in. “That one.”

Her mouth dropped open. “How?”

“McKayla is the PI, but you might need to take some pointers from Ramona,” Prime laughed.

I hitched my bag on my shoulder. “Nah, I’ve just been around a lot, and notice small things.” The fatigue from driving the past three days, while looking over my shoulder the whole time thinking I would be seeing Ash tonight, hit me. I glanced toward the door.

My RV was out there. My home. Everything I owned. And somewhere off the island, Ashland Moore was lying in a hospital bed because somebody had nearly killed him. I swallowed. “Is he really going to be okay?”

The question came out quieter than I wanted.

Anchor looked at me. “Yeah.”

I searched his face.

He believed it or needed to. Either way, I nodded.

Pearl started toward the hallway, and I followed.

Prime called after me. “Night, Ramona.”

I turned. “Night.”

His smile widened. “Can’t wait to tell Ashland you’re here.”

Shay walked past him and punched his arm. “Would you stop being so annoying?”

He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. “Babe, his name is Ashland,” he told her like it was the funniest thing in the world.

She rolled her eyes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “You guys are so weird about names, Marshal.”

Prime looked at her like she had lost her mind. “You can’t be saying that out loud.”

Shay laughed and pulled out of his arms. “Remember that the next time you say Ashland,” she laughed as she followed behind me.

I pointed at him. “You need to get amnesia about that name.” I looked at Anchor. “Can you control him?” Anchor shook his head. “No.”

“Good to know.”

Pearl laughed as she led me down the hallway with Shay behind me.

The farther we got from the common room, the quieter it became. I could still hear the guys talking behind us, along with a burst of laughter that told me Prime was probably still enjoying himself way too much.

I glanced over my shoulder. Shay caught me looking and smiled. “He’s never going to let that go.”