“The point in us telling you all of this,” DB spoke up, “is that we need to be vigilant for a multitude of reasons. We’re not fortunate enough to know everyone’s purpose for moving here. Some of them may be doing what Zuri and Naomi are, and others might be the people they’re trying to run away from. We’ve got a facility now to help the residents of Piersville stay safe and live comfortably, but we have to be part of it.
“Now, we’ve seen some of Gjorka’s guys near here, so we’ve got to be vigilant now. Just to add to that, we’ve got a duty to the other residents to keep them safe too, and you never know what’s going to happen or who’s going to be targeted by someone next. This used to be a peaceful place, but the world changes, and now we’re as vulnerable as any major city.”
“Except,” Alex interrupted with a small smile on his face, “we’ve got a smaller population, so it’s easier for us to notice a face that doesn’t fit or one that we’re not familiar with.”
Nodding in agreement, DB looked between Naomi and me. “Now, ladies. Knowing all of that, how safe are you feeling?”
I didn’t even need to think about it. “Safe. I’m worried about y’all’s safety, but I feel better than I did ten minutes ago.”
Winking at me, he turned to look at Naomi, who just shrugged at him. “I didn’t not feel safe before now, but I do feel better hearing that.”
All of the men looked amongst each other, but it was Hurst who finally spoke up for them. “Welp, it seems some of you were shitting your pants for nothing. The women have the information, the men have it all too, and no one lost their mind. Now, if you don’t mind, Lindee was making pot roast tonight, and I’m already in deep crap with her,” he muttered as he walked toward where Carter was.
Once he got to him, he stopped and grinned at Shanti, who gripped Carter’s hair tightly in her little hand, like she was claiming him. “Miss Shanti, my name’s Hurst, and I’ve got a lot of little girls and boys who’d just loved to meet you. My wife Lindee will think you’re the sun, the moon, and the stars.” When she giggled, he continued, “My grandkids have pretty much everything you can imagine to play with at their houses. They’ve got animals, too, even a turkey—”
“And a bunch of jackasses,” Raoul mumbled, shooting Hurst a grin when he glared at him.
“When your aunt’s ready, you guys will have to come out and meet them and play with the animals.”
“Can I bring Cah-tah?” she whispered. Her immediate attachment to him struck me as weird, but I couldn’t even cope with a kid’s ass, so what did I know about them?
“You can bring Carter, absolutely.”
“He knew daddy.”
Okay, ever watch a television show where something happens, and that dramatic music follows it? Well, after she dropped that bombshell on us, the chorus of Flash suddenly blasted, making us all jump.
“Sorry, that’s mine,” Canon said sheepishly, pulling his phone out and pressing the side of it.
“Is it just me, or does this whole thing just keep getting weirder?” Raoul asked me quietly, his eyes not leaving what was going on in the middle of the room.
Naomi was nodding and smiling at DB while trying to get Shanti back from Carter. Not wanting to let go of her new toy—girl, I do not blame you one bit. I loved Garrett, but if I had the chance to wrap myself around Carter, I’d be all for it—Shanti was holding on for dear life.
Because they were talking amongst themselves, I didn’t hear what Carter said as he stepped forward, but eventually, Naomi nodded, looking pissed off, and the three of them walked to the door.
“It was nice to meet you,” she called over her shoulder as Shanti waved at us over Carter’s.
Realizing we were sisters in bullshit, I shouted, “Get my number from DB tomorrow, honey, and call me. We’ll get together and talk it out.”
“Can I pay wiv your horse?” Shanti asked, pointing at Clyde.
“Absolutely. We’ll get you a cowgirl hat so you can be the best cowgirl in Texas.”
She’d looked slightly wary when I’d first called out to her, but after I’d said that to her niece, Naomi smiled brightly at me. “I’ll definitely do that. See you soon.”
Once they left, there was silence for a moment, but then it hit me that I still had my own shit to wade through.
“So, what am I meant to do?”
I shouldn’t have asked. I really should have just stayed quiet because the list of rules they gave me left me feeling like a Gremlin. Really, all that was missing was feeding me after midnight.
I wasn’t allowed to go out alone—not that I ever did, anyway.
I wasn’t allowed not to check the feed on the security camera pointed at the door before opening it—something I should be doing anyway.
I was to be vigilant at all times—I was… now.
If I got a text saying, ironically, Gremlin, I had to go to the station as quickly as I could to go to the safe room—that I could do.
I wasn’t allowed to stop on the way to the safe room—who would?
I wasn’t allowed to pass Go—okay, that was a bit of a dramatic embellishment, but it was fitting.
I was to follow what Garrett and the men told me to do—I’d been doing that since I moved here. Okay, ish.
By the end of it, the only things I could do without permission were to eat at home and go to the bathroom, which I did on my own anyway because no woman wanted her man to know she did bathroom stuff. I wasn’t being stupid on that, it was a legit fear of mine. What if I pooped and he went into the bathroom after me? How embarrassing would that be? I couldn’t kick Clyde in the room and blame it on him, I didn’t have any powers that would allow me to freeze time.
A hand grabbing my wrist snapped me out of my irrational panicking, and I looked up to see Canon squatting in front of me, his thumb on my pulse as he frowned at whatever he was thinking. “You good, Zuri? What’s got you panicking, girl?”
Like I was going to tell him the truth.
“The fact that tampons and pads kill dolphins and whales,” I blurted, then immediately regretted it. Unfortunately, at that point, there was no return. “I’m thinking of heading out to Antarctica to join a campaign to stop whaling next year, and when I looked into it, I read up on how they were finding dolphin and whale bodies with tampons and pads inside them. I’m too squeamish to use one of those cup things, so I’m kind of screwed. Does that make me a dolphin and whale murderer? Do you think they’ll ban me from signing up to help them fight the war against whaling?”
When you start a job, give it everything you’ve got. How deep did this humiliation hole go?
All of the men stood staring at me, not saying a word.
Eventually, Bond said slowly, “Anyway, uh, there’s not really a lot of reason to panic about…” he waved his arm around, “stuff. At least not the stuff going on with the crazy dude. What you want to do with your holla-hole is up to you, and I’m sure the dolphins and whales will thank you for caring.”
Then, throwing his hands up in the air, he stomped over to a free chair and sat down heavily. “I can’t do this. I don’t even know why I tried to be the one to end the silence, but that shit was awkward.” Pulling at the neck of his t-shirt, he stretched his neck from side to side. “I feel like it’s hot in here. Is anyone else feeling hot?”