Just when she thought Kaia ran out of horrible lines, he’d say something else that Rebel thought was ‘deep’. Meggie couldn’t believe her baby girl encouraged his nonsense, but it reminded Meggie how naïve Rebel was.
Meggie fought for Rebel to have the same rights as the boys, but it was a gargantuan task considering the number of persons with penises that surrounded them. Rebel and Meggie lived in Testosterone Town, and she’d had to carve an Estrogen Empire for herself and her daughter.
Tiredness was settling into Meggie. After dropping Rebel off at the movies, it had taken almost an hour to get to downtown Portland because of an accident on the loop from Lewis and Clark Highway toI-5. Then, she’d changed her clothes and made sure the camera in the table lantern was working.
She had to remember to thank Joan for giving into Meggie’s request to add a special Valentine’s Day touch with those lanterns. Meggie only neededone, but that would’ve looked too odd.
She’d been too nervous to eat. She’d also missed Christopher so terribly, she’d called him to ask him to meet her at J’s. When he didn’t answer, she’d hung up. She’d asked D. Elliot to set her detail up but all the rooms, except the staff breakroom was taken, so Meggie made sure to keep food and drinks flowing. Not wanting any mix-up, she sat at the table reserved for Rebel, until she’d seen Rebel’s detail walking in.
She’d scooted under the table, so happy she’d changed from her gorgeous dress and expensive stilettos to the jeans, T-shirt, boots, andProperty of Outlawcut she put in her car’s small cargo space. After ten minutes, D. Elliot finally returned and she’d stuck her hand out to tug on his trouser leg. After crawling from under the table, she’d used his body as a cover to get to the elevator and make it upstairs to the office.
It was then that she’d noticed all the handymen and fixated on the large one at the bar. He was tall, unevenly barrel chested, and wore dark sunglasses and a cap. She’d alerted Huck, Pike, Sparrow, and Zephyr to prepare themselves to defend Rebel.
Meggie was almost certain it was Bash and wondered how she’d extricate herself and her daughter from the situation. She didn’t want Christopher rushing to her and walking into a setup.
She’d intended to send her detail down to Rebel’s the moment her and Kaia finished their meal. Meggie expected it to be around ten. Now, it was close to ten—an hour from closing time—and Rebel and Kaia were just finishing the bread and calamari.
“Rebel, you’re Rapunzel come to life. Your hair is a stairway to heaven that I’d climb every day for eternity.”
Laughter snorted from Meggie and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
“If I wanted sapphires all I need to do is pluck out your eyes to have the rarest jewels in the world.”
Meggie roared with laughter. “Stop!”
“Kaia, you’re so sweet,” Rebel said, her eyes shining.
Meggie covered her phone, knowing she shouldn’t find any humor in Rebel believing Kaia’s words remotely romantic.
“Please, my beautiful princess, say something else. The sound of your voice is like the call of a whale resonating through the sea.”
Guffawing until tears ran down her cheeks and she could barely breathe, Meggie pushed back from the desk to control herself. She had to talk to Rebel. Hopefully, her daughter felt comfortable enough to tell her about the date, so Meggie could clue her in that Kaia wasn’t a poet. He wasn’t even close.
“I sound like a whale?”
“No! Of course not, babe. Your voice is like heaven to me.”
“Do you think whales disturb people in heaven? Fuck, forget I said that. I have enough religious and spiritual debates with the Prayer Sheriff.”
Although she hadn’t called her twin by name, Meggie knew Rebel referred to Rule. He was definitely getting out of hand and it was beginning to affect Rebel. Meggie didn’t know if they could wait until the summer to seek psychiatric help for him.
Removing the earbuds that allowed her to hear the conversation, she walked to the floor-to-ceiling window where she could see out but no one could see in.
Her humor immediately fled. Not only were the handymen gone but so were Bishop, Narci, Potter, and Torrin. God! Had they been taken hostage—
The office door swung open and she turned. The big handyman who’d sat at the bar all night walked in and closed the door.
Meggie screamed, although it was a soundproof room, designed for when Christopher or Knox or another Dweller was on premises and needed to get to safety.
“Meg—”
She didn’t give him a chance to threaten her. Barreling into him, she kneed his groin. The moment he doubled over, she punched his jaw, screamed again, and rammed her head into his. Immediately, stars twirled around her and she staggered back. Not that it mattered. Bash was laid out on the ground. Determined not to faint, she walked on him to get to the door. He was so tall, he blocked her escape. One foot touched the floor, but he grabbed the one still on his stomach and almost tripped her.
“Fuck, Megan, it’s me,” Christopher managed, pulling her down onto him. “It’s me, baby.”
Scrambling into a sitting position, Meggie stared at her husband, as he removed the sunglasses and cap, revealing his brilliant emerald gaze and ink dark hair shot through with silver.
“I ain’t able to take the fuckin’ beard off right now. Probably gotta use turpentine.”
