Page 21 of Eat. Prey. Love.
“I have the least teaching shit in the room. I have the time to code a… gamified version of a scavenger hunt. I’ll spread it through the nerd world of coders and shit, baiting them into doing some of this fucking legwork for us by tying it to some big mysterious prize they could win.”
Felix scoffs as he shakes his head. “That will never work, Fitz.None of your nerdy hackers will ever fall for it. These are smart people.”
“So smart they’re dumb, bro. Trust me. If I make this a big fucking secret, with a big secret prize and put pride as a gamer or hacker or whatever on the line? They’ll bite big time.” I grin as my girl looks proud. “And it might not get us the really juicy shit, but at least it could rule out some of the silly things.”
“That’s… actually kind of genius,” Aubrey says begrudgingly. “You should do it, Fitz,”
I’m such a badass motherfucker that even the grumpy ass dragon had to call me smart—rock on, Fitz Khan.
Look What You Made Me Do
Ican barely sit stillas I wait for my friends to get here. It’s been a while since I saw Rufus and Cori and coming with my charmingly aggressive lawyer makes their arrival even more exciting. Farley is the best solution to my Rockland problem, especially since it’s followed me to yet another school. If he can keep her at bay while Fitz sources hackers to research dirt on her, we might be able to remove her from the board.
Removing obstacles rather than adding them is one of my fondest hopesat the moment.
“Baby Girl, you have to calm down. Your anxiety is making me hyper,” Fitz says as he bounces on the couch cushions. He finally retrieved clothes while I ate lunch and while Aubrey and Ren took a flight to find hunting grounds, we kept pretending to watch TV.
As usual, my tiger and I are snuggled in with human shows on. Their media is far less likely to make me feel like an idiot when I stumble on shit I don’t know and Fitz enjoys stealing shit that amuses him. It’s a comfortable routine, and I’m impressed with his ability to sense I craved something familiar while I waited.
“I’m trying, but I missed them, Fitzy. And I’m not afraid of meeting the famous country litigator, but Iamconcerned about whatever info he has that made him hop on an international flight. Rufus told me last semester that Farley only leaves their lands for court or emergencies.” Raking my teeth over my lower lip, I look up at him. “I’ve been trying to pretend I’m not worried, but I am.”
Chess strides in from where he was working on cleaning up the kitchen and making lists for ordering, his hair in an adorable messy bun and donning an apron. “Angel, you know we can handle anything that nasty woman throws at us. We’re a team, so we’ll pull any strings and tap any favor we need to. But that’s only if you need it, and you’re a force to be reckoned with on your own.”
His confidence makes me smile and I pat the seat next to me. I’d like to have them both close for a moment. While he’s right—if I can handle Lucille’s bullshit on the regular, I can definitely deal with the butthurt fake psychologist. Once Chessie joins us, I twine our fingers together and sigh. “You’re right. I’m stronger and more powerful than ever before. I could definitely take her in a fight, but she won’t come at me that way because sheknowsI can kick her ass. Rockland works in the background when she aims for people because she’s an abusive bully and a coward.”
“Sorry to interrupt y’all, but I most certainly agree.”
My eyes widen and I pop off the couch to whirl around. Rufus is standing next to a short, stocky man with a neatly trimmed goatee and dark, glittering eyes. His gaze slices through me as he takes me in, and I shiver a little. Chess and Fitz leap up to stand beside me and my friend snorts in amusement.
“Dollypop, call off your kitties. Farley isn’t going to biteyou, no matter what it looks like.” The grinning badger stalks over and lifts me up in a huge hug, making me squeal in alarm.
Even if my guys lift me with zero trouble, my psyche goes all panic, no disco when I think someone will figure out what I weigh… Thanks, Lucille.
“Rufus McCoy, put that darlin’ young lady down before I tell Meemaw how rude you are.” His words make my friend freeze for a second, then he lets me wiggle loose. “Miss Dolly Drew, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance in person.”
I watch in wonder as the muscled shifter in a sharply pressed, bespoke suit bursting with muscles bows..Do I….? I probably should.Smiling, I nod and bend my legs into a curtsey with a sweep of my arms. “And you, Mister McCoy.”
“For fuck’s sake…” Felix mutters as he comes in from the office space. He was busy unpacking in there with Percy while Raina started cleaning out the main bedroom for me. “What is this,Gone with the Wind?”
Fitz beams at his twin, hopping over the furniture to give him a fist bump. “Nice ref, bro. You’re learning.”
My lawyer arches a brow at me, but I only wink. “Don’t worry about our hobbies. You’re here to help fuck this bitch up, right?”
“Indeed I am, Miss… may I call you, Dolly?” Farley says as he bustles over to the large armchair. “I know everyone does, but Rufus’ Memaw and my mother would pitch a hissy with a tail on it if I didn’t ask permission.”
I didn’t expect genteel manners from a dude who growls like a mafia boss on the phone, but it’s kind of cute.
“Of course you may,” I reply as I sit down primly, crossing my ankle as I look at him. “Just don’t rat Ru-Ru out. I like him as he is—mouthy and fun.”
Farley snorts, then lets out a boisterous laugh that brings three huge men into the room with narrowed eyes. I recognize the postman, Goliath, but the other one isn’t familiar. The badger waves his hand and they back up to the doorway silently. “Don’t be alarmed, sugar. Monstro is my most gifted messenger and his brother, Skelly, is one of my elite couriers. Skelly is busy at the moment, but they’re all here to protect me while I’m stuck in this godforsaken land of long-legged amphibians.”
Rufus groans and rubs his hand over his face as he takes the other end of the sofa. “Cuz, for the love of Boreas’ frosty balls, can youpleasebehave less like a bumpkin while you’re here? If you run around insulting the French, we’re going to have more problems than we started with.”
“C’est vrai, mon ami,” Rennie says as he and Aubrey walk past the giant bodyguards. “My people are not so forgiving of those who take jabs at our heritage with no cause, even if you are saving our mate.”
“Fine, fine,” Farley grumbles as he opens his briefcase on the table. He pulls out a laptop, a pile of folders, and a sparkling gold pen before looking at each of us. “Now, before we begin, I need each of you to sign this binding non-disclosure agreement. The information we are going to share from now on may or may not come from legitimate sources and some may even be illegal. I don’t know what my men will shake loose while we’re here.”
He hands out the paper and suddenly, it occurs to me that Cori isn’t here. I feel like a total bitch, but there was a flurry of activity as the McCoys came in. She’s usually a ray of sunshine and the lack of warmth in the room is partially because she’s not here.