Page 22 of Eat. Prey. Love.
My eyes cut to my bestie and I clear my throat. “Shouldn’t weallbe signing this? Where’s Coco, Rufus?” The sad expression on hisface makes my entire body tense and I worry they’ve gathered everyone here to tell me something awful I’m the last to know. “Where. Is. She?”
“She’s setting up our room in the Theater Dorm,” he says softly. “While the triplets aren’t here because they split off to get settled in their apartment in Paris, Giselle opted to stay at Cappie at the last moment. She broke it off with Cori by text as we hit the tarmac to board the plane.”
“Fuck this, I need to go to her,” I say as I leap to my feet. “My shit can wait.”
Rufus shakes his head as he grabs my wrist. “She specifically asked for us to leave her alone for a little bit while she processes. You know how she was at Apex when there were break-ups, D. She slept on the plane ride most of the time and now she needs time to let it all out.”
Frowning, I look at Farley suspiciously. “Did she sign hers on the plane? What about the triplets?”
His reassuring expression helps a bit as he finds more pens in the briefcase. “Everyone who might have direct knowledge of your situation has, including your design house friends, significant others, and once we’re done, I’ll make certain your personal helpers do as well. It’s imperative that anyone close to you has something to lose if they speak with your counselor. I want them sweatin’ like a whore in church at the thought of even mentioning your name in passing.”
“Ugh, it’s so intrusive,” I grumble as I sign my copy. “I feel like I’m forcing everyone I know to put themselves on the line for me even though this part isn’t their fight.”
“Princess, anyone who truly loves or supports you won’t hesitate for a second,” Felix says in a confident tone. “Right, Farley?”
“Friends who refuse to protect you have the porch light on, but no one’s home,” he replies as the others hand in their form withouteven glancing at them. “Hopefully, this is the only paperwork y’all treat so cavalierly.”
Aubrey stomps over, looking down at the burly lawyer with soft puffs of smoke escaping his nose. “We’re trusting that our mate’s best friend would not allow his family member to fuck over his friend. If that trust is misplaced, I’m sure Chester can find a delicious recipe for chicken-fried badger that will satisfy the whole family.”
Oh, shit… pissed off dragon activated.
“Big guy, come join us. I can sit on your lap if the boys make room,” I call with a sweet smile.
He rolls his eyes, arching a brow at me. “You think you can calm the fiery beast with an eyelash bat, snack size?”
Rennie gets there before me, mumbling, “She could do it with a finger crook, you squishy loving grump.”
The librarian shoots him a death glare, but he trudges over and plops between Chess and Fitz, making the substandard couch groan. “This shit needs to be fixed before I break it all by accident.”
My hand reaches up to ruffle his slightly messy hair. He thinks I don’t realize he’s the last one to start growing it out, but I have and I enjoy making his dragon almost purr when I play with the short strands. “Now, now. We’ve been here two days and the crew is working as fast as they can.”
“As fascinating as this is to watch from a purely anthropological point of view…” Farley snarks, “…we definitely have to go over this material before I lose you to some private biological imperative.”
“Watch it,” Fitz says as he lays a hand on my thigh. “You can do your job with fewer fingers, I’m sure.”
“I probably could, but pointless posturing won’t get us anywhere.” He opens a folder and turns it to face us. “This picture was taken less than a week ago.”
The lanky frame and bird’s nest hair tell me it’s Rockland, but I don’t know the other people she’s sitting with. There’s a squat, toadie looking woman with long hair, a dark haired woman dressed in athletic wear, a willowy blond woman, and a gorgeous man with familiar features. They’re all at a table with the Eiffel Tower in the background and the amount of food and drink on their table tells a story about how long they met for.
“You know Rockland, but the people with her are cause for deep concern,” my lawyer says. “Severine Ste Jean is the short one with glasses; she looks guileless on the surface much like her animal does, but she’s meaner’n cat dirt. She’s also your jury advisor, my sources say.”
Mother. Fucker.
“This isn’t good,” Rennie murmurs as Farley points to the next person.
“Nadia Antonovich is a relative of the alpha wolf your boyfriend took out at Apex. She’s your modern dance professor and word on the street is that she was very fond of her cousin.” His fingers stabs at the last two people and he looks angry as fuck. “Marlène Fabreaux and of course the royals will recognize Asani Khan—they are also your professors.”
Aubrey groans, leaning his forehead against my temple for a moment before he speaks. “The charlatan has made friends with those who would have already been our enemies by virtue of other circumstances. She’s more clever than we thought.”
“No way,” I say as I shake my head. “Someone is helping her. You haven’t heard the shit in her books. Rennie and I are struggling through them and…”
Farley tilts his head at me, waiting as I reach for words that aren’t as harsh. “Go on, then, Dolly Drew. I dare you to find a nice way to say she’s so dumb she could throw herself at the ground and miss.”
My hand flies to my mouth as I cover the bark of laughter I can’t stop. Felix chuckles, then Chessie, and soon, Fitz is howling. We needed a good laugh and apparently, Farley is as brutally witty as his cousin. “I was trying not to be mean simply because she’s a bad person.”
Rufus rolls his eyes then stares at the photo like he’s memorizing the profiles. “Dollykins, some people are far too big for their britches. This chick was hired to fuck with your life despise having no beef with you and that’s her own goddamn fault. We have every right to speak harshly of her when she spent all that time breaking you down to the nubs so she could control you.”
“Amen to that,” Farley says as he grins at Ru-Ru. “She better give her heart to her gods, because her ass is mine—and I don’t miss.”