Page 48 of Eat. Prey. Love.
I have to swallow a giggle; his pirate speak always makes me laugh, but the raccoon is deadly serious right now. Laughing would only take away from the very sweet message he’s trying to convey. So I nod, give him a salute, and then smile at Raina. “I’ll be okay to go down in the elevator alone. Fitz has the cameras… I don’t even have to wonder about that.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, wringing her hands together. “I would bevery upset should harm come to you because we shirked our assigned duties.”
“I’m sure.” I wink at the Captain and he nods, taking his mate’s arm. “Now go do your chores so you have time with your boys before the night shift. Give them my love?”
“Always, Dolly. Be careful and do not hesitate to call for us if you need!”
I wait for them to exit, and close my eyes briefly, drawing in a calming breath before I head for the elevator. When I get in, I punch the number for Rockland’s floor, and blow a kiss at the camera on the ceiling. I wasn’t kidding; I have zero doubt Fitzy is watching me ascend in this steel cage from somewhere close enough to get here within moments of trouble.
He’s dependably crazy like that, though it makes me feel protected and cherished.
When the doors open, I take another breath and let it out slowly, then I square my shoulders and head down the hallway with a confident stride. All I have to do is keep my armor up, my Lucille face on, and give this woman zero to work with. I can andwilldo this because she is not my fucking supervisor, nor is she the arbiter of my worth. She doesn’t even have the amount of malice in her whole body that my mother has in her dew claw on one foot. This will be a breeze.
“Miss Drew?”
The sound scares the holy hell out of me, but I clamp my lips together in a scowl to keep from shrieking.No weakness, I remind myself as I force my eyes to focus on the person who appeared out of nowhere. Once I do, I can’t help but gape—there’s simply no other option. Standing just inside the blind corner by Rockland’s office is a honey badger so massive he makes Goliath and Monstro look tiny.
No way this dude isn’t some kind of freakish science experiment.
“Uh… that’s me…” I say as my eyes rove over the bulky guy that damn nears fills the width of the hallway and almost touches the ceiling. “Not to be rude, but who the hell are you?”
His laugh is a deep base, soothing like James Earl Jones, and his smile is reassuring as he slowly reaches into the front pocket of his impeccably tailored suit to hand me a card.
It says ‘Skelly McCoy, Licensed, Bonded, & Deputized Arbitration/Negotiation Consultant, McCoy & Associates Inter-Species Attorneys-at-Law.’ Blinking, I look at the mammoth dude, noting his suave, slicked back hair and clean shaven handsomeness. No wonder Farley made him one of the ‘end of negotiations’ guys. If this badger confronted me in a dark office, I’d definitely lose my shit, and he’s not evenshiftedright now. People with less unsavory pasts than me must piss their pants when he comes knocking.
“Oh. Yes, um, Farley mentioned you traveled with him and the other… delivery men?” I have no idea what group moniker these dudes use, so I just wing it.
“We are negotiations specialists,” he says with a grin full of sharp fucking teeth I didn’t expect. “Our skills are similar but increase in intensity as you move through the ranks.”
Good to know—that means this little session is going to be very interesting.
“The Boss would prefer you have legal representation present in every counseling session until he states otherwise. I will be recording them surreptitiously, and since this is a single party consent area, your permission will suffice for that activity.” He pulls the pen out of his pocket, blowing on the end of it then saying, “Please state your full name and give full consent for recording these typically privacy protected sessions for use in your legal proceedings.”
Eying the door nervously, I lick my lips. Before I do anything, I need to makecertainthis dude is who he claims to be. “Hold on just a moment, please.”
I pull out my phone, suddenly thankful I gave myself plenty of time to arrive at my appointment. Rockland would use tardiness as a weapon, and I’m not sayingshiton tape until I verify this guy is legit. It rings a few times, then a sleepy voice comes on the line, greeting me. “Hi, Farley, sorry to wake you, but I’m standing with a mountain of a shifter claiming to be Skelly, business card and all. He says he’s to escort me into the session and I have to give consent for him to record it. Is that what you asked for?”
“Hell’s bells, Dolly girl. This is the asscrack of dawn, and you’re the rooster who won’t stop crowing.” I chuckle and he goes on, his accent getting thicker as he awakens. “Ask your friend what his favorite movie is—not the one he tells people, but therealone.”
I look up at the big guy, covering the phone as I ask, “What is your favorite movie—the real one, not the fake one you tell people. Farley said I should ask.”
Surprisingly, the enormous badger turns a beautiful shade of scarlet as he rubs the back of his neck and curses my lawyer. He finally gives in, muttering, “The Cutting Edge. And tell him he’ll pay for that shit.”
The laughter echoing out of my phone tells me this verification worked. “Fine. He’s for real; I’ll do the recording. Thanks for helping, Farley.”
“Anytime, darlin’. I’m headed back to sleep after a very late night in Paris, but you take care. Tell Skelly his ass is mine if a single hair on your fluffy tail is harmed while in his charge.”
The badger is rolling his eyes, so he obviously heard that. “Go back to bed, Boss. She’s under control.”
I click the end call button, nodding at his pocket as I wait for him to turn on the recorder again. He does and I clear my throat before saying, “I, Delores Diamond Drew, give permission for these sessions to be recorded exclusively for legal purposes pertaining to my case against Carina Rockland by McCoy &Associates. Any other use of this material must be separately consented to in writing by me and no one else.”
His grin gets wider. “Look at you, smarty pants. Very nice.”
“I’ve got a maniac stealing my life story for profit, a bunch of mean girls who attack me online for funsies, and a reputation previously smeared by my own mother. I had to brush up on my knowledge just to survive the onslaught.” Grabbing the knob, I warn him before we go in. “If you’ve got a temper, keep it frosty. She lives to rage bait and accuse others of what she’s been doing to me.”
“Oh, please let her try.” The fangy grin he gives me is shiver-worthy, and I let him have his plotting as we head inside.
Chessie isn’t working this morning—something I’m certain the corpse nibbler planned. She was hoping to corner me alone, as she has in the past, so there are no witnesses to her abusive and downright unethical behavior. Unfortunately for her, my lawyer is cunning and brash, with zero fucks to give when defending me. It must run in the family because he reminds me a lot of Rufus.