Page 56 of Eat. Prey. Love.
“Dolly,you didn’t have to let me do this,” Raina says as she holds onto my back.
I chuckle, looking over my shoulder at the raccoon. “It’s no big deal. You weigh almost nothing and until we find the right place to poke around, you’d have trouble keeping up.”
Fitz pouts. “I’m still mad you didn’t let me carry you both, Baby Girl.”
“She has a point about that being a disadvantage if we run into trouble, Mr. Fitz.” Raina’s voice is thready, and I know she had to buck up the courage to say that to a big predator that isn’t me.
“I know, little sunshine, but it doesn’t mean I’m not mad her thighs aren’t wrapped around mine right now.”
The relief I feel seep from her small body as she holds onto me is palpable, and I have to stifle the urge to giggle. The two of themare going to be a very interesting group to explore with. “Fitzy, my thighs are wrapped around you damn near once a day. You’ll get your chance when we’re not looking for trouble.”
“Some men have difficulty focusing when they aren't properly sated,” Raina chirps. “Prey animals are all taught that by their mothers, Dolly.” She pauses and I know she’s thinking about my bitchy mother. “However, you did not have this education, it seems. Perhaps Miss Zhenga needs to give you another class?”
My face turns bright red and Fitz howls with laughter as we finally get to the arena. “Raina, I’m doing my best, but five of these dudes is hard, even for a rabbit. They’re all horn dogs in spirit, if not in species.”
The tittering giggle joins my tiger’s laughter and he points to the covered walkway behind the columns on the outside of the competition stadium. “I think we should look for hidey-holes there first. It’s big, old, and no one’s done any upgrades in forever. Z complains all the time, but maybe there’s a reason beyond disdain for sports.”
I grin at him. “Solid logic, baby.”
“Raccoons can get into openings of four or five inches, you know. If we find something small, I can likely get inside without much effort.
I did not know that, but it makes my team division feel even smarter.
“Awesome sauce,” Fitz says, his eyes bright with excitement. “And I can smash things. So where do we start poking, Baby Girl?”
Raina hops down from my back as I eye the stadium. He’s right about the walkway, but if we want to save time, starting at the best place on it will help. “I think… maybe the side facing the forest area? Rennie has been all pissy about something being out there—which is why I sent his team there—but if that’s where weird shit is, then it tracks to start nearby, right?”
“I agree, Dolly. Preds think they are very clever when they hide things, but the prey staff always knows. At every school so far, we learn where the bodies are buried within a month or so.”
I grimace, looking at her. “Unfortunately that metaphor is a bit on the nose, huh?”
Fitz snorts, gesturing for us to follow him around the stadium. “Don’t even joke about that. I’m going to be pissed if we find a damn corpse now.”
Raina frowns. “I believe Mr. Chess packed supplies for that in the bag, though.”
“He probably did, knowing him,” I say as I pat the messenger bag slung across my chest. “Chessie is becoming a regular Pred Scout. He runs our place better than a Higgins ever could.”
Stopping in place, Fitz looks at me hungrily. “Holy fuck, Baby Girl, you just made a Magnum P.I. reference! My dick is going to burst out of my pants.”
I wink at him. “Title of your sex tape.”
His groan echoes off the stone walls as Raina and I walk away, heading towards the nooks and crannies to look for clues.
Operation Sexy Detective Bunny… locked and loaded.
Assassins
“Glorious gargoyle,this forest is very foreboding,” Banjo says as we enter the dense treeline. “Are you certain we should be exploring it?”
Holliday rapidly signs his agreement and I give them an encouraging smile. “It’s daylight, so we should be perfectly safe. I wouldn’t endanger either of you—Raina would skin me for a floor rug.”
That makes the quokka titter with amusement. “I cannot imagine such a thing, but Raina is quite fierce about her gaze. She would definitely make youregret it.”
“Holliday, are you comfortable with my explanation?” The armadillo is a skilled lip reader, but I try to offer both options so I don’t accidentally exclude him.
He nods, patting the scabbard on his right hip and then touching the fucking sniper rifle slung over his other shoulder. I’m not sure where they have smaller sized weaponry made, but working in the armory everywhere he goes must be part of it.
“Holliday could hit a gnat from miles away, Monsiuer Renard. He will help with long distance protection. Do not worry about him.”