Page 71 of The Predator
She tugs her sleeves tighter over her knuckles. "What type of person does it make me, that even after all the things he’s done to me, all the hateful words he’s said, I still don’t want anything bad to happen to him?”
“It makes you human, baby. It makes you a good fucking person.”
She pauses for a moment, seeming to ponder a little harder. “And Tanya? What about her?”
I barely stifle the flinch her name brings out. "She'll get what's coming to her, too. Anything and anyone standing in the way of us having a future together is a threat I will extinguish."
“Then you have a plan, right?”
I give her a smile right as a soft knock sounds at the backdoor.Right on time.
“Come in.” I announce, and the entire crew funnels into the kitchen like marching ants.
Elyse looks at me, her eyes wide. “Did you know they were coming?”
“Yes. We decided it would be smarter to discuss our plans in person versus even a secure email. If anyone ever got hold of that kind of information, it would incriminate all of us.”
“I never even considered that.”
Bel comes stomping in, brushing away a few lingering snowflakes sticking to her coat. Drew is right behind her, followed by Lee and Aries.
Lee splits off and slumps into a chair at the table near the other end of the kitchen. Aries zips his coat, stuffs his hands in his pockets, and stays near the door. Drew, of course, follows Bel over to the counter when Bel climbs onto a stool next to Ely.
Turning, she pins me with a glare, "Let's do this so we can get back to regular programming.”
"Yes, this whole murder the sheriff business is really cutting into my day drinking," Lee quips, his body slumped down in the chair while he hangs his head over the back of it.
Drew spreads his hands out on the counter. "What's the plan?"
My brain has been going nonstop, the ideas bouncing around inside. I haven’t spoken to anyone about them, haven’t put them down on paper, haven’t done anything but considered all sides inside my own mind, and I think I’ve come up with something decent. Now to see if we can execute it.
I grab Ely's phone off the counter and wave it, the screen lighting up with a text.
"I’ve been thinking about this for hours, but before we move forward with any of it I want your opinions.” Everyone nods, so I continue, “Her father has been blowing up her phone since she missed their agreed upon meeting. At this point, I think our best option is to get him to the house, and take care of things here. We can tell him that since he took out his aggression on Lee, he didn’t stick to the agreement, so we’ve altered it a bit. Now we need him to bring Tanya’s police report with him, as additional security.”
Drew’s gaze fastens on nothing in particular, and I know he’s thinking through it all. Seeing the pieces move in his mind. "Okay, but I don't want Bel here. Aries can stay with her and Ely at our place."
Ely immediately interrupts. "What? No. That makes no sense. I have to be here. If he shows up and realizes I’m not here, he’ll know it’s a set up, and then it won’t matter what our next steps are. If we want this to work I have to be here.”
I nod my head in agreement, “She’s right. As much as I hate it, if she’s not here when he shows up, all of this was for nothing. We need him inside the house to get the job done.”
“Fine, then Bel will stay with Aries.” Drew announces.
Bel doesn't even look at Drew, but I can sense the anger rolling off of her. "Bel is an adult who can make her own choices, which, by the way, will be staying to support her friends.”
“You’re so fucking stubborn.” Drew shakes his head in frustration.
“Trouble in paradise already?” Lee muses.
“I think you want me to kick your ass? Is that what you just said?”
Aries chuckles, “I think we should take bets on who gets their ass beat first. My guess is that Bel beats both of your asses.”
Bel gives Aries a cheeky grin, and Drew rolls his eyes. Lee, on the other hand, smirks and says, “I have something she can beat, but it ain’t my ass.”
“You really want me to kill you, don’t you?” Drew growls, ready to explode. I need to stop this before it gets out of hand, even if I do enjoy watching Lee bait Drew into peculiar situations.
“Stop. We’re here to discuss the plan. Afterward, you can kill each other; I don’t care. Just take the mess outside.”