Page 137 of Break Out the Girl

Even if it doesn’t, it’s enough to make Sky giggle. Hallelujah!

Ludo moves to the side, so there’s space for me to place Sky next to Basil.

I expect her to be wary of the white-haired giant but she’s not. She holds the gaze of his mismatched eyes for a minute, then takes his hand.

That, I didn’t see coming.

“Me, Lulu, Fuckwad and Skylight are all in the same club,” my faun pretend-whispers. “It’s not the best club, to be honest, but as members we have a special thing.” He lifts up his sweater to show the red tattooed numbers.

“Yeah, yeah, she gets it,” Basil mutters. “We all got fucked-up by the assholes outside.”

I look at Ludo.

Like he can feel my eyes, he turns and solemnly nods, then redirects his attention to washing Basil’s scalp laceration.

“Ow, that fucking hurts, you douche,” the kid hisses.

I can’t stop the tears that fill my eyes. All these precious people, so hurt by those awful men.

“What do you four want to do with them?” I ask, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me.

If they can be blasé, so can I.

“Smash their heads in,” Basil replies instantly. Ludo nods in approval.

“I think that is a smashing idea, young Fuckwad,” London agrees, excitement rising in his voice. “We can take turns duffing them up.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I tell them. “But first we get some information. Are you OK if I go check in with François and Tally?” I ask Sky.

She nods. “Yeah, I’m good here.”

“Back in a minute.”

Outside, Tally is in wolf form, dragging corpses into a pile.

What the fuck are we going to do with all the bodies?

I walk over to Cosmo who is doing some more spell-casting.

“What are you doing?”

“Making a tight ward around their bodies,” Cos tells me. “They can’t shift or even move. Barely breathe to be honest, but I heard what you said, Rory, and I agree. We need answers.”

It’s dark now, so he throws some light globes into the air, allowing me a clear view of the two hateful men.

Regan has stopped groaning, but his eyes are desperate and full of agony.

“The old one is Doyle Grieves?” I ask.

“Yeah, that’s the fucker,” Tally answers, coming to join us., then turning to François, who is striding our way. “Hey, can you do your hypno thing on them, so they’ll answer truthfully?”

“No need,” my brother smirks. His fingers trace a sharp, geometric sigil in the air.

Fucking Cosmo, always has to be the top dog.

“You might want to watch this de Vaux,” my brother chuckles. “Learn something for once.”

Before they get into any boring back and forth, I raise a hand for them to shut up, then look down at the two disgusting men.