Page 143 of Sinners Reunion

It’s such a shame I’ll only enjoy her kisses for twenty-four more hours. If that.

When I pull back again, she smiles up at me.

“I’m really loving this look, by the way. The pineapple shirt and the vest are both in rotation now.”

“Absolutely not.” I pull off the shirt before I can embarrass myself a moment further.

She lies back in the warm water. She sighs. And then she goes and ruins this beautiful moment by telling me to sit down. Nothing good ever begins with telling someone to sit down.

“We’ve just had a breakthrough of epic proportions. Whatever you have to say, it can wait until morning.”

She closes her eyes. “Morning may be too late. King . . . Blayne knows who you are, and he has something up his sleeve.”

Chapter Forty-Six

King

Jim wakes Josie and me at the crack of dawn, but it isn’t because he’s made us breakfast. No, nothing is ever that simple or pleasant, is it? He wakes us with the beating of his fist upon the bedroom door as he shouts that something is amiss.

Isn’t it always?

No matter. As soon as Jim has revealed his current crisis, we’ll pop a dummy in his mouth, slap on a fresh nappy, and send him on his way. Things are never as bad as Jim first believes them to be.

We dress and open the door. Jim begins speaking before we’ve even said hello.

“Ice Pick is missing, and so is Blayne. No one’s seen them since last night.”

Okay, perhaps I misjudged. This is more concerning than he realizes. For once, he’s underreacting.

Josie and I share a look, but we both know we can’t tell him. Not yet. In the off chance that he hasn’t yet told Aven and Bennett the truth, we have to keep this quiet. Jim is the opposite of quiet.

“We don’t have time for this,” Jim says. His hands flail, and he paces the doorway. “We have the big reveal today, and that storm will be here by the afternoon. If we don’t get started on the last event, well, you remember what⁠—”

I grip Jim’s shoulders and give him a shake. “Keep it together, man! We won’t start the blasted event until we find Ice Pick and see that he’s safe. He’s our friend, and we won’t let anything happen to him.”

“You were supposed to bond with the boys.” Josie shakes her head. “You need this time with them.”

“And he’ll have it,” someone says.

Ezra steps around Jim and enters the bedroom. Frankie isn’t far behind him.

“Grim and Rose plan to comb the lake’s edge near the house,” Ezra continues, addressing King. “They’ll walk the entire thing. Maverick and I will head into the east woods, and Frankie and Josie⁠—"

“No,” Jim and I bark in unison.

“No,” I repeat. “She stays with me until the end.”

“How do we even know they’re still around here?” Josie asks. “They could be long gone by now.”

Frankie holds out a piece of paper. “Ice Pick left a note. He said he and Blayne were going for a walk. It doesn’t say when they set out, but they didn’t take a flashlight or anything. It had to have been this morning.”

I take the paper and read it, and it’s just as she says. Is this the big something Blayne planned? If so, it’ll be a blow to our entire Sinners family if something happens to Ice Pick. Everyone likes the big guy, myself included.

“Go with Bennett and Aven,” Josie says. “Take them fishing now, since later will be too stormy. There isn’t enough room in that boat anyway. I’ll be safe. I promise. You taught me how to take care of myself, didn’t you?”

Jim takes the paper from my hands and reads it. He crumples it up and throws it at the wall. “They’re right, King. Go with the boys. It’s our last hope, and we can’t risk it now.”

I look at the group, and I know when I’m beaten. Josie won’t be in those woods, though. Not with the snake still hiding in the grass.