Page 411 of Wicked Brutal

Ryan comes inside looking for another bag of ice and finds me instead, his hand sliding around my waist. “Ready?”

Outside, somebody yells. Cat yells back. X swears. Piper demands a dollar. Tobias demands fifty. Katya starts laughing. Becca says something in Russian. Bella answers in French for absolutely no reason. Iz immediately gets involved.

I look up at my husband. “Yeah.”

He kisses me. “Let’s go celebrate our monster.”

His hand settles over our baby and we walk outside together.

Ryan

By the time the party is fully underway, Piper has made eleven dollars. Tobias has made eighty-three. I know because he counted it in front of me. Twice.

“That’s extortion.”

“Inflation.”

“You don’t know what inflation means.”

“Yes, I do.”

“You’re ten.”

“I can read.”

“Give me my money back.”

“No.”

I laugh and look toward Ally. She’s under one of the trees with Mom, Katya, Saoirse, Becca, Penny, Cat, Bella, Louise, Alice, and Delilah — all the girls, all talking at once.

Ally’s dress stretches over our baby. Five months. Our second. Piper understands there’s a baby in Mommy’s belly. She does not understand why the baby couldn’t come out today so they could share her party.

Tobias understands perfectly and has already informed me October is “full.” I explained that’s not really something we can schedule retroactively. He told me he didn’t need details.

Tobias still has his hand out. “Twenty.”

“For what?”

“Accusing me of extortion.”

“That is literally what you’re doing.”

“Twenty-five.”

“Go play with your friends.”

He grins and does. One of those friends immediately follows him toward X, who’s sitting at a table with Penny tucked into his side, the bruise from Vegas still visible if you know where to look. His pro contract changed something outside this family. Inside it, he’s still X. Piper spent ten minutes earlier putting a plastic crown on his head; he wore it until Penny made him take it off for a picture.

Tobias’s friend approaches like he’s meeting royalty. “Mr. Anderson?”

X looks behind himself. “Who the fuck is Mr. Anderson?”

From twenty feet away —“DOLLAR!”

Tobias doesn’t even turn around. “FIFTY!”

X closes his eyes. His new fan looks horrified.