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“You left her, and then you stuck her with the paperwork? What the hell is wrong with you? No, don’t answer that. I know exactly what’s wrong with you, you…you fucking man.” She raised her hand to hit me again, but my survival instincts kicked in and I ducked behind Jay.

“Hey, now,” Jay said with mild alarm as he faced Lennon’s wrathful face.

“Jeremiah,” Lennon growled. “Step aside so I can whack him.”

I gripped his shoulders, keeping him in place. “Crimea, Jay. Remember Crimea.”

Jay sighed. Yeah, he remembered. “All right, honey, let’s be adults about this⁠—”

“I don’t know anything about Crimea,” Lennon cut him off, “but I do know a lot about blowjobs.”

Goddammit. I knew a winning argument when I heard one.

Jay gave my hand a brisk pat before removing it from his shoulder. “Sorry, Seb,” he said as Lennon flashed me a triumphant grin. “Her cause is righteous, and⁠—”

“Fuck righteousness,” I grumbled. “You just want a blowjob.”

“Well…yeah,” Jay admitted sheepishly. “But both things can be true. I can want a blowjob and you can owe Lila an apology, because you know what, Seb? That was messed up.”

I dragged a hand down my face. How could she not have known? “I’ll talk to her.”

“Well, here’s your chance. She’s coming back.” Mateo let out a low whistle. “Shit. She’s got Tamilee and Emma with her. That can’t be good.”

I turned to look. Lila was driving the four-seater ATV with Tamilee riding shotgun. Emma was in the back. She stuck her torso through the bars, two tumbler glasses in one hand and a bottle of white wine in the other.

“You’re a jerk, Seb!” she shouted.

Liam snorted. “Now look what you’ve done,” he muttered. “This isn’t going to be good for any of us.”

I put my hands on my hips as Tamilee made the I’m watching you signal at me, pointing her index and middle fingers at her eyes and then mine. “Et tu, Tamilee?” I hollered. “I thought we were friends. This hurts, Tami. This really hurts.”

She shook her head at me like I had let her down. “We can be friends again when you act like a man instead of a little bitch.”

Damn.

Mateo choked on a laugh. “You need some aloe for that burn, man?”

“Shut up,” I grumbled.

Lennon was already on the move when Lila shouted, “Let’s go, girls!”

Lennon broke into a jog.

“Holly!” Lila barked. She circled her finger in the air like it was time for takeoff. “Come on!”

Holly blinked. She stepped forward as if she were being pulled on a leash.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

She walked backward, arms flung out to her sides. “What can I say? I’m a disciple of Shania. I am girl, therefore I go.”

“But you’re one of us,” I protested. “You never hang out with them.”

“No one’s ever invited me before.” She spun on her toes and then sprinted to the ATV.

“They took Holly.” Mateo stared after the ATV like he’d witnessed an actual kidnapping. “I can’t believe they took Holly.”

I couldn’t either. “Give it an hour, tops. They’ll beg us to take her back.” Maybe. Lila had a soft spot for all living things, but especially the dangerous ones.