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I killed yesterday. I’m a murderer. My eyes dart to Eve, who must see that it’s only now dawning on me. She steps in and pulls Gia off me.
“Do I need to get Ryder?” She looks me in the eyes, and for a second I almost say yes, but I’m stronger than that. I did what had to be done. It was him or us.
I chose us.
“No, I’m fine. It kind of shocked me for a second.” I shake my head and follow her as she walks me to the bed, and I automatically sit.
“Yes.” Gia nods. “Julianna, you saved everyone, with a gun. I mean, you won’t even kill a spider.” She sits, her lips twitching, and the whole thing’s so surreal we both burst out laughing.
“It’s crazy, because I heard the shots and the screaming, and then I heard Ryder’s voice saying, ‘You never pull out this gun, unless you shoot to kill.’”
“Well, I’d be dead. We all would. You are officially a badass, and I’m your biggest fan.” Eve brushes the hair off my shoulder as she looks at my brand. “Go get dressed. We’re on lockdown, but we can at least have lunch by the pool.”
“Yeah, you have no idea how much begging I had to do to get in here. I’m hoping I can get out,” Gia says, crossing her legs.
Standing, I go to my dresser and grab a cute, matching lime-green underwear and bra set and turn to them.
“Dewey’s okay, right?” I toss the towel and get dressed.
“Yep. Went in and out. He was lucky it didn’t hit any organs.”
“And Dolly? The others? They’re okay?”
Eve nods and looks around the room. “Everyone is fine. Dolly’s resting, and Antoinette rolls with things. Charlie’s kind of pissed that Poet didn’t teach her to shoot a gun, but hey, we all are.” By the tone of her voice, she does not sound happy.
“So.” She shakes it off and smiles, as if that’s not something she wants to get into right now. “Ryder’s been in this room for a long time. Has he mentioned anything about getting a house?”
Jeez, I almost feel bad for Blade, knowing the way Eve is. Instead, I say, “No, he loves it here. I need to figure out what I’m going to do.” I walk into the closet and grab one of my hippie dresses—it has buttons all the way down, so it won’t bother my brand.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I need to get a job at some point.” I walk out, trying my best to shake off this exhaustion. When I swallow back a yawn, my eyes water.
“I have no idea what’s wrong with me. I feel like I need a nap, but I just got up.”
“Wait, what? Julianna, Ryder branded you. What kind of job are you thinking about getting? The Disciples take that brand seriously.” She stands up and goes over to me.
“I’m confused. Because he branded me, I can’t work?” I cock my head at Eve. That’s ridiculous, and I know Ryder doesn’t feel that way.
“No, you can work. But what exactly are you thinking about doing?” She watches me as I pull my thick hair up in a messy bun.
“I don’t know. Charities, volunteering, maybe I can get a building or house for a homeless shelter. I like to give back.” I return to the bathroom for some makeup. Did I brush my teeth yet?
“Julianna’s amazing, Eve. She ran like four different charities in New York, right?” Gia nods at me supportively.
I frown at her while I brush my teeth. Again, they are back to acting weird. I spit and rinse, then slather on some red lip gloss.
“Alright. Gia, what is wrong? Why are you both acting weird?”
She takes a breath. “Have you taken a pregnancy test, Julianna?”
I blink at her, then Eve, and start laughing. “I have an IUD.”
She nods but pulls out a pregnancy test from her purse. “You look pregnant.” She shoves the box at me.
“How would you know?” I hand it back to her and sigh at the hurt look on her face. That was kind of harsh, but my patience level isn’t great this morning.
“Gia, I’m tired. I kind of had a big day yesterday. I don’t know if you get the fact that this”—I motion to the whole room with my hands—“is not the real world. Things like rules don’t seem to apply to them. For fuck’s sake, I killed a man and there were zero cops,” I shout at her as she stares at me.
“You look pregnant,” Eve says flatly, ignoring my outburst. “And I’ve been pregnant twice. You’ve got the glow. Gia did fail to tell me you have an IUD, so you’re probably not.” She looks me up and down.
“Eve, you’re only saying that because you have an IUD,” Gia snaps, then turns to me holding the box.
