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“What pattern is that?”
“The Alec Slater,” he said proudly. “D’you like it?”
“Yeah, I like it. Are ye tellin’ me ye have your own pattern?”
“I made it.” He nodded. “We all have one.”
“Every knitter has a pattern they’ve created?”
“Yup.”
My cheeks burned. “I’m not good enough to create me own stitch.”
“You will be,” Alec said. “Trust me, these women whip you into shape real quick.”
I gulped. I thought about what Alec said for a few minutes. I wanted to ask him about his pattern, but I didn’t think I’d be able to form a question because I felt horribly light-headed. And it got worse as the minutes progressed.
“I think I’m drunk,” I suddenly announced. “You’re all movin’ around. Stop it.”
“Yep,” Mary chirped. “She’s legless alright. Look at her eyes. The devil’s brew is hittin’ her.”
“I’ll call Date,” Lilly said. “Ina, why don’t ye come with me, and we’ll wait outside. Non-members aren’t allowed inside of the buildin’. We’ll have to kill him otherwise. I don’t wanna do that since Date’s me toy boy.”
I stood, then sat back down. “I forget how to walk.”
Alec laughed from my right. “I’ll carry you.”
I was in the air then, being carried like a bride, and it made me giggle.
“Keela’s gonna be me sister wife. I’d like a red-headed baby too, please.”
Alec’s laughter reached my ears as he talked to someone about the devil’s brew I drank. I had no idea how he did it, but one second I was sitting in the knitter’s circle of secrets, and the next, I was standing outside with Lilly supporting me.
“He disappeared!”
“He’s gone back inside.” Lilly chuckled. “He’s a sleeper cell, remember?”
I remembered Alec was an assassin, and I was his assistant.
“I feel excellent,” I informed Lilly. “Like way better than good.”
“That’s great.”
“But I didn’t get to crochet anythin’!”
“Ye will next week. Tonight, I knew ye’d be a little … tipsy.”
“I feel like we’re floatin’.”
“Forget tipsy then. You’re plastered, love.”
I giggled as we sat on a pretty bench outside of the building. It was still daytime even though it was late in the evening. The fading heat of the day made me hum as I closed my eyes. I felt calm until Dante arrived. That was when the devil’s brew really hit.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ina
* * *
Dante beeped as his truck pulled up to the headquarters building. Lilly had to point him out to me because nothing would stay still no matter how hard I squinted. I had to check seventeen times to make sure my glasses were still on my face because as of right now, they weren’t doing shite to help me see.
“He’s got JJ and Harley with him.”
“Oh my God. I know both of them!”
I think I shouted that but wasn’t sure.
“Did ye have a good time, country?”
Upon hearing Dante’s voice, I straightened on the bench.
“Me man has arrived!”
I stood to greet him and promptly fell to the side and hit the ground as the world tilted. “Earthquake!” I shouted. “Nobody panic. It’s just an earthquake.”
I heard Lilly burst into giggles, and I was glad that she was keeping calm during this natural disaster.
“Christ, Lilly, what’d ye do to her? Is that war paint on her face?”
“Yep,” Lilly chirped. “And FYI, I didn’t make her do anything. She did the trials of her own free will, but if ye must know, she took a blood oath, handled the needle, drank me devil’s brew, and pledged her allegiance to the group. She’s mine now, stud.”
“Ah, feck it, Lilly!” Dante groaned. “Ye were supposed to mind her, not recruit her. She’s never drunk alcohol before!”
“Too late,” Lilly replied. “She’s one of us now, so I’ll be havin’ a talk with you, big balls.”
“Don’t you be thinkin’ about me balls, ye tiny demon!”
“I love thinkin’ about them. Now, you listen here, Date Collins. That girl right there, she can’t hold her drink worth a piss, and she’s meeker than a newborn kitten, but she went through the trials in record time, and she can crochet a feckin’ good pattern. We’ve adopted her as our own. She’s a knitter now¸ so if ye so much as upset her and we find out about it, ye’ll be forever known as No Bollocks Collins ’cause we’ll cut ’em clean off and hang them over the mantelpiece.”
I cackled when Lilly started saying “snip snip”. I joined in, using my fingers as fake scissors.
“Merciful Christ,” Dante choked. “Lilly, please. I’d never hurt her … I love her.”
The world tilted again, and I shouted, “Aftershock, people. It’s only an aftershock.”
More giggles.
“Here’s her stuff,” Lilly said to Dante. “I put her blazer folded into her wool bag. She took it off when the devil’s brew hit, and she started sweatin’. Doubt she even remembers doin’ it. Good luck takin’ care of her. You’re gonna need it.”
“Come on, sweetheart.” Dante’s warm hands lifted me to my feet. “Let’s get ye home.”
