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A sharp sting ignites in my left shoulder and it’s lights out for me.
LOTTIE
“Wake up, Lot Lot.” A series of hard slaps ignite over my cheeks, and I cough and sputter before giving a few quick blinks. “She’s alive, Foxy. You can shoot her again for fun if you want. It’s obvious she’s an immortal.”
“For the tenth time, I didn’t shoot her,” Noah says as he comes into focus above me.
Kneeling next to him is—
Is that me?
Oh, wait, that’s Charlie.
And she looks more than a little miffed.
“You’re fine, Lottie,” Charlie pants as she hoists me up. “A bullet grazed your shoulder. You’re not even bleeding,” she says, switching our nametags then forcefully pushing me into Noah’s arms and pretending to moan.
“Charlie, what are you doing?” I ask, still coming out of my groggy state as Ivy Fairbanks heads this way and on her heels is a frantic yet angry-looking Judge Baxter.
“Everett,” I say just as he lands by my side.
“Lemon, are you all right?” he asks, scooping me into his arms and landing a kiss on my cheek. “What the heck is this place?”
Ivy shakes her head at me. “An illicit establishment used to move drugs through the entire state of Vermont. What a surprise to find out you own this place, Lottie.”
“I own this place,” Carlotta huffs as that crown of mourning slips over her eyes.
A group of men wearing black jackets with the letters A.S.D.N.D. printed over them head this way.
Ashford Sheriff’s Department Narcotics Division, I surmised quickly enough.
And now I wish a bullet would hit me.
“You,” the one in the middle says sternly to Charlie. “What’s in the little present you were trying to hide?” He bends over and picks up that takeout box by Charlie’s side and nods. “Bingo,” he says as he offers her a stern look. “Ma’am, I’d lawyer up if I were you. You’re under arrest.”
Charlie glares at me. “So my suspicions were right.”
“No way,” Noah says, jumping to his feet and speaking to the men for a moment, and I take advantage of it by inching closer to my sister.
“What the heck do you think you’re doing?” I ask.
“I knew it,” Charlie seethes my way. “As soon as the narcotics teams stormed the place, I had a niggling in my bones that you’d get caught up in something stupid.”
I frown at Everett because she’s right. “Charlie, why in the world are you trying to make yourself look guilty, too? I made my bed, I should lie in it alone.”
Carlotta shakes her head. “That’s not like you, Lot Lot, and we all know it. You’re never without a weenie lying by your side.”
Teeny Weenie barks up a storm. “You’re a smart woman, Lottie. Weenies are the best to snuggle up with in bed.”
“She’s not that smart,” Charlie huffs. “I’m taking the fall for this one, Lot. If you get charged for dealing narcotics, you won’t be attending Evie’s graduation ceremony, and they will certainly send child protective services to take Lyla Nell away. You’ll be lucky if those girls visit you in prison, let alone if you ever see them again.”
My blood runs cold at the thought.
How in the world had I not thought about the consequences of my foolish actions?
I should never have tried to go it alone and take down some dangerous drug kingpin.
And look what I’ve done.
