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“Nuh-uh,” he grins. “I’ll keep those. You haven’t earned the right to wear them.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I let out an exasperated sigh. “Seriously?”
He nods. “Absolutely.”
I flip him off and quickly put my yoga pants back on before shoving my feet into the shoes. Then I zip my hoodie back up and comb my fingers through my hair.
“Fine,” I say, smirking. “They’re not mine, anyway. I ran out of clean ones and borrowed a pair of Alana’s.” So much for promising not to lie to him again, because that’s so not true.
He laughs and takes my hand. “I know that’s not true, Princess. Do you really think I haven’t memorized what all your panties look like?”
With no good comeback or a believable story to back up my ridiculous lie, I just shrug and follow him back to where we left the others.
When we enter, Slasher’s still at Alana’s side. Her eyes are unfocused and she’s giggling, pointing above her. “But look,” she insists. “It’s the dust bunny monster.”
Slasher sighs and runs his hand down his face. “You’re right,” he relents. When he spots us, he glares at me. “You’re fucking lucky Alana is your second.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, baffled.
“Before the doc took care of her, she told me the Cunts pressed you into including them in your idea. That’s the only reason I’m not holding you responsible formyCunt being shot.”
I feel Gray tense next to me, but I squeeze his hand. “That’s fair,” I say, because it is. I’m supposed to be responsible for them, and our plan backfired.
Maybe backfired is too strong a word since it worked. It just didn’t play out how we’d imagined. But then again… perhaps it did. Rose went to great lengths to talk about the danger and the chances of someone dying.
I was the one who kept repeating things would be okay. Not because I believed the plan to be infallible, but what other choice did I have? I’m not as strong or seasoned as some of them. So I did what I thought was best.
“Zoe, you need to see this,” Cilla calls out. Turning, I walk over to her, taking the small piece of paper she holds out to me. “Before we left to be your clones, Alana made us all write a note in case we didn’t make it. We each carried it in our pocket, and this is Izzy’s.”
My throat tightens as I unfold the small piece of paper and read.
If I don’t make it through tonight, I want everyone to know I died free. I’m not a strong fighter, but I’m devoted to my found family. The choice was mine. Don’t make my death mean nothing by blaming each other.
All hail Mama Z.
Izzy
“Oh my God,” I choke out. Tears fall from my eyes again, dripping onto the paper. I look at Alana, but she’s too busy swatting away something only she can see, still giggling to herself. “Is she okay?” I ask Slasher.
“High as a fucking kite, but she’ll be fine,” he confirms.
I look at everyone else, taking in their expressions. They range from somber to relieved, and everything in between.
“I have a question,” Munroe says. “How the fuck did the Cunts get out of Dirty Diamonds after Cain took them?”
“They obviously snuck out,” Stretch answers.
“What? You think they got past Cain’s watchful eye?” Munroe questions. “Even if they did, then how did they get to the clearing?”
Cain chooses that exact moment to whistle while innocently looking up at the ceiling. “I see what you mean, Alana,” he says. “The bunnies are out of control.”
“Fucking,” she sniggers. “Fucking like dust bunnies.”
He nods. “That’s what I always say. We should—”
“Cain,” Gray growls, clearly not entertained by the evasion and crazy talk. “Just fucking tell us already.”
Leaning back against the wall, Cain props one leg up. “You see, it all started with a call from the lovely Alana—”
