“Out to do what?”

“To run. He and his friends would hunt them down. First it was just about fucking them, then he started killing them. Had to stop, though, when the ones running the girls got a little fed up at losing perfectly good merchandise every week.”

The door opened and Charming’s man walked into the room. “They’re here.”

“You better go,” Charming told Crush. “And good luck, kid.”

“Did you know?” Cella demanded of Jai, one skate tapping against the floor of Jai’s Sports Center office.

“Did I know what?”

“That my Meghan was going to goddamn Hofstra?”

Jai leaned back in her ten grand, ergonomically perfected chair, arms crossing over her insubstantial chest. “What’s wrong with Hofstra? My daughter’s going there.”

“We’re not talking about her or you. We’re talking about me.”

“I thought we were talking about Meghan.”

“Yeah. Her, too.”

“No. I didn’t know she was planning to attend Hofstra in the fall.”

“But you’re not surprised, either, are you?”

“No. The girls want to stay together. Why not let them?”

“But if she stays, she’ll be trapped here. Forever.”

“Okay.” Jai sat forward, placing her arms on the desk. “Let’s analyze that statement, shall we?”

“Let’s not.”

“You can only be trapped somewhere if you’re not allowed to leave. But if you want to stay, then I don’t see how you can be trapped. And Meghan wants to stay. Also, you left, so how trapped can she be?”

“And you saw how hard it was for me to make that happen.”

“I know. Terribly hard.” Jai placed the tips of her fingers against her chin. “Let’s see if I can remember how it all went down. Ahhh, yes. You walked into your parents’ kitchen, said, ‘I joined the Marines. Did anyone feed the baby?’ And walked out. Other than your mother’s quiet sobbing, I don’t remember much about you being caged for such a decision.”

“Some days, you know ... I just really fucking hate you.”

“Do yourself a favor, Cella. Let your daughter make her own decisions, so you don’t lose her to your aunts. Because, let’s face it, that’s what really has you worried.”

“It—” Cella began, but a knock at the office door cut her off.

“Come in.”

When Cella saw Blayne walk in, she rolled her eyes and walked out. She was in no mood for a fight over Hannah.

“You can’t avoid me forever, heifer!” Blayne yelled from the safety of Jai’s office.

Cella spun around and yelled back, “Get in my way, Thorpe, and I’ll claw your entireface off!”

Feeling her point had been made, Cella faced forward but stopped short when she found Reed standing there.

“Are you done tormenting the wolfdog?” he asked.

“At the moment.”

“Then can we get started? Everybody’s waiting for you.”

“Everybody?”

“They’ve multiplied since the last time.”

“No pressure though.”

“You can stop acting like a victim, feline. I just watched you happily threaten the sweetest being on the planet.”

“It wasn’t happily.” When he only stared at her, she insisted, “It wasn’t! Just necessary.”

“You going to be all right?” MacDermot asked as she finished the last of her fries. They sat in the booth at the back of the diner near the Sports Center, her Yankees cap pulled low to hide her swollen face. Of course, it didn’t hide much of anything and everyone kept looking at him like he was the one who’d actually hit her. Although their reaction told him a lot about full-human society.

“I’m fine.”

“You seem fine, which I find a little weird.” She finished her soda. “Gentry still wants to put a security detail on your house.”

“Why?”

“I think she cares if you die.”

“Why?”

“And we’re done.” She slipped out of the booth, reaching back to grab her jacket.

“What did I say?”

“Nothing. You’re just kind of weirding me out. I don’t know how you just accept all this.”

“What am I supposed to do? Cry?”

“Don’t irritate me, Crushek. I’ve had enough of males whose reactions I don’t understand.”

Crush smirked. “When you got home, did Llewellyn roar a lot in disapproval over your dangerous life as NYPD that led to your face looking like that or did he just lick your bruises?”

“Both. But what really freaked me out was ...”

“You really liked the licking?”

She shrugged. “It was comforting.”

“Don’t worry. We all like the licking.”

“Yeah, whatever.” She pulled the hood of her parka over her head since it was another day of close to zero temps outside. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

After MacDermot left, Crush sat at the table a little while longer. He knew he should feel something about all this, but he just ... didn’t. What did that say about him as a person?

Deciding to pay the tab and go before he thought too long about that particular question, Crush pulled out his wallet and took out a couple of bills. He was just throwing them on the table when he realized that the other side of the booth was no longer empty.