Page 18 of Out of My Flocking Mind

As much as I wanted to argue—the memories of the times that fucker had riffled through my brain like a pervert in a panties’ drawer still far too fresh—I couldn’t.

Doing nothing wasn’t going to help, after all, and showing fear was so not my style.

So I tucked my hands into the pockets of the dress I had on, the one I’d borrowed from the selection Harrison had in the guest closet. It was loose and long, easy to move in, and I’d thrown on a jean jacket from my place when we’d stopped to pack some of my stuff.

The meeting place, as it turned out, was the upper floor of a standalone building. The bottom floor was a liquor store—I filed that away for later—and upstairs was a DUI lawyer on one side and a clock repair place on the other.

We went into the clock repair place, which I figured I probably had far less of a need for compared to a lawyer.

“Harrison,” the employee behind the counter said, rising from his seat in a rush. “I didn’t know you’d come today.”

Harrison folded his hands behind him, not reacting, as though the panic on the other man’s face wasn’t there. “I saw no reason to announce my visit. Is the meeting happening as scheduled?”

“Yes, of course.”

“How many?”

“Six. Just the regulars.” He turned his gaze to me, a question there. I had a feeling if it had been anyone else, he’d have asked about me. His fear of Harrison must have kept him quiet.

I waved. “Hi. I’m Grey.”

His eyes opened wider, answering whether or not he’d heard of me. I’d started getting this reaction more and more as news of the new council seat became more widespread. “O-oh. Okay, well, welcome.”

It would probably be damn rude to laugh when he was so clearly terrified, but I couldn’t help it. Who the fuck was ever afraid of me? If only I could leverage this reaction for my own gain. I’d probably have a lot fewer problems if people were that afraid of me.

Harrison made a soft noise though his expression didn’t change at all. In fact, if I hadn’t heard it myself—the soft, mocking snort—I wouldn’t have believed he’d done it all.

Wasn’t that just like him, though?

The man gestured toward a door behind him. “Well, go on in.”

Harrison didn’t acknowledge the offer, as though he had every right to go wherever the fuck he pleased. That arrogance was annoying, but somehow at odds with the Harrison who had spoken to me last night and this morning.

Still, I followed him as he went into the back. At first, I found what I expected—a room full of clock parts and shit I didn’t quite understand. However, to the left sat another unassuming door. Harrison didn’t hesitate before turning the handle and walking in.

The room was brightly lit and open—nothing like the cluttered and dusty storage room or the front of the shop. Instead, this reminded me of the sort of place someone might hold a self-help meeting. Fuck, there was even a table at the back with coffee and pastries.

I immediately headed that direction. I’d skipped breakfast and just the sight of something sugary made my stomach rumble. It was the perfect thing to soak up the rest of the nonsense in my stomach after drinking so much last night.

I had a muffin in my mouth before I realized we weren’t alone, turning mid-bite to find six people in the room staring at me like I was some weird aberration.

That seemed rude, since I felt like Harrison would stick out far more than I did.

So I waved before swallowing the poorly chewed bite. “Tasty.”

Harrison sighed, then turned toward the group, who had seemed to just notice him as well.

“Harrison,” a woman said, her voice only slightly less terrified than the man up front had been.

All the people sat on folding chairs placed in a circle, all different ages and with no single feature the same among them.

Men, women, young and old, some dressed in nice clothing and others looking as though they hadn’t slept under a roof in weeks. In short? I wouldn’t have guessed these six would have anything in common.

However, given Harrison’s presence and his previous statements, I had to guess they were all Minds.

Which were so not my favorite people currently.

Harrison didn’t sit, but standing there made me feel entirely on display. Instead, I inched forward and took an empty seat, nibbling on the muffin, trying to blend into the background. At least with them noticing him, I’d become less interesting.

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