Page 25 of Snake

“So we gently handcuff her and gently make her—” Mason begins.

“No,” Silas cuts in, rocking the chair forward. “We don’t make her do anything.”

I look over at him, nodding. Silent. He fills in the rest. “If she can look past the things we’ve done, if she can imagine—even for a second—that we could be gentlemen…”

There’s a beat of silence.

Mason ends it with a chuckle. “If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…”

We turn, both giving him a deadpan stare. He presses his lips closed, but it’s obvious he’s still cracking himself up on the inside.

“She’s going to make us work for it,” Silas says, but there’s a tone to his voice like he’s looking forward to the challenge. I guess it’s a way out of his dark thoughts.

“Wouldn’t expect anything less.” I take another pull at my smoke. “But no matter what it takes, come Friday, this whole fucking town will know who Nim Winters is.”

“And that she’s our queen,” Silas mutters quietly, as if to himself.

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