Page 181 of On The Rocks

Jesus. Where the hell were the cops?

East Bumfuck, New York, that’s where. The sheriff had been less than useless when Lennon, Kain, and I went to report this debacle to them. They probably were equally great at emergency calls.

Lennon rolled onto her back, arching her back from the position she’d been slumped in.

I glanced over at Irene. She had her compact mirror out as she patted more powder on her already pale face. The angle might let her see Lennon moving.

“You don’t need that, you know.”

Irene flashed a smile at me. “You always tell me that. I like to do it for me, just as much as my boys.”

I shuddered at the words. She always called us that, even when I’d been excluded from their twisted group games.

My phone flashed in my hand, and I saw Kain’s message come up, along with the sound of a vehicle outside.

“Is that Baron? How did he get here so fast?”

“He’s only over at the Lodge. Right at the orchard.” Quickly, I skimmed the message.

Kain:

I called the cops, but they’re still ten minutes out. B is here too.

Was that Beckett or Baron?

“Oh, that dumpy hotel thing? How can he stand it?” Irene glossed on her usual pale lipstick. Her darkly lined eyes weren’t as crisply done as they usually were. The lines were as jittery as her temperament.

“You know Baron. He likes it rustic.”

“Yes, he does. That ranch of his? I went to visit him, you know.” She added a different color to the center of her lips, then she smirked at me. “I wanted to surprise him, but I couldn’t find him. I didn’t get far, and the scent of horseshit made me gag. It was hideous. I let the horses out of the pen, hoping it would stop the smell. Not even close.”

“You let the horses out?”

“I mean, I had to. I’m not a monster. When I burned the hay, it would have hurt them.” She snapped the compact closed. “Burning shit smells even worse, FYI.”

The way she said it so matter of fact made my throat close up. She was well-beyond insane at this point. She’d been more dramatic with her outbursts at the end of the Vegas residency, but what she’d been doing for the last year was unhinged.

A fist pounded on the door.

Elmer sat up, but he only softly whimpered and crawled his way over to Lennon. Irene was being too erratic for him to safely come near me.

“Is that him? That’s him?” She flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder with the gun barrel. “Let me go check.”

I braced when she rushed to the door and cracked it open. She swung open the door and threw herself in Baron’s arms. “I’ve missed you, baby.”

Baron’s hands shook as he patted her back. “I’ve missed you too. Why do you have a gun, honey?”

“I mean, I needed it to make sure you listened to me. Well, first, G needed to listen. It took a minute to make him understand. And his bartender slut.” She took his hand and led him inside.

Baron shot a look at me, then he looked at the couch and his mouth dropped open. “You didn’t hurt her, did you?”

“No. Well, mostly no.” She gave a tinkling laugh that pulled my balls up. “She’s just sleepy. And what’s the word?” She glanced at me. “I forgot the word. You’re always so good at words, G.”

My world.

“Paralyzed,” I said, woodenly.

“Right. It has a paralytic in it. Handy, except when I had to drag her in here. She’s a tiny thing, but she weighs a lot.” She hugged Baron’s arm. “I don’t want to talk about her. I’m so happy you’re here. Now all we need is Marc and we can leave. I’m a little sleepy. It’s been a really busy day. Maybe we can wait until tomorrow.”

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