Page 222 of The Seven Rings
“He’s in court, and I don’t want to—”
“I, for one, am not facing his justifiable fury if we don’t tell him and right soon. We’ll get you settled in the kitchen, and you’ll text him while I make us a little lunch and some soothing tea.”
“All right, because you’re right.”
She had to bite back a groan as, with Cleo’s help, she hobbled down the stairs.
“It’s just that he was a little upset this morning when I told him I saw Jerome. He called it an escalation, and said—he damn well said—she’d escalate, too. And she did. Ow, Jesus, she really did.”
Because she felt weak, she let Cleo fuss, and dutifully texted Trey when she had her leg up, her knee and ankle on ice.
Don’t be smug, but you were right. Dobbs escalated. We fought the bitch off. Cleo did a marksman’s job with the BB gun. And now we’re having some lunch, so don’t worry. Jambalaya’s on tonight’s menu.
She added a heart emoji.
His response came in under ten minutes, as Cleo let the pets in, handed out treats.
Are you hurt?
She thought: Shit. Just shit, and gave herself a minute to think of the right answer.
Got a few bruises, nothing serious. Nurse Cleo instructed me to ice my knee, so I am. Trust me, she got the worst of it, so satisfaction outweighs the bruises. I promise I’d tell you if I were really hurt. And if I didn’t, Cleo would. She’s already texted Owen. We’ll give you both all the details when you get here.
As soon as I can. Owen’s closer, so anything else happens—anything—get him. I love you, Sonya.
She acknowledged that with another heart, one that pulsed. Then sighed.
“Now he’s going to be distracted in court. He wants us to get Owen if anything else happens.”
“Already arranged. Now eat,” she said as she set down the comfort of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
“You need to tell me your side of it.”
“Clover. Only she didn’t say it with music. She was right there, in the studio. Obvious now, she didn’t want to take the time for a song or chance I wouldn’t clue right in.”
“You saw her.”
“I did. Right at my desk. She said Dobbs had you and you needed help. They needed help. When I got to the doors, I couldn’t open them, and I needed their help. They were there for it.”
“After you ran down to the closet to get the BB gun.”
“About that. After Trey brought it, I mentioned it to my grand-mère. She said BBs might annoy her, but she didn’t know if they’d stop her. So she sent me beads.”
“Beads.”
“Crystal beads, BB size. After that goddamn bird smashed itself into the studio window, I got the gun out of the closet, loaded it up with the beads. I hadn’t bothered to take it back down yet. You wouldn’t even practice with it anyway.”
“You obviously didn’t need to. They hurt her. I was pretty dazed, but I could see that. They hurt her, shocked her. And they scared her.”
“My grand-mère knows her business.”
“We’re sending her flowers.” Reaching out, Sonya gripped Cleo’s hand. “I was afraid. No, I was terrified. I couldn’t not be. But when I saw you, I knew she wouldn’t win.”
“When I saw you, dangling up there, bleeding? I knew she couldn’t win. But, Son, it’s coming down to the time we have to take the fight to her.”
“I know it. I just don’t know how.”
“One thing? I’m going to reload my magic BBs.”
