Page 61 of Sinners Reunion

I giggle as I near the girls, and when they ask why, I just shake my head. “Oh, nothing. Just remembering how we got King with the body shots last night.”

“Yeah, and then he got all of us when he swooped down and slurped it up himself,” Cat says. “We’ve never seen this side of him.”

Gary moves in front of us, and we begin following him down the gravel driveway.

“The sexual stuff?” I ask.

“No, not just that. We know he’s a dog,” Eve says. “With looks like that, it’s a given. But we’ve never really seen him act this . . . It’s just weird. The five-o’clock shadow is new, too.”

“And the t-shirts and shorts,” Cat whispers. “I didn’t know he had calves like that.”

“And especially what he did in the arena.” Eve fans her face. “That was the definition of a man in love.”

I tilt my ear toward them, just to make sure I’m hearing correctly. “He did something romantic in the arena?”

Eve and Cat share a look between them.

Cat purses her lips, then says, “He didn’t tell you? I thought for sure he’d brag about it the moment he got you alone. Some girls will do crazy shit in bed after what he did last night. I find it hard to believe he didn’t cash in his golden ticket.”

“Well, what did he do?” I ask, growing impatient. “I saw that he was up against a pistol, but it was just a fake.”

Eve pats my hand. “Right, but when King’s Cattle stopped running and aimed that pistol, nobody knew that. We all thought it was real.”

“I heard all of you gasp.” I nod. “Someone screamed, I think.”

“That was me,” Gary says.

I swallow around the lump in my throat as I recall the fear burning through me when I thought I’d just heard King take a bullet behind me. “Well, I’m just glad the gun wasn’t real. I still can’t believe he aimed it at King.”

“He didn’t,” Eve says. “That’s the romantic part.”

“The guy aimed the gun at you,” Cat whispers, as if it’s too terrifying to speak aloud.

And yeah, it kind of fucking is.

“He aimed at me? Why?” I try to swallow again, but my mouth has gone dry. “I could have fucking died?”

“No clue,” Cat says, “but he looked between both of you and picked you.”

Suicidal ideation is a tricky mistress. In all the times I fantasized my own death, I never wanted it as badly as I want to keep living after being told I almost died.

Eve gives me a pointed look. “And that’s when the romance happened. He didn’t even think about it. King bolted into position, putting himself between you and that bullet. He has all of us questioning if he might actually be in love this time.”

“It was pretty touching,” Gary says.

I’m glad the girls are on either side of me right now, because my legs wobble and give out. I crumple like a rag doll. My knees nearly grind against the rocky trail, but the girls hold me up.

“Damn, girl,” Cat says. “You’re the definition of weak in the knees. You might want to sit down.”

I take a deep breath and shake off the queasy feeling. “No, I’m okay. It’s just the shock of learning I almost took a bullet last night. That’s all.”

Something tells me the girls don’t buy it, but they’re kind enough to drop it. We’ve reached the end of the driveway, anyhow.

A long black limo sits in the exit’s gravel mouth. We climb into the back, where the other ladies have been waiting for us. Grim also sits among the women, probably to help his partner feel comfortable. He and Maudlin Rose have a beautifully symbiotic relationship. Really fucking weird . . . but really fucking beautiful.

And still so familiar. I just can’t place why.

Gary slides open the partition separating the front and back. “You guys don’t mind if I listen in on the girl talk, do you? I never had sisters, but I used to fantasize I did.”