Page 72 of Intolerable Bishop

“Don’t you mean Vagina,” Nash said and then laughed.

“Like I’ve never heard that one before.” I retorted and then grabbed the box to find another card.

“What I want to know is when my fucking cabin had a girl bomb go off in it.” Nash held up one of my scrunchies from the table beside the couch and pointed at it. “And where did this doggie blanket even come from?”

“It’s a throw, not a blanket.”

He growled and stomped out of the room to the bathroom.

Closing my eyes, I picked a card and laughed as I read it. “In what Canadian province would you get screeched?” Theo blinked, opened his mouth, and then tapped his cheek. He tossed his glasses on the table and repeated the question. “Do you have a guess?”

“I don’t guess,” Theo said, waving his hand with a haughty air.

“Fine, then you lose by refusing to answer.”

Theo’s eyes flared. “Fine…Nova Scotia,” he said, and I smiled.

“Wrong, Newfoundland.” I tossed the card down on the table and stood as Myles cheered.

“Did we just win against Theo?” I nodded. “Hell yeah.”

“What the fuck is this.” We all turned to look at Nash, who was holding up a round ball between his fingers. “What the hell are these?”

“They’re bath bombs. They make the water smell pretty and your skin smooth. I wouldn’t suggest licking it.”

“What the fuck has happened to my place,” he groaned, making us all laugh.

“Can we watch the fucking movie now,” Liam grumbled.

Blake dashed out of the room to get popcorn while Myles took drink orders. I stood there and looked around at them—including Nash as he trudged back to his seat and flopped down—and felt divided. Part of me was still so sad, scared of my past and the unknown of what was to come, but the other half of me was determined to live carefree in the moment and enjoy every second of this.

“Come on, Snowflake, we’re ready,” Myles said, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the couch. Life was so unpredictable. How did anyone plan for so many unknowns?

JULY 4 – TUESDAY 12:03 PM

Ren

The last two weeks had been…peaceful. I didn’t know what to make of it. There was no chatter of anything strange in the area. Nash and Myles were working with me daily, and my skills were still terrible when it came to fighting, but I was improving. Theo had been over almost every night for dinner to visit. Each time he showed up, I could see Myles and Blake relaxing until they just expected him to be around. That did lead me to Liam. I hadn’t mentioned what Liam said to me to Theo, but Liam also hadn’t returned to the cabin since. At this point, I wasn’t sure I wanted him to, which made things awkward for me on so many levels.

Today was Lawrence’s famous family picnic. It was always held on the Fourth of July, which I found ironic. The holiday celebrated independence, and every single family involved with Lawrence was forced to attend. Nothing screamed, “I’m an arrogant asshole,” like that.

That was why I was here. The guys didn’t trust leaving me alone at the cabin, and it had been very eye-opening so far. I’d seen so many of these students at school and had no idea that they were connected to Lawrence in any way. Myles’s warnings about knowing who you were talking to were ringing loud and clear.

The one person I hadn’t seen slinking around the massive property was Owen, and it was a good thing, too, because I didn’t know if I’d hold myself back from attacking him for what he did to Myles. But his not being here also worried me. What was he up to that he got a hall pass?

Cheering erupted at the finish line as Liam crossed with no one else even close to beating him. I’d never seen anything like this. All the guys had been busy with one challenge after another. From target shooting with guns that I was positive would draw an entire swat team down on us to knife throwing, hand-to-hand combat, tug-o-war, and the latest, a cross-country obstacle course.

July 1st was our holiday back home, and I was used to backyard parties at Lizzy’s and Nadia’s, or they came over to our house. We ate barbeque and enjoyed the sun as much as I was able without burning to a crisp. We’d play music and drive to one of the local spots to watch fireworks. There were no survival games for amusement.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” I startled when Lawrence spoke behind me. I would know his voice anywhere. Even from the little I’d seen of him in person, the sleaze oozed off him. Composing myself, I turned to face the monster. “My, you do look delightful today, Ms. Davies. That dress really suits you.” He brushed a piece of my hair out of my face, and it took every ounce of willpower I possessed not to smack his hand away. I already had enough enemies trying to kill me. The last thing I needed was for Lawrence to give Nash the order to end my life or my father’s, wherever he was. My cute summer dress had a scooped neck and almost covered my knees. It didn’t scream sexy, and yet the lewd lust in his eyes made me want to vomit.

He smirked. “Although I am surprised that you chose not to participate in any of the challenges. The water sports are about to start if you’d like to change your mind.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not much for swimming, and it has been a lovely day to this point, but we shall see,” I said, and his eyebrow cocked. There was no way in hell I was telling this slimy dick monger that I didn’t know how to swim.

“Are you expecting it to end on less of a lovely note,” he asked.

“I guess I’ve just learned to expect anything.” I smiled sweetly, and his cool eyes felt like they were trying to suck my soul from my body. I gestured to the large group of people. “I am curious, though. Why isn’t my father here? I thought of all the days you would’ve given him today off to attend this…gathering,” I said, lost for a better word.