Page 48 of Minnie: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

Natty seems to lose track of our conversation and starts singing, “Witch, witch, scratch that itch.”

Alyssa chimes in, “And as amusing as this is, that really is Ri. The ward was only down for a millisecond. I barely even felt my powers. No one could have snuck in and swapped places with him that fast. Especially not a chameleon shifter. Plus, where would the real Ri have gone? We’re in a fucking prison.”

“Fucking prison,” Natty repeats.

I cringe and quickly jump in. “Don’t say that, Natty. That’s a bad word.”

Natty’s eyes widen and he turns to Alyssa. “You said a bad word, Lyssa. Don’t say that.”

“I won’t,” she says, but I honestly doubt she’ll last more than five minutes.

Zachariah—if he even is Zachariah—grimaces. “This is all my fault.”

I’m not sure what he means, exactly, but I nod anyway. It’s kind of nice for someone else to shoulder the blame for something for a change. Which makes me a horrible person, since that someone else is in prison and already shouldering a ton of blame. So yup, it’s all my fault once again.

I sigh and turn to Alyssa. “So you’re sure that’s… Ri?” I rarely use the nickname and it feels a bit odd, saying it aloud. Zachariah is the man I know. The one Natty and I visit. Ri is… the prisoner who stays behind bars after we leave. Which makes zero sense, when I think about it.

“That’s Daddy,” Natty adds and resumes singing.

Alyssa grins. “I have an idea. Why don’t you ask him some questions only Zachariah would know the answer to. At the very least, it should be entertaining.”

It’s not a bad idea. “Okay…” I mull it over for a second. “What’s Natty’s favorite food?”

Alyssa shakes her head. “I said entertaining.”

“Pizza,” Natty shouts.

“You’re not supposed to answer,” I tell him.

Zachariah leans forward. “And waffles with ice cream, right, bud? Ask me another one.”

“What was the color of the shirt Natty wore when we visited on Christmas?”

Natty doesn’t say anything, considering last Christmas was a third of his life ago, and chances are, he doesn’t remember.

I can’t be sure the real Zachariah would, either. The only reason I do is because Natty refused to wear the Christmas sweater I got him, so Zachariah never got to see it.

Zachariah grins. “Yellow. With a firetruck on the front.”

Alyssa shakes her head. “I really thought I’d be hearing some juicy secrets, not toddler fashion choices. You two really are meant for each other. Speaking of, why didn’t you tell me the two of you were fated mates, Ri? I thought we were friends.” She places her hand above her heart. “I guess I should have known, though, with the way Minnie never misses a visit, and the way you look at her. This one’s on me.”

“Fated mates…” Zachariah repeats the words, as if he’s tasting them.

Alyssa shakes her head and turns to me. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t see the mating bond? That magic was brighter than a brand-new bullet vibe—” Her gaze shifts to Natty. “Vibeeeeeee…Shit, I got nothing to finish that.”

Thankfully, Natty is still too busy singing to notice.

Zachariah’s eyes lock on mine. “Did you see it?” he demands.

My cheeks flush as I nod. “I did.”

And Zachariah doesn’t say anything. He just gapes at me like he’s seeing me for the first time.

“Visitation is over,” the guard with the taser shouts suddenly. “Prisoners, back to your cells.”

“But it’s only been ten minutes,” Waffle Brother—the one in orange—shouts.

“Should have thought of that before you tried to run for it,” the guard shouts back.