Page 153 of Property of Bob

“Because they’re checking security. They are not going to play,” Prime explained. He grabbed a cup and poured it full.

“I can check security,” Shay shrugged.

Prime snorted.

Shay turned on him. “I can.”

“I’m sure you can, baby.”

“That sounded sarcastic.”

He shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. “It absolutely was.”

McKayla wandered in from the hallway. “What are we doing?”

I dropped my head. This was getting worse by the fucking second.

“Haunted house,” Shay announced.

McKayla looked toward Anchor. “Can I come?”

Anchor closed his eyes.

Skull hadn’t said a fucking word through any of this. I looked at him. He was drinking his coffee and watching the whole thing.

“You enjoying yourself?” I asked.

“A little bit.” He took a sip. “It’s kind of nice not having an ol’ lady, and just watching you guys get wrapped around their fingers.”

“Asshole. Just wait until you find a woman who can stand you longer than a night.”

He shrugged. “I can wait.”

Anchor opened his eyes and looked at Pearl. Then Shay. Then McKayla. Then Ramona. “Nobody wanders off.”

Shay smiled.

“Nobody touches anything,” Anchor continued.

Her smile got bigger.

“And if Skull, Prime, or Bob tells you to stop, you fucking stop.”

Pearl leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Love you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Anchor grunted. “I’m going to stay here with Piney and Push to go over the stack of papers we took from Ron’s office.”

Shay clapped her hands once. “Field trip.”

Prime added more coffee to his cup. “You know it’s literally right outside.”

“Still a field trip,” Shay shrugged. “It’s going to be fun. It’ll be nice to get some fresh air.”

I looked at Ramona, and she smiled sweetly. “I promise to behave.”

I leaned closer. “You stay with me.”

Her smile softened. “I was planning on it.”