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Excited and rambunctious, of course, but in perfect health. The only surprise was her rapidly wiggling nose against my hoodie. Then the cat bed, followed by her trot to the bedroom door. She sniffed the seam of the door, nub of a tail vibrating with excitement.

“She was good.” Simone rubbed her eyes, tone distant. “Junie probably gave her too much table food though, so don’t be surprised if her poop’s weird.”

“Noted.” I chuckled and headed for the fridge. “Thanks for watching her either way. Do you want a drink?”

“You got any wine?”

I almost said it was a little early, time distorted from the twenty-four-hour drive, but the clock on the oven read 6:13. “Yeah, sure. Red or white?”

“I’ll take rubbing alcohol at this point.” Raking her hands through her messy curls, she grabbed two fistfuls at the back. “Mouthwash. Whatever you’ve got, give it to me.”

“Also noted,” I said under my breath, grabbing the cheap bottle from the back of the fridge. “What’s going on?”

“Ask me once I’m a glass down.” She wiggled her fingertips in my direction. “I don’t need a glass. Just hand it over.”

With a slow, steady hand, I extended the bottle.

She took it, spun off the lid, and tossed her head back. The chug-chug-chug of it sliding into her belly sounded. Makeup smeared the corners of her eyes, her skin was a sickly shade of white, and only seven of her always perfect acrylic nails remained.

I sat on the sofa and gestured to the seat beside me. “What’s going on, Simone? Where’s Junie?”

“At the daycare.” She pawed some slobber from the edge of her lip. A big belch followed. “They’re bedazzling a ball to drop tomorrow night. She’s fine.”

Honey jumped up beside me, still sniffing Samson’s scent that tainted every inch of my clothes. “Then what’s the matter?”

“That crazy bitch,” she murmured, gripping either side of the counter behind her. Teeth gritted, her eyes flicked over the floor. “She was here. In the ranch.”

“Angela?” Jaw hanging open, I held Honey closer. “How’d she find your apartment? What’d she do? What⁠—”

“She didn’t.” Simone set the bottle on the counter and went back to rubbing her eyes. “Farrah, she lives in one of the cabins. You know her, I think. She has the big husky?” I didn’t know Farrah. I just knew her dog went berserk every time he spotted Honey. But I was following. “She helped us piece it together. Angela showed at her door, asking if Farrah knew where I lived. She didn’t, but she pointed her to Rhiannon. She thought she was one of us.”

“She confronted Rhiannon?”

“More like ambushed.” Simone rubbed a hand over her mouth. “I don’t know exactly what was said. Axel ushered her out, Rhiannon told her not to come back around, but she...” Simone’s face screwed up in some combination of fury and fear. “She was here, Gwen. She wants my daughter. She wants to take her from me. It’s gonna get worse. I know it will, I just⁠—”

“Hey, hey.” I stood and took hold of her shoulders. Her watery eyes met mine, lips quivering. “We won’t let that happen. She’s not getting anywhere near Junie.”

“You don’t understand,” she whispered. “She’s crazy, Gwen. I know people say that all the time, and it’s just meant to be an insult, but that’s not what I mean. She thinks I killed her son, and she’s gonna get revenge. She’ll stop at nothing to get revenge.”

“I’m not afraid of her.” Angela was Charlotte in another font. A broken woman whose life revolved around shitty men. “You don’t need to be either. She can’t hurt you, and we both know she doesn’t have the legal standing to take Junie.”

“I’m not talking about the law.” Simone shook free of my grasp and picked up the bottle. “Angela will take her. If she gets the chance, she’ll just take her. I didn’t even want to leave her at the daycare. And I’m gonna have to cancel on Edwards because I can’t just go out right now. I can’t leave her here for some stupid date.”

“It’s not some college rager, Simone,” I said. “Sebastian said it’s someone he and Edwards went to high school with. She’s married with kids, who are also gonna be there. I’m pretty sure Sebastian’s bringing Lizzie. You could bring Junie.”

“Bringing a kid on a date isn’t appropriate.” As if chugging from the wine bottle was. “No, I can’t. I’m not in the headspace for a relationship right now. I’m gonna cancel.”

She slid her phone from her pocket, and I snatched it from her hands. “You said it wasn’t really a date. And it isn’t. It’s a holiday gathering of adult friends. But if you’re really worried about it, be my date. Edwards can be Sebastian’s.”

She almost smiled. Almost. “Are they even friends?”

“They were.” I shrugged. “And Edwards understands your situation, Simone. He knows everything about Angela that we do. He’ll understand that you don’t wanna leave Junie right now. But you said it yourself. You really like him. Don’t self-sabotage. David’s dead. He doesn’t get to keep ruining your plans.”

“Sure feels like he does.” She gestured vaguely behind me. “I don’t even like this. Her being down there by herself.”

I frowned. “She’s safe here. You know that.”

“Yeah, and you know how?” She lifted the bottle and chugged some more. “Rhiannon put everything on lockdown. We’re not even allowed to hold the door open for another girl getting in or out of any of the buildings. We all have to use our keycards for entry and exit everywhere we go. So even if she tells me everything’s okay, I know it’s not.” Tears spilling over, hardly able to speak, she shook her head. “It’s not okay, Gwen. Nothing’s okay.”