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If we let Lola help us, I knew the Freaks would protect her too. They would do anything to keep her and Chrissy safe.

This might be our only chance to find out what Rubin was doing to those young girls in his compound.

Maybe it’s not such a bad idea.

79

TESS

By the time we got back to Feverpoint, all of us were far too on edge to go inside the loft.

So instead, Blade turned on some of the rides and built a bonfire in the middle of the park.

The fire crackled as Blade threw a piece of broken-down pallet into the flames.

Watching the embers fly up into the dark sky, Blade smirked. “I fucking love Halloween.”

Nash nodded, sat on one of the carousel’s spinning horses. “It’s the shit.”

“Did you have fun, Trinket?” Blade asked, prodding the fire with a long, wooden baseball bat.

Sucking in a deep breath, I broke my trance with the flames. “Yeah, it was good to see Chrissy and Lola. Something normal.”

“What, we aren’t normal enough for you, Ragdoll?” Cyrus jabbed as she stood with her hands buried in her pockets.

I lifted a brow at her, a rare joke from the ever-cold Cyrus. “Eh, not quite.” Biting my lip, I thought about Lola’s proposal. “I do have something to mention though.”

Nash was already spinning around the back of the carousel, but I heard her heavy feet slam into the metal base of the ride and saunter back toward the fire. “Whatcha got, Sweet Lamb?”

“Lola had an idea.” Looking up from the flames, I let my eyes flick between my three Freaks.

Immediately defensive, Cyrus growled. “What have you told her?”

I shot daggers with my eyes, telling her to back off. “That we’re trying to deal with The Messenger, that we need to get inside.”

“Why would you…?”

“Because I trust her. She’s my friend.” I snapped.

Chucking more wood on the fire, Blade asked, “So, what’s her pitch?”

Sucking my teeth, I tried to figure out the best way to explain it. But there was nothing that would convince them this was a good idea. So, instead, I told the truth.

“She wants to hand off the bugged item.”

“No.” Cyrus hissed.

Lifting a finger, I kept explaining. “She’s trustworthy, she doesn’t want Rubin and his fuckass followers to have influence over this town. She has a young daughter, it’s dangerous for her to grow up in this. We all know that.

“She understands the risks. And this way, no one has to go inside the compound. Rubin will carry the bug in himself.”

As if on cue, my phone dinged with a text from Lola:

Just talked to Travis. Confirmed that Rubin doesn’t go through the scanners. Just have to get him the item.

Lola

I turned my phone screen around and handed it to Cyrus.