Page 270 of Back in the Saddle

Shanti looked confused. “I don’t know. You texted me and told me to meet you here. You said it was urgent.”

“I did?” Raye asked, which meant she did not.

Though, somehow, Arthur did.

Seemed we had a new recruit.

The question was…why?

We met up with Shanti and huddled around her phone.

Sure enough, there was a text from Raye asking her to meet us there. Urgently.

“Does this have to do with Willow?” Shanti asked.

Uh-oh.

“Willow?” Luna asked in return.

Shanti nodded, and it was then I remembered Shanti and Willow were super tight.

“She’s got a bad ex,” Shanti explained. “He’s a supreme dick. He comes and goes out of her life, leaving a mess in his wake. She hasn’t said anything, but she’s acting weird, so I think he’s back.”

We looked among each other.

“Has she talked to you guys about him?” Shanti asked.

“Ummmm….” Harlow didn’t answer.

No one else said anything because she hadn’t.

This lasted a long time, so to end it, I made a decision.

“Raye, open the door and let’s see what’s up. We can explain to Shanti after.”

“Good idea,” Raye said and turned to the lock.

She unlocked it, threw up the rolling door and hit the lights.

“Holy…what?” Harlow breathed.

None of the rest of us uttered a word or sound.

We just stared into the unit that had thick, white carpeting throughout. At the back, there were two gold standing lamps on either side of a curved red couch with black piping that faced a baronial black desk, which had one thing smack dab in the center of it.

An old-fashioned speaker.

The walls had been paneled and covered in wallpaper that was a swirl of red, pink, orange, and black on a white background, that would normally seem too much, but somehow, it totally worked. Though, the wall behind the desk had a large, built-in screen.

There was a delicate secretary desk angled toward the unit close to the door, on top of which was a keyboard, and in an arched display along the outer edges were four computer screens.

Opposite that, there was a life-size marble statue of a woman in a Grecian gown with two slits up her legs. She had gold leaves adorning the front of her gown and her hair. She had gold angel wings at her back.

But she was not angelic.

Exactly.

She was in attack stance, one of her arms straight out, holding a golden bow, the other arm was bent, but up, as if she’d just let loose the arrow.

---