Page 90 of Holiday on the Rocks
“I—”
“That’s it, I’m billing you for this conversation. Get your ass out here.”
I stood, grabbed him by the ankles while the table next to us seemed fascinated with our effed-up situation. I pulled him out as a waiter stopped dead in his tracks.
“It’s a boy!” My laughter was solo. Royce looked up at the faces peering down at him and quickly scooted back under the table. I took a deep breath reminding myself he was not worth the prison time.
I leaned down and whispered. “Royce, get out here right now.”
“I just need a minute.”
“You’re being a jackass. I’ll stab you with a fork if you don’t cooperate. Got me?”
He spoke through gritted teeth. “Don’t you fucking insult me.”
“I’m not insulting you I’m just describing you.” My patience is like a gift card, you never know how much is left. At this time, I found out I had a zero balance. I grabbed his ankles, yet again, and pulled him out from under the table, and kept going right out of the restaurant to gasps and pointing.
He was squirming as I pulled him through the hall. I didn’t even try to control my laughter as I dragged him down three stairs.
“Ouch!” He held the back of his head. “Let me go!”
“No, you’ve proven yourself as a runner, and I don’t have time for this shit.”
“I’m fine. I’m just a little loopy. I’m not going anywhere.”
I let go and he got his feet. “Where is everybody?”
“Well, we found Lexi talking to a tree and killing demon cowboys.”
“Shit. She’s okay?”
I nodded.
“I don’t know what was in those snacks.”
“Everybody has been found.”
We stood for a second. “You called Clint, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “He and Allie had a good thing?—”
“To cut a long story short, you’re a dick.”
“Allie is a good friend.”
“And you wanted to make sure I?—”
“Yeah. I was around for the last episode of Levi and Allie, and it was a disaster. I won’t let that happen.”
“So you called someone to?—”
“They’re good together. She left for a job opportunity, and it was just a matter of time before they got back together.”
“So you took it upon yourself to decide things? Who do you think you are?”
“I’m one of the people who put her back together after you. The one who stood at the end of the hall every day when she relearned to walk.”
“I didn’t want it to be like that! A truck ran into us, and I had no control.”
