Page 58 of Welcome to Blackbird Hollow
Lenny nods, their freckled nose scrunching a little with a frown. “Deal. Coupl’a slices of key lime pie would be appreciated as well.”
I glance at Fallon, who nods. “Sure. Why not?” Then she sees Alice and the blank stare. “Wha?—”
“Sector, while you were in the ladies’,” I hiss as I take three long steps across the ancient wood floors to pull Alice up out of the booth. “Come on, sweet girl. Let’s get you home.”
Alice looks up at me, her skin too pale, her eyes wide with fear. “Cookie was here.”
“Fuck,” I spit out, my voice too harsh for the state Alice is in. I pull her into a hug, and I feel her legs turn to jelly. She’s panicking, so I scoop her into my arms. A couple of wolf whistles let out from around the bar, and there’s a round of applause.
Fallon blows kisses as we make our way to the door, but Alice doesn’t say a word until we’re outside. “The things I told her… I…”
I hush her a little. Fallon makes eye contact with me. “Cookie? The internet friend?”
I nod. “Looks like she’s Sector.”
“Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Fallon barks. She was drunk as a skunk coming out of that bathroom, but she’s stone-cold sober now. That’s a talent she’s had as long as I can remember. “Take her to your place. I’ll see what I can find out.”
I nod and hold my sister’s gaze. “Stay safe, you hear? Nothing crazy tonight.”
Fallon grabs my shoulder, serious for once in her godsdamn life. “I promise. You just take care of our girl.”
Alice peeks at her over my shoulder. “I ruined girls’ night.”
Fallon kisses her forehead. “You didn’t, baby girl. Not even a little. That dumb bitch Cookie did, but maybe a hellhound’ll gobble her up.”
Alice sniffles. “I told all my secrets to a secret agent. That wasn’t very covert ops of me.”
“The booze is hitting her,” Fallon observes.
“Thank you, Madame Obvious,” I reply.
“That’s Mademoiselle Obvious, to you,” Fallon corrects. But there’s not much humor in her words. Not much snap. She’s asworried as I am. “Get on home. I’m gonna use the payphone and call Cade. He can come help out.”
A month ago, I doubt he would’ve, but now, for Alice? I bet he will. “Okay,” I agree, and we part ways into the night.
I get enough out of Alice on the way back to my house to figure out what happened. She and Fallon had a big heart-to-heart, and then that Sector bitch showed up and revealed herself to be Cookie.
Alice won’t hear that it’s possible that’s a lie—that Sector lies like they buy bad suits for field agents. She’s sure she’s given up all her secrets to someone none of us can trust, and she’s beating herself up for it—somewhat incomprehensibly, which tells me she’s had tequila. She pushes her boots and pants off as we walk into the house, which confirms the tequila diagnosis.
Fern whimpers when she sees Alice stumble, but I manage to get her onto the couch and covered up with a quilt before she has any adverse effects from her night out. With my dog’s supervision, I surmise she’s had just enough to need a nap, but not enough to want to vomit. After a glass of water, Alice promptly passes out, Fern guarding her like it’s a full-time job. I slump into a chair, my mind failing to process the way the night ended.
Since I can’t manage that, I build a fire and stick one of Janey’s frozen pizzas into the oven. I’ve spent a lot of nights with drunk folks. Alice is gonna wake up half-sober and starving. I pour myself a glass of cheap whiskey, doubling my usual, and shoot it down fast, something an awful lot like fear chasing me. It burns going down, but I pour another and send it to my belly just as fast.
“You trying to catch up?” Alice asks from the kitchen doorway. She only looks half-drunk now. I take another double shot of whiskey, half for courage, half to get on her level. She smells the air. “I’d kill for some pizza.”
“No need for murder,” I murmur. I want to reach out for her, but her eyes have that same guarded look as when she first got here. “What happened at the bar?”
She shakes her head as I down another double. “Not a lot more than what I already told you. Some woman who lookedwaytoo fucking much like my Nan told me she’s Cookie…and she implied that we’d talk again.”
I let a long breath out, relieved. The woman was Sector, or one of the agencies that runs Sector; they’re like a fucking wasp’s nest. “Okay,” I reason. “Well, that’s good then. We can find out what she wants.”
Alice huffs angrily. “Don’t try to convince me this is agoodthing, dammit.”
I’m not sure exactly why she’s so mad. But maybe it’s not “Cookie” that’s got her in a tizz. “Why’s this eating at you so much?”
Alice throws her hands up in the air, shaking her head. Like I’m the slowest creature on the planet. It stings a little. “Because I’ve been talking to a Sector agent for…I don’t even fucking know how long. Because I thought Cookie was myfriend.”
And Alice hasn’t had many friends. I’ve got a better handle on this now. I nod. “Okay. Well, good news there.”
