Page 70 of Faith
“I know who you are,” Nina said. “Gwendolyn hates you.”
Marcus smiled, a delighted glint in his eyes. “I think that makes me very happy.”
Nina chuckled. “It should. She said you’ve ruined too many of her plans.” Nina looked at Frannie and Marcus. “Probably for far longer than she ever told me about.”
Frannie nodded. “I met Marcus when Gwennie and I were still close. She told me to stay away from him, but I didn’t listen.”
“She probably would have gotten you involved in her business.”
Frannie nodded. “Probably.” She stopped and reached into her bag.
For a second, Nina panicked. Was it all over? Was Frannie going to kill her right there? With her cop husband and all the protectors around them? With the FBI standing there?
When Frannie pulled out a black scrap of fabric, Nina tried to calm her racing heart. “I know this is a weird thing, but I wanted to give this to you. It’s a mask. It’s something we all have. The first time I faced Damon, I wore mine. It made me feel strong. Like I could do anything.” She handed over the simple black mask with an elastic loop to hold it in place. “I know it would be strange to wear it now, but I hope you’ll accept it. We all feel as though you’re one of us, and we are all with you today and always.”
“All?” Nina asked, studying the mask and feeling oddly touched by the gesture.
“The Curvy Vigilantes. We’ve all fought against Gwendolyn and her organization. Tried to stop them. From Frannie at the beginning of all of this years ago to you today. All of us want thesame thing, and we’ve all worked to move closer to ending this,” Lorelei answered for Frannie.
“You’re one?” Nina asked Lorelei.
Lorelei pulled out a black mask that looked just like Nina’s and slid it on. “Proudly.”
Nina put the mask on, feeling silly but not caring at the moment. She looked up and saw Frannie wearing one, too.
Frannie reached for Nina’s and Lorelei’s hands, grasping both tightly. Lorelei offered her other hand to Nina, giving Nina the option to grab hold or not.
Nina slid her hand into Lorelei’s and drew a breath. Curvy Vigilantes. She wasn’t alone. She didn’t need to know the others to feel their power. They were connected. The beginning and the end.
And it would end. Gwendolyn would stop her reign. Nina would make sure of it.
“Thank you,” Nina said.
“Thank you,” Frannie replied.
“Time to go,” Lorelei informed them.
Nina satacross from Frannie at the coffee shop and tried to feel normal. She’d never once in her entire life sat at a coffee shop. Ever. When she was a teenager, they didn’t really have the money for her to go out with friends and do things like get coffee. And when she was with Gwendolyn, she couldn’t be seen in public.
“Just relax,” Frannie whispered. “We’re okay.”
Nina tried to smile, not feeling less anxious just because she was being told to relax. They were at a table with four chairs toward the back of the coffeeshop. Nina wanted to sit in a booth,but Frannie said no. If someone sat next to one of them, they would be pinned and unable to get away if necessary.
Yeah,relaxwas not happening.
“Tell me about your brother. You two seem close,” Frannie said.
Nina knew it was a way to distract her. Get her talking and stay on a safe subject. Monty and Zeke and God knew how many more people were listening, but Nina could sing Monty’s praises for days. “He’s amazing. I mean, he’s a pain, but he’s amazing. He was always someone I could count on, even when we were little.”
“With your dad?”
Nina nodded. “Mon… my brother always protected me. From everything. Never wanted anything bad to happen to me.”
Frannie smiled at Nina’s slip. No names. It was harder than Nina expected.
“It’s nice to have someone like that in your life.”
“Did you?”
