Page 27 of The White Rider
“I’ll bet it was those terrorists that took our women!”
“They are right there. Think they’ll get it over the finish line?” Asher said.
“I highly doubt it.”
We weren’t terrorists, but we did have their Marthas. These people had problems with the truth. They’d probably make up something.
“Fake news, Bubba! You’re such an idiot. There’s no way they could get here this fast. Not without us seeing them.”
“Ha! Leif owes me the next beer he finds. Itoldhim someone was going to claim fake news at least once,” Asher said.”
I started giggling so hard I snorted. These guys were stupid, but they were also dangerous.
“Think they’ll get an audience with Isaiah?”
“It depends on his mood. If they can get a message about the carnage outside the church, he’ll see them. Getting that message is going to be hard. He’s prone to some intense mood swings.”
“Um, hello? I lived with him for sixteen years. You don’t have to tell me that.”
“Sorry. You’re cool, and sometimes, I forget you spent so much time around him.”
Well, didn’t that just warm my black heart? Asher said I was cool. Why did I even give a shit about impressing him? Yeah, I guess today had shown me he was pretty damned cool too. I was having fun ripping the Bubbas with him.
“You’re pretty damned cool too, y’know,” I said, bumping him with my shoulder.
“Watch it. People are going to think we’re going to have an orgy in the Oval Office.”
I shrieked and punched him in the arm. The next thing I knew, someone was hauling me off my seat. I fought and kicked. Who’d sneaked in here with us? I couldn’t see who was behind me, but I could see Asher.
“Dice, chill. That was a good shriek. She was laughing!We’re getting along now.”
“You mean, Speedy wasn’t about to beat your ass?” Dice said, setting me down.
I turned and swatted at his chest.
“No! Asher made a funny joke. He does that sometimes.”
Dice grinned and held his hand out.
“Welcome back, brother.”
But Asher was scowling.
“Why are you here?”
“Horseman of War, remember? I’ve checked on the prisoners. They are fine, though The Witch still can’t keep her mouth shut. If I had to listen to her talk shit any longer, I was going to chop her head off and walk into the Bubba camp with it, so I could find her husband and throw it at him. I need to be here to listen to what the Bubbas are planning.”
“Well… they found Aeron’s bloody tableau. They are trying to get an audience with Isaiah,” Asher said.
“What’s his mood like today?”
Asher seemed to be in a rotten mood now that Dice had showed up. He sat back down and pressed the button to listen to Isaiah. He glared at Dice when he sat next to him and pulled me onto his lap. Dice started massaging my shoulders, and I couldn’t help but groan. The mattress on the floor I’d been sleeping on was pretty lumpy and uncomfortable.
“What now?” Isaiah shrieked.
“Some of the Bubbas want to see you.”
“Who is that?” I asked.
