Page 104 of The Initial Insult

“Whoa, hey.” I put my hand on Hugh’s arm, but it’s like metal.

“I know he’s your cousin, Tress, but this is between us,” he says to me.

So I hit him.

Hitting Hugh Broward with my bare hand is like pitting a mosquito against a car going eighty miles an hour. Nothing happens except I get hurt. I cradle my hand to my chest, and Hugh’s eyes bounce off Ribbit for one second to meet mine, then settle back on his prey. We know each other well enough to be aware he’s not going to let go of my cousin, and I’m not going to stand down and let Ribbit get hurt.

“He didn’t do anything,” I say. “Leave him alone.”

“You don’t know shit,” Hugh says. “I’ve told you before; he’s a squirrelly little bastard.”

“I’m not . . . ,” Ribbit argues, his voice shaky. “I’m a good guy.”

“Dude.” David comes over, puts his hand on Hugh’s shoulder. “I don’t think it was him. He’s been with us the whole time.”

“Of course he has,” Huge says, giving Ribbit a little shake. “Parasite.”

“No, man,” David goes on, his skin still green, wobbly on his feet. “He didn’t do anything to the dog.”

“That’s your area, right?” I snipe at David, thinking of Goldie’s hair floating on the surface of the gator pond, the wet paint on our sign, someone putting a name to us that isn’t Allan or Usher. Just white trash.

David blinks slowly, his gaze dull. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Forget it,” I say, as I watch Hugh’s grip loosen on Ribbit’s shirt. I’m settling that score with someone else, down in the basement. “Let him go, Hugh.”

Hugh gives me a long look, a fire behind his eyes I’ve never seen there before. I’ve known Hugh awhile, but it’s always been the teddy bear side of him I see. I’ve never had to stand my ground against him, because until tonight, Hugh and I have always been on the same page. Now I’m seeing something new, something I’d always heard was there but never witnessed. And if there’s something in Hugh Broward I’ve never seen, maybe there’s something in my cousin, too. But Ribbit is just hanging from his fist like a piece of meat, actually smiling, showing all his teeth and inviting Huge to knock them down his throat.

“Your dude-bro vouched for him,” I say, and Hugh lowers Ribbit until his feet are on the ground. “Happy?”

“No, I’m pretty fucking far from happy. I don’t trust you, douchebag.” He pushes Ribbit in the chest with one finger, and my cousin almost goes off the edge of the porch. “You’re sticking with me for the rest of the night, got it? I’m keeping an eye on you so that you can’t miraculously find the dog.”

Ribbit nods, understanding. Pitifully, he seems almost happy. He gets to make time with Hugh now, even if he is a prisoner.

I need to get back downstairs.

That’s when my phone rings.

Chapter 14

Cat

Something small, made smaller

inside my mouth.

A new best / last.

Gretchen / shadow

Chapter 15

Felicity

I’m shaking.

I don’t know if it’s anger, or if it’s because I’m cold, or because I’m sick. I ranted at Tress’s retreating back as she went up the stairs, and now I’m exhausted. My throat feels like it’s in bloody tatters. My whole body is quivering, nerves on high alert . . . or maybe it’s because I’ve got a fever, and my body is trying to shed heat.

Everything is wrong, and I’ve got small trails of blood running down both arms. The stream from my head seems to have stopped, but there’s a drying red trickle going down into my cleavage. I hear the basement door, and my head jerks up, the ridiculous jester cap swinging to the side, hanging by a hair pin.