“What the fuck?” the man says. “She is never that nice.”
“Were you really gonna kill that duck?” I growl, making the man look at me.
“Yes. She's old and mean and no use to me anymore; can’t have a duck at a petting zoo that bites people. Especially grown men.”
Huh, looks like the duck and I have something in common. I enjoy taking chunks out of walking dickheads, too.
“Yeah, that's not gonna happen, but I'll tell you what. We will be taking her with us. And if you ever think about killing an animal because it no longer wants to be picked at by grabby, little crotch goblins, I'll find you and kill you instead. Got it?” I smile sweetly. The guy just laughs at me. I didn’t want to do this in front of Rosie, like ever, but fuck if I'm gonna let this dick weasel go unpunished. Looks like my blade is getting a good workout today.
My smile drops and I stalk forward. When I get face to face with this smirking fucker, I take out my switchblade. Only I don’t lightly cut him; I fucking stab him in the thigh. He lets out a pained yelp that I quickly smother with my hand. “Shhhhh. Don’t want the little one to hear. So let me repeat myself, even though I really don't like to. We are taking the duck. Got it? And if you kill any of your animals, I kill you, got it?” I ask, my smile slipping back into place.
He nods rapidly. “Yes, yes, you can have her.” His voice comes out all squeaky.
“That's better,” I grin, then grab the rag from his back pocket and shove it in his mouth before yanking the knife out of his thigh. He lets out a muffled cry before clutching his leg.
“Drama queen much? Like the blade isn't even that big,” I roll my eyes. Bending over, I wipe the blood on the blade off on his shirt and put it away. I turn to leave, but remember something. I bend over and take the rag out of his mouth. “So, what's the duck's name anyways?”
“Daisy,” he grits out in pain.
“As in Daisy Duck?” I laugh, my brows flying up. “Fuck, that’s amazing. Totally taking her now.” I shove the rag back into his mouth and go over to Rosie, leaving the big baby whimpering on the ground.
Rosie already has her loaded into our wagon, feeding her leftover popcorn we were saving for later, giggling as she watches the silly way Daisy eats.
“Looks like we're adding to the funny farm, huh?” I laugh, grabbing the handle of the wagon, and we take off towards home.
“Uncle Neo is gonna be so happy,” she says, giggling again at the duck.
“And your dad and other uncles are gonna lose their shit,” I giggle to myself. Man, I really hope I get to see their faces when they see Daisy. We have a pet duck now. They are just gonna have to learn to deal with it because Rosie has already bonded with her. I mean, it's kind of like having a dog anyways, but cooler.
JUST AS I PUT THE WAGONaway in the garage, my phone rings. It’s Evie. “What's up?”
“Low, you gotta come down here. A few of the girls got into a fight. Something about one of them ruining the other's favorite pair of heels. I don't really know, but I do know that Alex has a black eye and Nikki has a broken nose, and the whole thing is going to shit,” she says, freaking out. Fuck.
I look at Rosie and the duck.Well, looks like we're going on another adventure."I'll be there in an hour." The guys live in Long Beach, about an hour away from Kingston Heights.
“Alright, Kiddo, you still wanna see what my club looks like?” I ask.
“Yes!” she grins, and I pile them both into my car. Once I decided that I was gonna be Rosie’s new mom, I went out and bought a cherry red Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Not the fanciest, but gotta get something good for kids.
When we get to the club, Rosie trails behind me, talking to Daisy. Grinning, we head inside the club.
The stage is half set up, and Lucas and the guys are standing there, talking to a bruised-up Alex.
“Where’s Nikki?” I ask Evie, who's stressing over her laptop in her office. She looks up at me and sighs in relief.
“Cindy took her to the ER,” Evie says, then her face drops as she looks back at her laptop.
“Another girl went missing. From the same club the first girl went missing,” she says, then slams her laptop shut in frustration. “I’m lost, Low. And I don't know what to do. I have no idea if Tracy is with these other women or just running off into the sunset with whoever she went to meet.”
I pull Evie into my arms, rubbing her back to calm her down. “We’ll find them. All of them. I won't stop until we do,” I promise.
“Neither will I. I just need one lead, that's it, and I know we can find them,” she says.
“If anyone can find it, it's you. I’ll go to the club the girls were last seen at and see if I can find anything. If this is another ring being set up, I’ll have better luck finding information than the police.”
“I don't want to lose you,” she whispers into my chest.
“Babe, this is me we are talking about. God help anyone who tries to cage me again. Remember, I'm a phoenix. I rose from the ashes before, and I will not be put down again. And if anyone tries, I'll come out on top, standing over the bodies of our enemies.”