"We had to send a message, D!" Carlos folded his arms.
"What if you guys couldn't get out of there and your energy dipped, huh?"
"Adam came for us on a fly-ass white war steed, toting a megadeath crossbow, crown tipped to the side, 'cause brother was hard ridin' and ready to die with us, aw'ight - my brother had our backs .. . him, Hannibal, Akhen - "
"The white horse ... oh shit!" Damali bent over and covered her mouth. The room went still.
"Baby ..." Carlos said after a minute. "What's up with the white horse?"
"Try Revelations, verses one and two - the first seal is broken, the big war is on, my brother, and y'all were AWOL on a black-ops mission ... no communication, us having mild coronaries ... yeah, did I mention that's why we had the Covenant on the phone -
after Inez's vision?" Marlene folded her arms.
Damali stood up slowly as male jaws went slack, and placed her hands on her hips. "You kicked off the Armageddon, Carlos Rivera ... Oh ... my ... God. And, do you know whose wife you are jacking with? Oh ... my ... God. And do you understand that part of this whole Armageddon thing is linked to the - "
"Oh my God..." Carlos closed his eyes and began to pace, raking his hair.
"Yeah," Damali said flatly. "Me and the girlz," she pressed on sarcastically, making little quote marks around the words "the girlz" with her fingers in the air, "have been discussing this the whole time y'all were gone. But did ya think to ask us about it... ? Oh, noooo ..
.'cause you guys got a fight rush that made your dicks hard and you rolled out of here
insane!"
"That's ain't fair, D," Carlos muttered. "And you know it." Damali swept away from Carlos, walking a hot path back and forth. Marjorie picked up where she left off.
"I want to know everything that bit anyone, especially what bit my son." Marjorie folded her arms over her chest.
"That's right, Jack Rider," Tara said, her gaze deadly as she held her body tight with a hug.
"A vamp snatch, three-sixty sight. Uh-uh. You're nicked and nicked bad."
"But that happened before we even started the brawl, baby . .." Rider opened his arms.
"Oh, for the love of Pete, Would you tell the lady?"
"Yeah, T," Carlos said, trying to deflect the argument "He was on it way before the first clip emptied."
"Oh, I feel so much better knowing that just the vamp energy in there could open up his old wounds," Tara spat, her eyes narrowing.
"Look at this," Inez said, going up to Big Mike and yanking his wrist to stare at his wound. "Harpies, baby? Cut down to the bone by those nasty little critters? Didn't we just get werewolf outta your system? I swear, Michael Roberts, if you turn into one of those gray little things with bat wings, even temporarily, you sleep by yourself, forever" She dropped his wrist. "A sister don't play that."
"Oh, naw, suga, for real, that can't happen," Mike said in a panicked tone, trying to talk to her as she gave him her back. "Can it, Mar? Tell the girl, please, Marlene, that - "
"I don't know what it can do," Marlene said, flatly, giving Mike the eye. "We've never had to purge a Harpie nick on the team, because up until Australia, we didn't see funnel clouds
... but one of our fearless leaders, who will remain nameless, seems to always piss off Level Seven. So - "
"Oh, shit," Mike said, rubbing his palms down his face. "Look, 'Nez, I'll get cleaned out real good, but don't go there on a brother."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Inez fussed, sucking her teeth.
"So, Jose," Juanita said from across the room, her tone icy. "What rolled up on you, when you was out there, brother? Anything I should know about - or maybe I should take a stake with me to bed?"
Jose closed his eyes and groaned.
"That's right, Bobby, you betta get it right in your head, boss man husband who doesn't have to listen to his wife," Jasmine snapped, talking so fast that everyone stared at her.
"I'm not getting no freaky germie that came up out of Lilith's bedroom jumping on me like mites and - "
"Honey - "
"Don't you 'honey' me!" Jasmine shouted, pushing Bobby. "I'm scared to death, could kick your butt myself!"
"Daniel, I cannot believe you, of all people, the team's voice of reason,