it, not her. But all they could talk about was Skye this, Skye that, America’s Sweetheart this, America’s Sweetheart that. Not a single headline had my name on it. I needed to show them I was the hero. I wanted them to talk about me, not some woman who is just in the movie to look pretty. Now let me up!”
“Not yet,” Trent said, keeping one eye on Bertha, who was getting dangerously close. “How did you pay them? Who did you pay? Prove to me you did this and I’ll let you up.”
“My assistant tipped off the media about Skye being missing because I wanted to find her. I sent the kidnapping note to Lenny and Jim because I tried to have her kidnapped from her house, but didn’t know it was a bust until after I’d mailed the ransom. I wanted to be the one who found Skye and rescued her, but freaking Jim and Lenny hijacked my search. It was my Star Power bodyguard that broke into Skye’s house. I sent him to Kentucky to try to find Skye from that PR lady, but I haven’t heard from him since. My assistant hired everyone for tonight after I found out Skye was shacked up with you. They were all paid with digital currency because my assistant claimed it would help the stuntmen tax-wise and union-wise by hiding the money. The digital account they were paid under is a made-up name, but you can trace it back to my production company, HRO Productions. I wanted to deduct the expenses from my taxes. Now let me up!”
“That’s good. Now, run!” Granger ordered as he yanked the baby gator from Mason’s nose and placed him in the water right as Bertha surged forward.
Trent clasped Skye’s hand tightly and took off. Ryker and Wade yanked Mason up by the armpits and ran with him locked between them. Bertha hissed and rumbled as she charged them from the water. Trent shoved Skye forward and up onto the metal table. Ryker, Wade, Mason, Granger, Kord, Karri, and Peter leapt up too. They weren’t going to make it back to the house with Big Bertha hot on their tail.
The group crammed together as Bertha stopped underneath the table and tried to bite at them through the decorative iron swirls. Trent slammed his boot down on the table, the vibration surprising Bertha for a moment before she hissed again.
Edie came out of the house with a large picnic basket in hand.
“Edie, no!” Ryker snapped. Edie rolled her eyes at him as she gave Bertha a wide berth and stepped onto the dock. She walked down it until she was near the riverbank. She pulled out a cookie and sent it flying to the grass near the lapping water. Then she tossed out a cookie every four feet or so until she ran out of them.
“Use the chess pie next,” Miss Winnie yelled out.
Edie reached into the basket as pulled out a pie dish. She dug in and then sent a hunk of pie flying to the ground until she got closer to Bertha.
“Now the apple pie!” Miss Ruby yelled.
Bertha didn’t like the noise and rammed her snarling snout into the bottom of the table, causing Skye to jump and Mason to scream. Trent wrapped his arms around Skye and lifted her up and off the table. If Bertha was going to bite, she was going to bite him, not Skye.
“Here, gator, gator, gator,” Edie sang out sweetly and sent a chunk of apple pie flying right at Bertha. It smacked against her tail and Bertha swung around to attack.
“Good gator.” Edie tossed another piece, this time a little to the side of the table.
Bertha stepped cautiously from under the table and snapped up the pie. Edie threw another piece a couple of feet from Bertha, but in order for her to get it, she had to turn away from the table and head toward the water. Slowly Edie tossed apple pie pieces until the apple pie met the chess pie and Bertha snorted and snapped up the pieces like a pig with truffles.
“Told you everyone loved my apple pie,” Miss Ruby said as the knitting club stepped outside. “You can get off the table now.”
Trent helped Skye down and noticed that she grimaced when he reached for her hand. The hand she’d punched Mason with was swollen and already starting to look red and bruised.
“You’re hurt,” Trent said into the stunned, gator-induced silence. That one