picnic table where Simon was sitting and slumped down onto the bench, her back turned to the others.
“A vote, eh?” Simon murmured. “I would have just killed him now.”
“I know you would have.” She took a gulp of her coffee. She didn’t care how hot it was. Oh, thank god for this stuff. “But I won’t stoop to his level.”
“Hard to, when he’s as tall as I am.”
She flicked whipped cream from her waffle over the table and spattered it across his face.
He glared. “Insult to injury. I see.” He wiped it off with his palm and flicked it back at her. “Don’t make me fetch the can and hold you down and drown you in it.”
“I’m pretty sure you can’t beat me in a wrestling match anymore.” She picked up the coffee and tried not to gulp it down. “Not unless I let you win.”
“You know, I thought I might dislike the idea of dating a woman who could break me like a twig and suck the marrow from my bones.” He hummed thoughtfully. “It’s rather arousing. I’m not sure I like this new discovery about myself. I think I rather hate it, actually, but what else is new of late?”
Cora laughed and nudged his foot under the table. He hooked his ankle behind hers.
“Are you really going to come in here, drop a veritable bomb in the middle of the Family, and then eat your breakfast like nothing happened?” Simon smirked.
“Yes. Because I’m tired, cranky, and hungry.”
“I think you’re also a little sadistic and enjoying the power you’ve gained.” Simon nudged her hand with the end of his fork. “Aren’t you?”
She shot him a glare. “I will stab you with this fork.”
“You always get so aggressive when I’m right.” He grinned and cut off another piece of his waffle. “It’s how I know when I’m winning.”
“Shut up, douche-canoe,” she grumbled into her food. But she couldn’t keep from smiling. He was right. Again. And he was right about being right. But she wasn’t going to let him know that.
“What, precisely, is a douche-canoe, might I ask? Or am I happier not knowing?” Simon pondered aloud, spinning a slice of strawberry on the end of his fork. “Now that I think about it, I’m happier not knowing.”
A shadow fell over the table. She looked up to see Rudy standing next to her. His shoulders were raised, and his body language was tense. But he didn’t look mad. He looked nervous. She raised her eyebrow at him. “Hey, Rudy. What’s wrong?”
“You are,” came the simple, terse response.
“Oh. Right. I forgot.” She looked back down at her food. “Wanna sit?”
Silence. The Zookeeper stayed frozen at her side for a long moment before he slowly sat down on the bench next to her. He sat with his legs on the outside of the picnic table setup, however. Just in case he needed to bolt.
He’s afraid of me.
They’re all afraid of me. She looked around the tent, and sure enough, everyone was staring at her. Amanda and Turk were gone. She didn’t care where. Jack wasn’t there either. She was glad for that. She was hurt over his betrayal. She wasn’t sure she was ever going to forgive him.
She wasn’t sure she hated him for it either.
But she was pretty sure she was allowed to be hurt.
Scaring Turk felt good. But scaring everyone else…didn’t.
They were looking at her like they didn’t know her.
I am different. I may not be Cora anymore. Maybe they can see it. She frowned. “Guys…I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not here to pick a fight. I’ve had—I’ve had a really rough couple of weeks. I’m sorry if I scare you all. I don’t mean to. It’s just…I don’t think you know what it’s like in that tower.”
Silence for a long moment, then Aaron was the first to break the ice. He picked up his tray of food, walked over to the picnic table where she was seated, and sat down next to her. “Why’d you kill that man, Cora?”
“He was the man who raped me five years before I came here. The girl he was with was my close friend. He was about to rape her here in the park. I…lost my temper.”
Aaron stared at her; the whites of his eyes were visible as he gawked. “I’d say you had every right to lose your temper, sweetie. Shit, I would’ve had Simon string him up like a pinata and let everyone have a go at him.”
“I offered.”