Underdogs The First Stories - By Geonn Cannon Page 0,49

truth. She didn't want Bryn to take a deep breath and put all the pieces together before Ari said two words. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and headed out to meet Bryn.

She was halfway down the stairs when her phone rang. She was surprised to see Sadie's number in the display. "Sadie. I thought we said five."

"We did. Look, it's been a really busy morning. Can you meet us at my place now?"

"Is everything okay?"

Sadie actually sounded more excited than worried. "Yeah. Everything's fine. We just need to regroup before we make any decisions."

"Okay. I was on my ay out anyway, so I'll come on over."

"Great. See you soon."

Ari disconnected the call and dialed Dale's number to let her know where she'd be. The call went to voicemail and she smiled. "Hey, Dale. Don't let me interrupt whatever you're doing with your lover. I just needed to let you know I'm going to be at Sadie Dillon's place. I figure Pen and Beck will both be there, too. Just in case anything goes down. Talk to you soon." She slipped the phone into her pocket as she got into her car.

Two cars were parked in front of Sadie's house when she arrived, so she figured she was right about who would be present. She parked across the street and went through the gate. She knocked on the sunroom door as she went in. She didn't know the etiquette when she'd only known the owner for a day but had slept with her and her girlfriend the night before. She saw Beck in the kitchen.

"Hey. What's going on?"

Pen's blow came out of nowhere, knocking Ari to her hands and knees out of shock as much as surprise. She had been standing next to the door, and her arm shot out like a piston as soon as Ari crossed the threshold. She looked up only to get a second punch where her shoulder met her neck. She dropped hard to the tile and Pen stepped over her. She grabbed Ari in a full nelson and hauled her up onto her knees.

Sadie came around the dining room table. Ari's nose felt stuffed up, and something wet was trickling over her lip. Sadie crouched so she could look into Ari's eyes, resting her arms across her knees as she leaned forward. Her nostrils flared. "You smell like her."

"Who? What the hell is going on here?" Ari looked past Sadie. Beck was standing on the other side of the kitchen island, arms crossed and looking betrayed as hell. "Look, whatever you think..."

Sadie hit Ari in the throat. It wasn't a hard blow, but it was enough to choke her. She gagged and lost the ability to speak.

"A couple of days ago, Beck thought someone was following her home from the bar. So she called Pen to come check it out. She went to a supermarket while Pen drove over and got the car's license plate. She got a good look at the driver, too. This morning one of her buddies looked up the car at the DMV and found out who the car was registered to. Turns out it's a lady named Dale Frye who works for a little firm called Bitches Investigations." She chuckled. "I do like the name, by the way."

Ari pulled forward, but Pen tightened her grip and held her where she was.

"So we went over after lunch and picked her up. We just wanted to let her know we don't appreciate her snooping in our business and politely request that she stop."

Ari's heart was pounding against her ribs.

"So we demonstrated we meant business. You know, just a little bit of roughhousing." Ari bared her teeth, on the verge of barking. "And do you know the first thing she asked us?"

Beck answered. "She asked what we had done with Ari."

Sadie cupped Ari's chin, squeezing her cheeks. "I... am not... good... with... betrayal, Ariadne. There are few things that make me lose control. Betrayal is, is at the top of the list. When were you planning to spring the police on us, mm? We got the little report your secretary was typing up for the cops, so don't you worry about that."

"What do you want?" Ari's voice was barely stronger than a croak.

Sadie smiled. She leaned in and kissed Ari's lips. Ari winced and tried to pull away, but Pen was holding her too tightly. Sadie's tongue slipped into Ari's mouth but retreated before she could even think to bite