being a stint in prison for attempted manslaughter, how much trouble am I in?”
“Three,” Gomph replied, but going by the man’s smile, Lila didn’t have too much to worry about.
Chapter 56
“Oz, your poor hands!”
“You know they’ll heal.”
“Well, yeah,” Lila replied, exasperated. “Most people do. That doesn’t mean you have to suffer unnecessarily. Why should you have to heal and fight off an infection? Plus, Macropi will kill every one of us if she finds out you got hurt.”
“She will,” Annette agreed. “My hands are fine. If you were wondering.”
It was hours later, and they were back in Lila’s kitchen. Everyone had explained themselves to Gomph. Villains were hauled away shaking their fists (the ones who could, at least), which was as hilarious as it was stupid. Lila had told Oz and Garsea about Harry Harriss, who had disappeared. Since no one was in the least concerned, she figured that meant custody. Or the Shifter equivalent. Were there Shifter prisons? There had to be.
So many questions. The best part? I’ll get the chance to ask every single one. The better part? They’ll answer me!
“Garsea, your eyes were so red during the fight,” Lila said. “Like two burning coals framed with L’Oréal mascara. Don’t other Stables freak out when that happens?”
“I lie and say they’re special contacts. Like mood rings for your eyeballs.”
Lila snorted. She didn’t even have to ask Annette if it worked. People were dumb. And speaking of dumb…
“Poor Harriss,” she said as she ran cold water over Oz’s bloody knuckles. “The elder, I mean.”
“Is everything going to be awkward for him now?” Annette asked. “Since the whole neighborhood knows what his son was up to?”
“Probably.”
“Only if we make it awkward,” Macropi said, coming in from the back yard. “Roy sends his profound apologies on behalf of his idiotically destructive son, Lila, and will be over in person to reassure you that Harry Harriss won’t be bothering you any longer.”
“He doesn’t have to come over. Though, if he did, I would love it. Because I love it when people come over now.”
Oz frowned while she blotted his knuckles dry with sterile gauze. “I can’t tell if you were concussed when you crashed into the dance academy or if it’s just your default sarcasm.”
“Let’s just say that while I don’t actually love it when people come by, I hate it less. That’s it. That’s all the concession you’re getting from me.”
“And if you decide you still want to buy the Curs(ed) House,” Macropi added, “I think you’ll find Roy is willing to let it go for a song.”
“Really? That’s wonderful! Uh. Not that I care. I’m neutral. Whatever.”
“Welcome to the neighborhood, you noble idiot.” Garsea turned to Oz. “I know you gave Gomph a verbal report, but—”
“I know. Paperwork. We have so much of it. Still.”
“By the ream. Though it’s fairly straightforward. Ever since the Sindicate tried to kill us the first time—”
“That’s an awesome and scary sentence, Garsea.”
She smiled. “Who knew social work was so dangerous? Besides everyone in social work? But as I was saying, ever since, when we’re in the middle of a case and needs must split up, Nadia and I check in. If a certain amount of time passes with no check-in, Nadia rings the rescue bell.”
Rescue bell? Was that a literal bell? “Let me guess—the bad guys took your phones?”
“Yes. And the world’s cleanest storage space had been tricked out to block Wi-Fi signals. So it wasn’t half an hour before Nadia knew something had gone wrong. All we had to do was wait, knowing she was arranging a coup to stomp the coup.”
“Where is that girl? I haven’t seen her in too many weeks.”
“She’s coming over tomorrow, Mama. She knows you have to use up all the spring strawberries you got this morning. She’s hoping for tarts.”
“Good,” Macropi replied, as she inspected the knuckles Lila hadn’t bound yet. “Good Lord, boy, if it hurts that much when you’re punching, you might consider stopping.”
“There’s no way you’re lecturing me when Lila shot people. Ow!”
“I can do both.” To Lila: “Annette tells me you’re an EMT.”
“Annette’s wrong. I’m a paramedic. A bad one. Oz was walking around with bloody knuckles for how long before I noticed?”
“But it’s…not an ambulance. The thing you drive.”
“The thing that was hauled away, probably as Exhibit B in the court case that might never come up because you guys have centuries of practice staying off Stable law enforcement radar? Yeah. Which reminds me, can I borrow someone’s car for the next