“Staring.”
Renner shrugged. “Who said I was nice?”
Her gaze snapped to him, and at the same time, he had the strangest sense of déjà vu. He’d had this conversation before. Many times actually, throughout his younger years.
“That isn’t very nice, you know?” She threw her shoulders back.
“What?”
“Calling names. I’m not a fatty.” She raised her chin.
“Who said I was nice?”
“You are. Deep down. I can tell.”
“You don’t know what I am deep down. You don’t know anything. I could be an animal. Or something worse. I could be a monster. Then what? Would you run away crying like you do about everything else?”
Sad watery eyes stared back at him, bottom lip trembling precariously. He hated being so mean but it was for her own good. She was tender and sweet and needed to be tougher. And she needed to hate him. Because even at twelve years old, he thought he could love her. In the way the cats loved. The forever way. The way you couldn’t ever escape. He’d trap her for life.
But he wouldn’t let that happen to her. Not her.
His phone buzzing broke through the memory.
What the hell did you do to that thing, Ren? I can’t get it open.
Shit.
Just unlock it from the computer.
I tried that.
Shit.
Try again.
“What is it?” Bethany asked.
“Nothing. Magic’s trying to get us out of here.”
“Great.” She stalked past him, disappearing through the narrow hallway to the back of the spa.
Renner sighed. He’d give her a few minutes before following. He examined the mess of wires that used to be a functioning electronic lock. He’d messed it up on purpose of course, but he hadn’t done enough damage that the override wouldn’t work. These things were made with a fail-safe. He tried manually resetting the lock but nothing moved. If Magic couldn’t disarm it from the computer, a quick call to the lock company should do the trick.
Renner tapped out a new text. Just call Tri-safe and have them reset things.
It was only a few seconds but it seemed like forever before Magic answered. Already tried that. Their system is down.
Bullshit. I need you to get us out of here now.
If this was Magic trying to get back at him for pulling this stunt…
My hands are tied, dipshit. That storm up north brought ice through Kansas City and Tri-safe’s power’s down. Fucked their system all up. They’re only responding to emergencies until they’re up and running again. You and your lady are stuck for a while.
Shiiiiit. This was serious. That was the longest text he’d ever gotten from Magic. He wouldn’t have wasted his time if he was yanking Renner around.
How long?
No clue.
Let me know.
Fuck you.
Yep. Magic was pissed. Great.
Renner dialed up Layna again.
She answered, but her voice was hushed, as if she was trying not to let on that she was talking to him. “You’ve really done it this time, Ren. Magic’s an inch away from changing.”
Fuck. There was nothing Magic hated more than letting his animal take control. It had to be done every once in a while, but Magic always waited until it was too much. Until his cat was too touchy, and the littlest thing set it off.
And this obviously wasn’t just a little thing. The spa was the highlight of the lodge. If visitors couldn’t make use of it because of this little ordeal, Magic would be doling out a shit ton of refunds. Refunds that would come out of Renner’s paycheck, no doubt.
“Is the system working for the rest of the lodge?”
“Yes, but it won’t let us override anything. As long as no one decides to pull their lock apart and mess with the wires—ahem—everything should be fine. You and Bethany, however, are screwed.”
Renner sighed. “Damn.”
“Yeah, damn. And fuck. And shit. And you’re going to hear about this for a very long time. I hope your time in there is worth it.”
He glanced toward the back of the spa. Bethany was practically hiding from him. He doubted their time would be anywhere near worth this trouble.
“Listen, can you bring us food? Things aren’t… going so well. Maybe it could help take her mind off of things. And who knows how long we’ll be here.”
“Food? Are you kidding? How am I supposed to get food to you? Abra-fucking-cadabra or something, Ren?”
Geez.
“There’s the air purification vent above the door. You could push a dish through there. I’ll unhook it so it’s ready if you’ll just bring the food.”
The phone was silent.
“It’s for Bethany,” he murmured.
More silence.
“Fine,” Layna snapped. “For Bethany.”