Page 90 of Violent Little Thing

Probably the sunflower seeds he’d been eating before he’d come inside the church.

When I’d pointed out to him that they weren’t very healthy, he’d told me they were a nervous habit from his time in prison, and it was like smoking to him.

He had to have them when he got stressed.

Not that I blamed him.

This entire shit show was stressful beyond belief.

“What’s next?” I asked. “We don’t have to do the grieving family bit where they bring a bunch of food over and we’re expected to look sad, do we?”

Olive snorted. “Dear, my house is too small for all that, and Benedict just left. There won’t be any gatherings.”

I winced. “I’m sorry, that was really inconsiderate.”

She waved my apology away. “I lost my child a long time ago. This woman that she turned into wasn’t her. I don’t know what happened along the way, but the person who killed Sonja hadn’t been my child for a long time. I grieved both of my children at Sonja’s funeral.”

“Still, that doesn’t mean I have to be mean.”

She patted my hand. “We can all go out to the diner in Bear Pass that Sonja loved.”

I hugged her. “That sounds like a plan.”

Twenty-Six

Woke up with a bad attitude again.

—Text from Charleigh to Court

Court

Dottie deserved her weight in gold for all the shit that she’d had to field this week.

Our problematic reporter who called herself “Jamie Brand” had gone nuts with Chris’s speech.

She’d done a deep dive into Seraphina’s life and had all but painted her as the victim.

Black had been facing a ton of backlash, too.

The FBI had even come in to investigate.

Luckily, Black had cameras on the cells, and Chris’s drunken ramblings had been shared far and wide.

But the damage had been done.

Black’s reputation had taken a hit.

And Jamie Brand, the bitch of a reporter, hadn’t recanted her statement. Nor had she offered any apologies.

At this point, I decided that she was just trying to cause chaos.

The more, the better.

“What’s the plan?” I asked Dottie.

“We’ve addressed everything. At this point, I think it’s best to take a step back and allow the Condors and the Cowgirls do the talking. Let them win their games—and I’m saying win because we’ve been doing so much losing. Let the lack of concern speak for itself.”

I nodded. “Okay.”