“No.” Belle shook her head. “It’s a bodily function. Everyone does it. You poop. Pee. Throw up. Produce vaginal secretions. Ejaculate. It all happens. It’s natural.”
Daniella turned to me.
“There was one time that Belle started her period while we were in the middle of the mall shopping for Christmas presents. We all tried to shield her, but she couldn’t care less. Not only did she continue shopping, but she didn’t even get embarrassed when a bunch of teenage boys tried to make her feel bad,” Daniella said. “We weren’t making fun of her. Promise. We were just making a point to say that she was very different than us. Almost freer in how she decides to live life. It’s refreshing. I wish that I could go through my daily life not giving a flying fuck what anyone else thinks.”
I shook my head and laughed as I made my way out the door.
“What are you laughing at?” Nico grumbled as he watched me walk out from his position next to the grill.
“Their line of questioning,” I said. “I feel like eventually as time goes by, I won’t be as surprised by the shit that comes out of their mouths.”
He watched me walk up to him, not moving his glare away from my face until I said, “The steaks need flipped.”
He flipped the steaks, set the spatula down on the grill top, and then turned to look at me.
“The answer is yes,” he said. “I’ve seen her over the past few months practically waste away before my eyes, and if you’re what she wants, then I’m not going to step in your way.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.”
“What else is on your mind?”
I pressed my hand against my forehead. “I need an alibi.”
Nico tilted his head. “Why?”
But before I could answer, Booth poked his head out. “Hey, have you seen Belle?”
When I looked up, it was to find my fiancée gone, and nobody knew where she went.
CHAPTER 27
Owls can sit criss-cross-apple sauce.
-Belle to Bruno
BELLE
“It’s done.”
I hadn’t struck the killing blow.
None of us had.
We’d all been very careful not to be seen by any cameras.
Wyett had showed off her B and E skills she learned from her husband and gotten us in.
Crockett had taken out one security guard, while Beckham had taken out another.
Swayze secured them in a closet and locked the door from the outside using a chair.
Blaise tracked the douchebag down while I found a maid.
A maid who, might I add, had been planted by Six to make sure to keep an eye on anything that happened in the house.
Crockett had given the maid the packet that we’d scrounged up, and together we had watched as the maid took the governor’s ‘afternoon tea’ to his study.
I looked at the ladies that had helped me commit a murder. “Let’s go.”