Even Zoe looked amused, although when she shifted her attention back to Angelina, the merriment fled relatively quickly. “What did he say?” Her voice was quiet, although no one who had ever met her could mistake her stance as soft.
Angelina swallowed hard. “I ... he just said that he had a caterer who was supposed to be putting the party together and the man flaked at the last minute. I asked who it was and he wouldn’t tell me. I didn’t want to know to cause trouble or anything,” she added hurriedly. “I just wanted to know for my own edification.”
“Uh-huh.” Zoe folded her arms across her chest, considering. “The party is for two nights from now. He probably wanted to make it for tomorrow but knew that wouldn’t fly. Tell me exactly what he said regarding the invitation for this house.”
“I ... don’t know.” Angelina’s face was a mask of fury. “You’re acting like someone’s declared war on you or something. It’s just a party. You don’t have to go. Although ... .” She trailed off, uncertain.
“Although what?” Cillian prodded. He was much calmer than the rest of them. Of course, that could simply have had something to do with his past relationship with Angelina. He probably knew how to handle her best.
“He did say one thing that was strange,” Angelina admitted. “He said that the reason he had to fire the caterer was because he fell down on the job when it came to inviting people. Apparently there was a list that got ignored.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Zoe shifted from one foot to the other. “How many other people were on this list?”
“That’s the weird thing.” Angelina gnawed on her bottom lip and then shook her head. “He only gave me your name for an invitation, Mr. Grimlock. He said he would handle the rest himself.”
“Which means that there was no list.” Zoe straightened. “Son of a ... .” She swore viciously under her breath and started to pace.
“That’s not really a surprise,” I pointed out. “When we heard who the invitation was from, that’s what we expected.”
“I thought he might at least try to cover his tracks,” Zoe countered. “The fact that he’s not means he’s probably ticked off. He knows we were in his basement.”
“You mean he knows that we kind of destroyed his basement,” I corrected. “The revenants in that room saw us. There was no hiding what we did.”
“I know.” Zoe moved away from Angelina, and to my surprise, plucked Lily from Cormack’s lap. She automatically patted the baby’s back as she walked back and forth across the parlor. “He wants us to know that he knows we were in there.”
“What’s the point?” Cormack queried. “What benefit is there to that?”
“It’s essentially his way of starting the battle,” Zoe replied. “His next step will be an attempt to divide and conquer.”
Aisling straightened. “Then you guys have to move in here until we figure this out. You can’t risk going back to the hotel.”
Zoe hesitated and then nodded. “Actually, we’re going to have to go back to the hotel to grab our stuff. We should probably leave Sami here while we do it, though. Just in case.” She turned her thoughtful eyes on Cormack. “If that’s okay with you, I mean.”
Cormack nodded without hesitation. “I absolutely think you guys should settle in here. It makes sense. We can better plan if we’ve all got our heads together.”
“Does that mean me, too?” Angelina asked, clearly confused.
“Nobody wants you here,” Aisling reassured her. “You’re free to go.”
“Yeah, but ... you guys are acting as if you’re going to war,” Angelina pressed. “If that’s a possibility, I don’t want to risk being left out in the open, vulnerable to attack. I think I should stay the night, too.”
“That’s a fate worse than death,” Aisling countered. “I would rather be eaten by revenants.”
“On top of that, it’s best if you’re not involved, Angelina,” I countered, opting to be practical. “We can’t keep you safe on top of everything else. You need to stay out of this.”
She turned huffy. “And what if I don’t want to stay out of this?”
“Then you’re on your own.”
She held my gaze for an extended beat and then hopped to her feet. “It’s just as well. I don’t want to hang with you people anyway. You’re crazy.”
“Right back at you,” Zoe called to her back before focusing on Aric. “We should get our stuff before it’s too late.”
“I’ll go with you,” Redmond volunteered. “An extra set of eyes can’t possibly hurt.”
“Are you sure?” Aric queried. “I mean ... you don’t have to. We’ve been taking care of ourselves for a really long time.”
“I’m sure,” Redmond reassured him. “Besides, I have a few questions to ask about your magically cheating kid. If we’re all going to be under one roof tonight, I have a new game planned.”
Aisling perked up. “Shark Attack?”
Redmond nodded. “There’s no way she can cheat at that ... at least I don’t think.”
Zoe shrugged. “I don’t know what Shark Attack is — although I’m all for it if I can be the shark from Jaws — but Sami can cheat at almost anything. She’s gifted that way.”
“I think I’ve got her beat this time,” Redmond argued. “I’ve completely thought this through.”
“While you guys are getting the stuff from the hotel, I’ll have two rooms prepared,” Cormack said as he reached for Lily. “It will be good to have everyone here, together.”
“Can I have a room close to Redmond?” Sami queried.
“No,” Aric answered automatically.
Cormack smirked. “I thought maybe I would put you in Aisling’s wing of the house. You have the same energy as her. I think you’ll get along swimmingly.”
Sami didn’t look convinced. “We can figure that out later. For now, I want to hear about this shark game. I’m betting I can win that one, too.”
Redmond glowered at her. “You’re not going to survive long in this house if other people can’t win a few games, kid.”
“Somehow
