I laughed and relaxed. I loved this kid. “Have I told you you’re the Shit, Dani?”
She rolled off me and bounded to her feet. “Nope. Never. I woulda remembered it. But you can say it again, if you want. And you can tell everybody else, too. I wouldn’t mind a bit.” Cat eyes gleamed in her gamine face.
“You’re the Shit, Dani.” I got up and slung my gun back over my shoulder. We stood and smiled for a moment, absorbed in being happy to see each other.
Then we spoke at the same time:
“You okay, Mac?”
“What happened to you, Dani?”
“You first.” She looked me up and down admiringly. “Dude, you look awesome. Love the coat. What you been doing? Weight training or something?”
I blushed. Then I rolled my eyes at myself. Toting automatic weapons and still blushing? I needed to get over that fast.
“Dude!” she said reverently. “With Barrons? You been having sex this whole time? S’that how he got you back from Nympho-land? I was so worried when you didn’t come back. Guess I shouldn’t a been. I couldn’t find you anywhere. Where’d he take you? I been hunting all over Dublin for you every chance I could duck under Ro’s radar. Which wasn’t often,” she said sourly, then immediately brightened. “You gotta tell me everything! Everything!”
I wrinkled my nose. “Where did this ‘dude’ thing come from?”
She preened. “Don’t I sound more like you? I been watching a lot of American movies. I been practicing.”
“I liked you better when every other word was a cussword. And I’m not telling you anything. Not today, not ever. All you need to know is, I’m okay now. I’m back.”
“You had sex with Barrons and you aren’t going to tell me one thing about it?” She looked incredulous. “Nothing? Not even one tiny little detail?”
Oh, God. She was so thirteen. What was I going to do with her? “Nothing. Ever.”
“You suck.”
I laughed. “Love you, too, Dani.”
She grinned. “I saved you.”
“Big-time. And I owe you big-time.”
“You can pay me back by telling me about sex.”
“If you’ve been watching so many movies, honey, you know more than enough.”
“Not about … you know … him.”
I gave her a sharp look. She sounded breathless. Gone was all mischief; she looked positively doe-eyed. Dani—tough, punk Dani—looked like she’d gone soft at the knees. I was flabbergasted. “You’ve got a crush on Barrons now? I thought it was V’lane you were so crazy about.”
“Him, too. But when Barrons came and pulled you out of here, dude, you shoulda seen the way he looked at you!”
“I’m not a dude. Lose it.” I was not going to ask. “So, how did he look at me?”
“Like it was his birthday and you were the cake.”
At least he hadn’t smashed this one into the ceiling. It seemed Barrons had finally gotten his cake and eaten it, too.
I winced. I refused to entertain that metaphor further. Barrons-thoughts were far too complicated for me to deal with. Especially any that involved eating the cake. Later I might get around to asking Dani about my earliest, confused days at the abbey. Now I had other priorities. “My turn. What happened to you?” Everywhere that skin was visible on the fiery-haired teen, she had bruises. Her forearms were especially bad. Two fingers were splinted. One eye was black and blue and swollen nearly closed, her lip was busted, and both cheeks sported the yellowish-purple blossoms of healing contusions.
She glanced around edgily.
I tensed instantly. “What? Is somebody coming?”
“You never know ‘round here anymore,” she muttered, and looked around again. Although the hall was empty, she lowered her voice. “Been trying to get into the Forbidden Libraries. Hasn’t been working so well.”
“By doing what? Blasting into the doors at high speed?”
She shrugged. “Sort of. Mostly I been falling down. No big.”
“It’s a big to me. It doesn’t look like superhealing is one of your strengths. Try to be more careful with yourself, okay?”
She gave me a quick, startled look. “Okay, Mac.”
Had everyone at the abbey left her alone for so long that a mere expression of concern for her well-being startled her? “I mean it. Quit banging yourself up unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“I hear and obey, Big Mac.” She flashed me an outrageous grin.