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“Sloane,” Sariah snapped.

“I didn’t say what happened—”

“You’ve said enough,” she cut him off. Their back-and-forth did nothing to satisfy my curiosity. If anything, it only made me want to know more.

“I have so many questions,” I muttered.

“And you’ll get no answers,” Rhodes told me.

“Ever?” I needed to know if there was even a shred of hope I’d find out what the munchkin incident was. They couldn’t just leave me hanging like that.

“Hopefully,” he said. Somehow, that was mildly terrifying. Before I could poke him for a little more information, Solene leaned forward and snapped her fingers at me. I’d learned real quick that it was just something she did.

“Okay, different question,” Solene began. “You have to fight one bird. Just one. Any bird out there. What are you picking?”

“You don’t get to say a fucking word!” Rhodes exclaimed, cutting me off before I could answer. He was pointing directly at Sloane, who was already grinning like an idiot. “No wild Aussie bird stories, got it?”

“But what if I want to know the Aussie bird stories?” I asked.

“Don’t you encourage him,” he snapped.

“I reckon the Road Runner, and I need some time to catch up,” Sloane said. Yeah, my nickname with them had been instantly changed when Rhodes told them what the scouts called me. “I reckon he wants to hear all my stories.”

“I reckon he does—I mean I do,” I said quickly, making Rhodes groan.

“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” he murmured under his breath. I didn’t have a clue, but I didn’t care. I had so many questions that needed answering.

“Am I trying to win the fight, or am I picking the bird I want an excuse to fight?” I asked Solene, going back to her original question. The table fell silent, and Solene sat back. She nodded slowly as she considered my question.

“Oh, I like him,” she murmured.

“I knew you would,” Sariah told her.

“The only acceptable answer here is the Canadian goose,” I continued. A chorus of agreement erupted around me.

“Those fuckers have it coming!” Billie exclaimed as she slapped the table.

“Absolutely not,” Grady retorted, grabbing the wine glass she almost knocked over in the process. Everyone stared at him. “You don’t fuck with geese.”

The fact that the most terrifying man at the table apparently drew his line at Canadian geese told me everything I needed to know about the bird.

“I’d fuck with a goose, mate. I reckon I’d only do it once, but it’d make a hell of a story,” Sloane announced, and I laughed.

“Of course you would,” Rhodes retorted. “And your grave would read, Here lies Sloane Ellis, the idiot who fucked with a goose.”

“Like I said… a hell of a story,” he replied, raising his glass.

“I have a question for Road Runner!” Romy said over the two of them, and I gave her my attention. “You’re trapped in an elevator for twelve hours, and you can only have three things with you. What are you bringing?”

“Does my phone have service?” I asked.

“No.”

“Then why would I bring anything?” I shrugged. “I’m getting out of the elevator.”

Romy frowned, her eyes narrowing.

“So, you’re bringing tools,” she said. “But what—”