In the pocket of my black romper dress, I found a couple of sticky, warm peppermint candies. I offered Lorcan one, which he took. I unwrapped the other and popped it in my mouth, sucking hard. My tongue was dry and sour, and my heart was still beating fast. I glanced up at Penny’s bedroom window as I crinkled the wrapper in my fist and shoved it back into my pocket.

Outside, the dogs were waiting for us. Lulu’s face was cocked to the side as she waited for us to join them on the sidewalk. Her tail slapped against the ground. Merlin brushed against me, his nose butting against the back of my calves.

“Thanks for being here, Lorcan,” I said, falling into step beside him. “I wouldn’t have been able to get her here without you.”

He cast me a sidelong glance. “Don’t be mad at her, but Lucy told me a little bit of what’s going on with you three.”

“She did?” There was no judgment in his voice, but I still felt the finger of blame.

He nodded. “I better go finish my run. These guys will go stir-crazy if I don’t tire them out a little bit.” He whistled to Merlin and Lulu before breaking into a jog, the two dogs yipping in unison before chasing after him.

I watched him go, a faint smile ghosting across my lips. Growing up, it had always been Chad and Penny who had my back. I thought now of Lucy’s resilient optimism and Tom’s grumpy affection, of Lorcan’s true-blue steadiness and Levi’s heart-stopping smile.

With that thought, I turned and headed back to Busy’s.

Lucy was pissed when she heard me relate what had just happened. “I wish you guys had roughed him up a little bit,” she said, surprising me with the anger in her voice. “I never liked Vince. He’s mega skeevy. Plus it was super irresponsible of him to get her drunk and not even make sure she was okay. That’s the least you do for someone you hook up with.” She cleared her throat. “Hey, can you pass me the cake? The window table wants a couple slices.”

Lorcan had already rounded up a few local fishermen to haul Vince out of Penny’s houseboat. Their gnarled hands wore battle scars with pride; gashes and ancient scars where flesh had once been gouged by fishhooks; their arms muscled, faces unforgiving. They were the true Old Men of the Sea, strong as krakens, legendary as Cthulhu. Lorcan had called us and said that although Vince had created a scene and refused to go quietly, they’d dealt with him easily enough.