Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

There were no more murders, no more attacks on Piper, no more cases of vandalism. Kelvin ceased attempting to contact her, and Celeste unexpectedly kept a low profile.

Piper and Olive both believed that there was a good chance the invisible attacker—or whoever might have hired him—had backed off completely. The guy had every reason to, considering he’d otherwise have to contend with Levi. But her reaper wasn’t so certain, and so she’d promised to remain vigilant.

Piper didn’t believe Celeste had chosen to back down and let everything lie. When it came to her stepsister, there was often that calm-before-the-storm period. It was a banshee thing. Like they enjoyed lulling their foes into a false sense of security or something.

In any case, the uneventful weeks had given Piper and Levi a chance to spend uninterrupted, relaxing, quality time together. Which was exactly what they did. They talked, confided, even shared secrets.

They also had sex. A lot.

Their one-night stand had become … well not a fling. It was more of an agreement—one they’d made after they slept together the second time.

“We shouldn’t have done that,” she said, pacing near the bed.

“I often do things I shouldn’t.” He watched her, lying in bed with his hands behind his head. “You wanted it as much as I did.”

“Yes, but I didn’t mean for it to happen. It was an accident.”

He smiled, amused. “What, you fell on my cock?”

She glared at him. “I mean, I hadn’t planned for us to sleep together more than once. I don’t want things to get all muddled between us. A single evening of sex is one thing. But I know anchored pairs who had flings that went sour, and it tainted their bond. Not even great sex is worth that.”

He slowly sat upright. “I get where you’re coming from, but here’s the thing. Wewill end up in bed together again, Piper. Neither of us are done. So I say we don’t fight it. I say we let it happen. Once we’re anchored, we’ll stop; we’ll begin the anchor relationship on a platonic note, to start as we mean to go on.”

She’d hemmed and hawed over it for a few hours, unsure what to do. The more she’d thought about it, the more she’d felt that he was right. They were nothing close to done, and she’d known that she wouldn’t have the willpower to resist the temptation to fall into bed with him again. It had made more sense to get it out of their systems and let boredom settle in so that they could start things afresh when they bonded.

Since then, they’d done as he’d suggested and quite simply enjoyed each other. They didn’t behave in couple-like ways. They didn’t date or cuddle or even flirt. Their interactions throughout the day were pretty much as they always had been. But when they were alone in the evenings, they’d somehow end up having sex. And they never discussed or referred to it afterwards.

They also never spent a night apart. They usually went to her place after she finished work, but occasionally she stayed over at his huge swanky apartment. They didn’t always sleep since, as demons, they didn’t always need to. But they’d do more talking and sharing.

Although he’d parted with many secrets, there were things he kept to himself. He told her more about his time at the orphanage, for instance, but he hadn’t yet spoken of his aunt’s murder. Piper hadn’t pushed him to tell her. He’d either do it in his own time, or he wouldn’t. And who could blame him for not wanting to tear open such a wound? She didn’t want to watch him bleed.

Besides, she wouldn’t expect him to share everything just because they were anchors. It wasn’t as if he otherwise held back from her. He was all-in, and she was ready to give him that same commitment.

She was ready to form the anchor bond.

Really, she’d been ready for at least a week. She’d hesitated for two very selfish reasons.

Firstly, once he finally had what he wanted and they were bonded, the amount of time they spent together would lessen considerably. She didn’t want that.

Not that she thought he’d been lying when he declared he’d make time for her no matter how busy he was with work. She’d sensed he meant it. But still, as he himself had admitted, they wouldn’t see as much of each other as they did now. So she’d hesitated to reach for their bond, greedily drinking in his attention and time.

There was another reason she’d procrastinated. Piper didn’t want to reverse back behind the platonic lines they’d crossed. It would feel like losing him on some level. Losing an intimacy she’d come to cherish. But she’d have to suck it up, wouldn’t she? To continue to hesitate was unfair to them and their demons.

Besides, despite that she generally didn’t struggle to separate emotions from sex, she really wasn’t certain she could keep her feelings out of their ‘agreement’ any longer. It was time to step back. She’d only get hurt if she didn’t.

Piper had planned to tell Levi when he picked her up from work that she was ready to bond with him. But it would have to wait until later, since her colleagues and Larkin had dragged her out for a girls’ night … which was how Piper found herself sitting in the Underground’s Xpress bar.

Although the girls were a tight group, Piper never felt like an outsider. They’d hauled her into their circle and made her one of them. And as she watched a sober Devon and a tipsy Khloë argue like cat and dog, Piper couldn’t help but smile.

Her hand flexing around her bottle of water, Devon fired an impatient look at Khloë. “You can’t seriously think that will ever happen.”

“Why not?” asked the imp, her head bopping to the music. “Billions of people all over the globe report being abducted by aliens.”

“I’m not saying there isn’t other life out there. I’m just saying there’s no possible way you’ll ever have your own personal ET. He was a fucking puppet.”

Swaying slightly, Raini lifted her index finger. “Actually, I think the little UFO dude was played by people wearing suits.”

“Or wearing the skins of real-life aliens,” said Khloë.

Devon let her head slump forward.

“You know,” began Harper, stirring her fruity drink with a mini umbrella, “I struggle with the idea that UFOs even come to this planet. I mean, why bother? Why kidnap humans, experiment on them, insert microchips in them … and then return them, only to go back several times to, like, check on them or whatever?”

Piper pursed her lips. “It’s kind of what humans do to wild animals and sea creatures, though, right?”

Each head at the table turned her way.

“Wow,” said Khloë. “Mind blown.”

Raini nodded. “Yeah, I never thought of it that way. Humans pluck those poor animals out of their natural habitat for all kinds of reasons. Isn’t it sad how many are on the verge of extinction? We really need to do our part.”

“Too many are already extinct,” said Khloë. “Like mogwai.”

Harper frowned. “There has never been any such thing as mogwai.”

The imp’s brow furrowed. “I saw them on Gremlins.”

“They were puppets,” Devon told her.

“Or tiny people wearing the skins of real-life mogwai,” said Khloë.

Devon shook her head. “It’s impossible to have a rational conversation with you.”

“You’re just moody because you can’t get buzzed. It’s not my fault you got knocked up.”

Larkin peered down at the hellcat’s belly. “How is little Engelbert-or-Hallelujah?”

Devon grinned. “Tanner whined to you about the names?”

“Of course,” said Larkin, her mouth curving. “Are you going to keep torturing him all the way through the pregnancy?”

“Only if he doesn’t stop with the smothering at some point.” Devon spared Piper a look. “Speaking of overprotective males … who wants to bet that Levi’s somewhere close?”

Everyone at the table except for Piper raised their hand.

“He said he wouldn’t hang in the bar,” said Piper, though he’d made it clear that Enzo and Dez would never be far away from her.

“Yeah, this bar,” said Devon. “He could be next door. Or someplace across the strip. He’ll be close by, trust me.”

“I’d have to agree, he’s probably loitering somewhere.” Harper set down her drink, eyeing Piper curiously. “So … want to tell us why you’re so nervous?” It was a gentle invitation, not a nosy question.

“We’re here for you,” said Khloë, forming a heart shape with her hands and pressing said shape against her chest.

“It’s nothing bad.” Piper straightened her shoulders. “I’ve decided to form the bond with Levi.”

Harper’s eyes lit up. “That’s great news!”

Khloë fist pumped, Raini gave a little clap, and a smiling Larkin tipped her drink toward Piper.

“Does he know yet?” asked Devon, her cat-green gaze bright with excitement.

Piper shook her head. “I’m going to tell him tonight and, knowing him, he’ll be all ‘okay, let’s do it right now.’ Hence the nerves.”

Raini patted her hand. “You’ll like being anchored. There’s something very special about the bond. It’ll center you and your demon like nothing else.”

Piper noticed Larkin’s smile dim as the harpy then looked down at her lap, as if to veil her expression.

Khloë jumped to her feet. “This calls for shots. We need shots.” Then she was making a beeline for the bar, stumbling here and there.

Harper sighed. “I’ll go with her to make sure she doesn’t drop any glasses.” The sphinx probably thought she was much steadier on her feet than her cousin but, in actuality, she was no better.

Piper had to smile when both females got distracted by the change of song and then hit the dance floor.

Larkin gently nudged Piper with her shoulder. “Levi will be thrilled, you know. And relieved. And smug. I know why you didn’t want to rush into things, but I’m glad you’re finally ready to bond with him.”

“Me, too,” said Devon, her eyes tearing up. She flapped her hands at her face. “Ignore me, it’s the hormones.” She leaned into Raini, who began rubbing her back.

“It’s gonna be weird not seeing him every day,” said Piper. “I’ve gotten a little too used to having him there all the time.” And spending every night with him would surely stop, since there’d no longer be any need for it. She wouldn’t like that much either.

Larkin smiled. “He made sure you got used to it. He wanted you to feel like you couldn’t imagine not having him around. He’s sneaky that way.”

Piper snickered. “Agreed. Just do me a solid, Larkin, and make sure he doesn’t take stupid risks when doing sentinel stuff. I can’t be there to watch over him, so I need you to do it.”

Larkin’s face went all soft. “I like that you’re his anchor. He deserves someone like you, who won’t resent how hard or much he works. There’s never been a woman in his life who hasn’t held that against him at some point.”

“People suck,” said Piper.

“You won’t be second best to his positions.” Larkin leaned in, adding in a voice not loud enough to carry over the music to the other two females, “Even if certain things cool between you two, he’ll still be up in your space often. And no, he didn’t tell me that you were getting down and dirty. I sensed it for myself.”

“And you didn’t mention it to him?”

“Of course I did. He told me to mind my own biz. I only wanted to know if you guys were exclusive. He doesn’t usually do exclusivity, but I think it’d be a bad idea for either of you to be expecting the other to share, given there’s already a lot of possessiveness at play.”

Piper puffed out a breath. “Can something be exclusive when it isn’t really a thing? I mean, we’re not having any kind of relationship—not even a fling. We just … have sex. So we’re like, what, anchor bed-buddies or something? I don’t know what you’d call it. But we both agreed it would end the moment we formed the bond.”

Larkin twisted to better face her. “He agreed to that?”

“It was his suggestion.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that.” Larkin pursed her lips. “How do you feel about this ‘thing’ between you having an expiry date? Is that really what you want?”

“It’s better that way. I know some anchored pairs fall into relationships. But Levi doesn’t have relationships. Not serious ones, anyway. He’s given up on them. I think—” She cut off with a soft curse as someone drunkenly stumbled into the table hard enough to cause the drinks to splash onto its surface.

Said someone blinked hard, righting himself. Then his eyes settled on Piper, and he snarled. “Well, look who it is, Sefton,” slurred none other than Jasper.

Oh, freaking wonderful.

Larkin stiffened beside her and then went to stand.

Piper put a hand on her arm. Let’s not scare him off. He’s one of Levi’s main suspects. Maybe he’ll blurt out a few things while drunk. She telepathically said the same to both Devon and Raini.

Sefton tugged on his brother’s sleeve. “Come on, let’s go get another drink.”

Water would probably be best, given the asshole’s current state.

“But don’t you want to say hi?” Jasper asked him, smirking. “I want to say hi.”

Sefton cringed. “Jas.”

“Come on, it’s rude to ignore people.” Jasper slid his gaze back to Piper. “Knox tortured him. Did you know that?”

Piper shrugged one shoulder. “It was an easy enough guess.” Noticing Enzo and Dez creeping close, she sent them the same telepathic message she sent the other females at the table.

Jasper jabbed a finger at her. “You convinced that bitch to fals-fals-falsely accuse him. You know he didn’t do shit to her. My brother went through hell because of you.”

Sefton pulled on his arm. “Jasper—”

“Before, he used to shout his innocence,” the asshole went on. “Now? Now he won’t even talk about what happened. Because he’s too scared to be sent back to that fucking Chamber.”

“I’m pretty sure that was kind of the point of Knox taking him there,” said Piper. “And I don’t know why you repeatedly remind me Sefton was tortured when all that does is make me feel warm inside.” That bastard had trapped a pregnant woman in her personal nightmare, for Christ’s sake.

“Bitch,” hissed Jasper.

“With pride. You can believe your brother’s innocent if you want—”

“He is innocent, and you know it. You condemned him!”

“In your opinion. Is that why you slashed my tires?”

His head drew back. “I didn’t do shit to your car, I told Levi that already. But I’d shake the hand of whoever did it. You deserve worse.”

“So you thought you’d teach me a lesson at the deli?”

He squinted. “Oh, I get it, you want to pin it on me. Yeah, because whether or not people are actually guilty doesn’t fucking matter to you.”

“On the contrary, it very much does. But you—your beliefs, your behavior, your bullshit—don’t matter to me in the slightest. My care cup is all empty. These scenes you cause do nothing but bore me. Like, to tears.”

“Is that fucking so?” He planted his hands on the table and aggressively leaned toward her … which was when Larkin uncoiled from her seat like a snake. He stared at the harpy, his lips parted.

“I don’t know why one of your favorite pastimes is making a fool of yourself,” Larkin said to him. “But you’ve entertained us all enough for one night.”

Enzo and Dez tried coming up behind him, but Sefton and his pals blocked their path as they appealed with them to leave Jasper be, promising they’d take him out of the bar.

Jasper straightened, his gaze on Larkin. “It doesn’t matter to you if she accuses innocent people? She won’t be held accountable for shit because she’s the anchor of a sentinel? That how it is?”

“Funny how much you whine and bitch about innocence and guilt and people needing to be held accountable … when your daddy never holds you responsible for any damn thing,” said Larkin. “He never cares if you or your idiot brother fucks up. Neither do either of you. Too many times you’ve messed up, and every single time you’ve tried to lie your way out of trouble. So all this high and mighty crap … yeah, I don’t get it.”

“It’s because I’m a woman,” said Piper. “All three of them have a total hate-on for our gender, Larkin. Men are the superior species who can’t do any wrong in their world.”

“Misogyny at its finest,” said Larkin, her glare fixed on Jasper. “I really thought I’d proven that women aren’t ‘weak’ when you were last dragged before the sentinels to be punished, Jasper. I guess not, because here you are confronting a woman you were ordered to leave the fuck alone. That’s okay. My demon won’t mind having a little fun with you. Again.”

Jasper’s eyes flickered, his face losing some of its color.

“Take him,” she said, and then Enzo and Dez were roughly escorting him out of the bar.

Sefton looked from Piper to Larkin, his eyes pained. “He didn’t mean to upset anyone, he’s—”

“Blitzed, yeah,” said Larkin. “But I’ve never found that an excuse for anything. Now shoo.”

He rushed after his brother, his friends hot on his heels.

Piper looked at the harpy. “What did your demon do to Jasper?”

Larkin grinned, retaking her seat. “Plain terrified him, of course.”

Piper had heard that the harpy’s demon was something to be dearly feared. She’d spoken to people who’d been disciplined by Larkin, and none were forthcoming about what happened.

“You know, Lark,” Devon began, “I initially thought that the main reason Knox made you a sentinel is that you grew up together and stuff. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you have ‘badass’ written all over you. But Knox and the other sentinels are pretty protective of you. I thought that meant they thought you needed to be shielded. Then I realized they just act that way because you’re essentially their baby sister.

“And, on joining your lair, I also discovered that you have a reputation for being ruthless and unforgiving. Also, even the mention of your demon makes people nervous. Tanner said the entity would make even a pure psychopath uneasy. Why? What gives? Because he won’t expand.”

The harpy smiled. “Let’s just say it has some … issues.”

“How delightfully vague.”

Larkin snickered.

Just then, Khloë and Harper returned, apparently oblivious to all they’d missed. They handed out glasses and then sat.

Devon gaped as Khloë sipped at a particular drink. “How could you?”

The imp blinked. “What?”

“That’s my favorite alcoholic drink,” said the hellcat.

Khloë looked from side to side, seemingly baffled by Devon’s agitation. “I know.”

“And you’re going to drink it in front of me?”

“Well … yeah.”

“Knowing how hard it is for me to stick to freaking water?”

Khloë cocked her head. “I don’t see where you’re going with this.”

Snorting, Harper looked at Piper. “The empathy struggle is real.”

Devon glared at the imp. “I can’t believe you sometimes.”

Khloë frowned. “Jeez, what’s with the tears?”

“I’m not crying,” the hellcat croaked.

“You’re totally crying.”

“I am not.”

“Just like you’re not constipated?” Khloë jerked back. “Stop with the hissing, you ass-clogged freak!”

Devon tried diving at the imp. Raini and Larkin held her back while Piper yanked Khloë out of the way.

Harper gave her cousin a pointed look. “Apologize.”

Khloë’s brow furrowed. “For stating a fact?”

“For making Devon cry,” said the sphinx. “Again.”

“Not my fault she’s hormonal.”

“Apologize.”

Rolling her eyes, Khloë knocked back a shot and then turned to Devon with a sigh. “I am so very, very sorry for …” Her eyes widened. “My God, I love this song! This is my jam!” She all but dragged Piper out of her seat and to the dance floor. She released Piper’s hand and turned to face her with a woohoo.

A hand snapped around Piper’s arm, her surroundings flashed white … and then she was standing in a parking lot with some big burly bastard she didn’t even know. Shit.

She would have struck the fucker and telepathed Levi, but the hand gripping her arm was pumping power into her system. A power that was thick and heavy and drugging. It sent her thoughts scattering, drained the strength from her body, and made it feel as though the world was spinning around her.

Her legs trembled, the muscles beginning to lose their tone. She dropped to her knees, too dazed to wince at the pain of them hitting the pavement. Only the masculine grip on her arm stopped her from face-planting into the ground.

Her vision blurred. A ringing sound filled her ears. Everything seemed so very far away—even her own body.

Voices swam into her mind, calling her name, but it was so hard to tune into them when the power corrupting her system was lulling her into a punch-drunk state.

Her demon slammed against her consciousness, and the short reprieve from the drugging daze was enough to make her resist the ‘call’ to float away. Instead, she blinked hard, forcing herself to focus, and reached out to Levi—

Pain reverberated around her skull. Pain so terrible it made her stomach churn, and she almost threw up. A pathetic whimper left her.

A male chuckle. “Tried telepathing someone, did you? That won’t work as long as I’m touching you. And I don’t plan to stop touching you.”

Panic raced through her. Her demon hissed between its teeth. Piper struggled to free her arm, though she was too weak to do much other than squirm.

“No sense in fighting me, you might as well save your strength,” he told her. “I already telepathed my boys to say I have you. They’ll be here any second, and then we’ll be … ah, here they are.”

She heard the rumbling of an engine shortly before tires screeched to a halt. Her head felt so damn heavy, but she forced it to lift. Her vision was still blurry as hell, but she could make out a black van parked a few feet away. The side door was hauled open by whoever was inside.

Her kidnapper yanked her to her feet. “Got her, boys. That shit was too easy,” he said, a cocky edge to his voice.

A man leaned out of the passenger window. “Took you long enough to grab her, though. Come on, let’s go.”

Dread slammed into Piper. No. No, she was not going with them.

She glanced around, and her eyes locked on the neon sign ahead of her. The colors were hazy and distorted, blending into one another. She blinked rapidly and squinted, doing her best to bring the sign into focus and—there.

Her heart jumped. Needing her kidnapper to release her for even just a moment, she turned to dead weight in his hold. The shock of it made him drop her. She called out, Levi! Legacy Motel parking lot! And then she slapped her hand on the teleporter’s foot, sending a small surge of power into him.

He collapsed to the ground at her side, sound asleep.

“Shit, grab them!” the dude in the passenger seat shouted.

Another male jumped out of the van’s side door and rushed her, but he skidded to a halt when two people materialized.

Her heart thudded, and relief poured through her. Levi. One of the Force, Armand, was with him. Neither hesitated to attack even as they moved to shield her body with theirs.

The guy who’d tried grabbing her and her kidnapper retreated into the van.

Wicked fast, Levi swept out his arm, and a telekinetic blast sent the vehicle tumbling onto its side and skidding along the ground.

Struggling to fight her way through the drug-like state, Piper awkwardly pushed herself onto her hands and knees. Her arms trembled, and sweat beaded her forehead. God, she really might be sick.

Watching the spectacle up ahead, she could make out hellfire orbs and balls of bright light sailing through the air. She could feel the slight shift of telekinetic power. She could hear curses and grunts, though the sounds were tinny and far-away.

She needed to help Levi and Armand. Needed to do something. Needed to not be a fucking weakness right now.

Equally eager to join the fight, her demon egged her on. Managing to force herself to her knees, Piper shakily raised her hand, palm out. These bastards weren’t leaving this parking lot alive. No fucking way.

Levi almost jerked to the side as a hail of hellfire bullets zoomed between his body and Armand’s, spraying the upended van up ahead wherein its driver and passengers were taking cover. The bullets tunneled through the metal, and some must have thudded into skin, because grunts of shock and pain rang through the air.

A spike of relief reached Levi through the anger and adrenaline—if Piper was able to hurl hellfire bullets, her state was better than simply conscious. He hadn’t dared take his eyes off the bastards in front of him, so he hadn’t known if she’d passed out or not.

Boxing away every thought other than to kill these sons of bitches, Levi kept on attacking them. Heads and arms peeked out of the van as they launched balls of hellfire. Levi blasted the orbs with telekinetic power, sending them right back at the demons. They ducked, but one didn’t drop fast enough—an orb clipped his skull, sending his head snapping to the side.

It wouldn’t be long before the shitheads needed to leave their cover. Hellfire was rapidly spreading over the van, so it was lucky for them that it didn’t operate like regular fire or the vehicle might have exploded by now.

Again and again, they peeked out to attack. Levi dodged and weaved, but some orbs connected, slamming into his chest or arms. Even as hellfire ate at his flesh, he retaliated with hellfire, telekinesis, and grim waves of pure despair that struck a person’s soul and could reduce them to tears.

Meanwhile, Piper kept on shooting them with hellfire bullets, and Armand threw balls of white-hot light that lit the air like torches and melted both metal and flesh.

Muffled shouts were soon exchanged, and then three demons crawled out of the melting vehicle and tried making a run for it.

Not happening.

Levi struck with a lashing of telekinetic power that crashed into their backs like a giant cane. They hit the ground hard, agonized grunts all but gusting out of them. One rolled onto his side, a hellfire orb in hand … but then Larkin dropped from the sky, her large black wings outstretched. She flapped them hard, sending out a cold blast of air. The hellfire orb winked out, cries got lost in the wind, and fallen bodies skidded along the pavement.

Levi wasted no time in advancing on the three demons. Close enough now to hit them harder, he telekinetically lifted the trio and slammed them to the ground. Bones snapped. Skulls cracked. Broken screams rang out.

Larkin pounced on one. Armand singled out another. Levi hovered his hand over the chest of the third little fucker and got a psychic grip on the organ beating there. Then he squeezed, putting more and more pressure on the heart. The demon on the ground arched and gasped and slapped his hand over his chest.

Shooting him a cold smile, Levi snapped his fist shut. And the heart burst like a bubble. He kept watching the demon until the life faded from his eyes. A deep breath left Levi, and he dropped his arm to his side.

“Motherfuckers,” snarled Larkin, glowering at the corpses.

Levi clicked his fingers, and the dead bodies burst into cinders that quickly disintegrated. “Yeah. Motherfuckers all the way.”

Hearing the scuff of shoes, he spun and found Piper staggering toward them, her body weak and uncooperative like she hadn’t slept in years. He gave her a quick head-to-toe scan. She had some blisters and burns. He felt his mouth tighten. He’d tried blocking any orbs that sailed her way but clearly hadn’t managed it every time.

Crossing to her, Levi curled his arms around her and took her weight, mindful of her wounds. “I got you, baby. I got you.”

“Bastard teleporter hit me with some kind of drugging power,” she virtually slurred.

Closing his eyes, Levi breathed her in. Only then did he really let himself feel. Only then did he lift the lid on the emotions he’d boxed up.

Shock. Fury. Panic. Terror. All of it pumped through his veins and iced his blood, just as the emotions had almost done when Larkin telepathically yelled out to him in warning.

Three words. Three words had almost shattered his world.

Piper’s been taken.

Rage had swamped his demon in a blinding, scorching hot rush that hadn’t yet left its system, even as it now had Piper right there with it.

Levi’s own fury wasn’t going anywhere yet either. Someone had kidnapped his anchor. Had teleported her to the exterior of a demon-owned motel. To take her inside? To haul her into the van? He didn’t yet know. But he’d soon find out.

“He’s alive, but he isn’t waking up,” said Larkin, nudging the male lying on the ground with her foot. “Did you put him asleep, Piper?”

She weakly nodded. “Trapped him in his worst nightmare.”

Levi squeezed her nape. “That’s my girl.” He glanced at Armand. “Take us to my apartment.”

“We taking sleepyhead with us?” asked Armand, tipping his chin toward the male on the ground.

Levi tightened his hold on her. “We sure the fuck are, yeah.”