“Why is that funny?” I ask defensively.
“It’s not just funny; it’s hilarious. Because on what planet would we ever do something as crazy as that?” Joker says between his laughs, wiping away tears from his eyes.
“You don’t even know what I’m proposing,” I counter.
“I don’t have to. I know it’s going to put Lilah at risk, and there’s no way on God’s green earth that we’re doing it.”
Joker smirks and crosses his arms over his chest, and I already feel the stubbornness building across our bond. I should have seen this coming, but I turn to Bones, looking for backup. The prime alpha lets out a sigh and turns an exasperated look at Joker.
“We need to hear all possible options before we decide what to do, Jokes. Just like always,” Bones says calmly.
“Not this time. Not when it comes to my little wisp.”
“Joker—”
Joker turns up his nose as Phantom tries to chastise him, earning correcting growls from all three alphas. Delilah lets out a little squeak and I pull her closer to my side, tucking the blanket around her more securely. Bones’s expression turns stony as he glares at Joker.
“You’re gonna sit down and listen to Cross. Do you understand me?” Bones says, and I feel the ripple of authority across the bonds, the hair standing up on the back of my neck.
Delilah’s eyes go a little wide as she catches the subaudible hum in his words, but Joker’s whole body goes loose, his feet carrying him to a seat at the table, where he throws himself down and all but pouts as he glares at me. But thankfully he doesn’t protest.
“What I’m thinking is that we could use the chip to draw Dunne off by splitting up, one group takes the van and Delilah, and then the other takes the chip. We dump the chip somewhere and then regroup at another safehouse,” I say, summarizing the thoughts that I’ve been mulling over for a while.
“He’s going to notice when Delilah gets in the van,” Joker grumbles.
“Not if she’s dressed like one of us,” Siren comments.
I look up to find them looking at a spot in the air pensively. Everyone goes quiet as we let them think, but I’m pretty sure I might be catching on to what they’re referencing.
“We could make up the height difference with boots, but we’d need to layer her with several hoodies to make up for the difference in sizes,” I say.
“Between me and who?” Delilah asks, perking up for the first time.
“You and me, cupcake,” Siren replies with an ironic chuckle.
Joker laughs out loud, though there’s no real humor behind the sound. “He’s smart enough to track us down. This bellend isn’t going to fall for that.”
“If I have the chip, then there’s no reason for him to not believe it. We know he’s not in the woods watching the house, so we just need to leave covertly, and then split up. He’ll follow the chip, especially if he’s unsure about where Delilah actually is,” Siren counters.
“But that means he’s going to follow you, and he could…” Delilah says suddenly, but then trails off, ducking under her blanket again as all the eyes in the room turn to look at her.
“He could what, honey? Hurt us?” I ask, tone softening.
Delilah nods, but doesn’t elaborate, but the haunted look returns to her eyes, which tells me all I need to know. I squeeze her hand again, harder this time, trying to keep her from falling into her memories.
“If he falls for it, then what, oh master planner?” Joker asks mockingly.
“We dump the chip on the side of the highway or in a river or anywhere. Just enough to get him off our back,” I finish with a shrug.
“You mean we wouldn’t even get to kill him after all that effort?” Joker protests with a groan, slumping backward in his chair and tipping his head back dramatically.
“First, you didn’t want to do this, and now you’re pissed you don’t get to off him. There’s just no pleasing you today,” Phantom says, laughing under his breath.
“Nah, I was thoroughly pleased earlier, wasn’t I, beautiful?” Joker says, winking at Delilah.
The shade of red she turns in response makes all of us chuckle fondly, but even the quips aren’t enough to break the tension in the room.
“What if we set up a trap for him instead?” Bones says into the silence.