"Yeah," Carla added.

"Heda's never taken one of the King's classes and --" She stopped. How could she say, “and he already made use of without breaking down and crying.

Heda took Carla for a quick drive around town before heading home, including a stop for gratuitous cooking supplies. When Carla stressed about her ordeal, she turned to baking. Recently, she had also turned to using Anthony as her sex toy, but now she was in the mood for baking. Cookies. And maybe a cake.

When they got back to the house, they found that it was under siege.

The whole crowd was home and standing on the porch, watching with some amusement as Madison screamed bloody murder. Sometimes she was yelling at her phone, and other times at several large SUVs with tinted windows on the streets next to the house.

"What the hell?" Heda asked as she Peter as she ascended the stairs.

Madison looked incensed.

"Wait for it," Peter replied as Madison hauled off and readied herself for another outburst.

"God damn son of a bitch!" the blind girl bellowed.

"You can all just collectively kiss my perfect round ass!" Then back to yelling at her phone.

"Get them out of here, you invasive kumquat! You have no right to. . . no, I do not want to talk to. . . Morgan, put HIM back on the phone! I do not believe for a second that he just went to the bathroom. Tell him I can ——"

“Her father . . . what?" Heda was completely confused.

“Hired personal security to follow her wherever she goes until she agrees to go to Dallas or until this blows over."

“How did Hannity find out so fast?"

"Once you started alerting the potential targets, word traveled fast.

These guys rolled up, explained why they were here, then went to sit in their cars."

“Why their cars?"

“Because Madison was scaring the crap out of them."

To emphasize Peter's point, Madison grabbed a pine cone off their minuscule front lawn and hurled at one of the SUVs while still yelling at her sister to put “that lousy overbearing, goose-stepping, patriarchal, miscreant, asshole, dick-cheese" back on the phone.

"She gets creative when she curses," Billy noticed.

"I would say it's more like ‘extensive,’ but I get your point." Heda walked over.

"Madison, it's me."

"Good, then you can tell this overbearing —

"Sweetheart, I'll bet he's just wanting to make sure you're safe. Now please stop assailing the nice men who are just here to —-"