Page 54 of Fangs and Fudge

Vena grinned. “It’s a trust circle. You trust Everly; Everly trusts Cross; and Cross trusts you to keep us safe. Now, are you going to be the one to break it?”

Shepard frowned at her.

“By trusting Everly, you believe that she knows what she’s doing by trusting Cross,” she said, pressing him.

Shepard muttered something under his breath. MC raised a brow at him but then smirked. Did Shepard just swear at me?

“I concede,” Shepard finally said. “For now. But if you show one sign of being manipulated by him, I will find him and kill him. Do you understand?”

I quickly nodded. “I do. Enjoy the fudge.”

“Let me walk you out,” MC said.

“We know the way,” Vena said with an edge to her tone.

“It’s the least I can do for a guest,” MC said, happily walking after us as Vena pulled me through the house and out the front door.

Once we were inside the car, she said, “Get me the hell out of here.”

“What happened to make you so upset?” I asked once we reached the street and were headed away from Shepard’s place.

“I’m so tired of Muscular Creep. No matter where I go or what I do, he’s always around.”

“Like in a stalker way or a friendly way?”

“Like a player simmering in the background and waiting for his opportunity. He’s getting more aggressive in his flirting, and I barely refrained from decking him. Can’t he take the hint that I don’t like him? There will never be an opportunity for him.”

“What happened to your infatuation with his muff mauler?”

She snorted a partial laugh, enjoying the pet name I’d been waiting to use.

“His pussy plunger–” I groaned and wrinkled my nose “–while glorious, isn’t worth the entanglement. Moist Cornhole can take his mighty mallet back to California and leave me alone.”

I stayed quiet for a moment and let Vena stew.

After a while, I asked, “Are you really mad at MC, or are you taking your frustrations out on him because you’re worried about Anchor?”

She crossed her arms and looked out the window. “I suppose it might be worry,” she muttered. “But that Monkey Cream still needs to back the hell off.”

Normally, I didn’t interfere with Vena’s love life. She could handle any guy who came at her, but perhaps, with Anchor gone, MC’s pursuit was more than she could handle. Pondering whether or not I should step in, my brain didn't immediately register the ping of an incoming text on my phone.

Vena picked it up to look at it.

“Who is it?” I asked.

She swore under her breath and began to read out loud.

“Let’s trade information. Tell me about your fanged friend, and I’ll tell you about your furry one.”

CHAPTER NINE

“Who sent it?” I asked.

“Another unknown number. I am seriously regretting our trip to Sugar Mountain. Everything was fine before that.”

To hear Vena say something like that struck a chord of fear in me.

“Hey, none of that. Regret doesn’t change anything. Actions do. You taught me that. Now, you’re going to text back, asking where and when and then we’re going to text Cross and let him know someone’s asking about him.”

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