Page 103 of Thirst Trap (Carter Brothers)

She rolled her eyes. “It’s a six-hour shift.”

“It’s still six more hours than you’ve worked in the last month after getting assaulted,” I pointed out as I closed my door then moved around to hers. “Plus, it’s my day to bring donuts to the office.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Okay, that’s a lie,” I admitted as she got out and headed into the shop with me. “I owe the team some donuts because I might or might not have acted like an asshole over the last month.”

She snickered. “You can be that sometimes, Quinn.”

I knew I could.

It came with the job.

It was so fuckin’ stressful sometimes.

“Thanks,” I tugged a stray lock of hair framing her face. “What do you want?”

She looked at the plethora of baked goods in front of her and said, “I don’t think I can ever come into Pie Hard and not ask for multiple things.”

“Then get multiple things,” I suggested. “And get extras so you can take some to my sister. Because if you don’t, she’ll just get all bent out of shape about it, and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Ahh, one of my best clients,” the owner of Pie Hard, Maven Brumfield, said. “How is she? I haven’t seen her in a few days.”

“Busy AF,” Shayne answered for me. “She’s currently working at Angel Flight and the circus because there was an issue at the circus a few days ago with staff scheduling.”

“Bummer,” Maven said as she looked from Shayne to me. “How’s your brother doing?”

My brows rose. “Which one?”

“Auden,” she answered. “He came in last week and looked pretty messed up about something.”

I thought back to last week, and winced. “He, ah, didn’t say he had any issues. I guess I need to check on him.”

“That’s my fault,” Shayne admitted. “Your mind’s been solely focused on me and my crap, and not on your brothers like it usually would.”

“He said something about a work issue.” Maven looked truly concerned, and I looked at her with a different lens.

“You like my brother, don’t you?” I asked.

Maven’s mouth fell open, and her cheeks went red. “Absolutely not. I don’t do police officers.”

My brows rose. “Why?”

“Because her dad’s a dick,” Shayne answered. “And from what little I’ve heard about him, he’s a police officer himself, and likes to control every single thing Maven does. To the point that he’s had the city in here trying to shut her down since she opened.”

Maven sighed. “He tried it again yesterday.”

Another customer came in, and I started to point out everything I wanted, leaving us with four huge bakery boxes full of shit.

“Jesus,” a woman grumbled. “Save some for the rest of us!”

I chuckled as we walked out, then waited for Shayne to catch the door to the back seat of the truck before placing our spoils on the floorboard.

It was when I was closing the door that I saw a person hiding in the bushes.

With a gun.

I reacted on instinct, launching myself forward and tackling the man to the ground. The gun came up, now aimed at my body, and muscle memory kicked in.

---