Page 24 of Kill Me Sweetly

On the way to the house, Four asleep on my lap, we drove by the church. Gabe went in, placed the tracker under a pew, and set up the camera.

“No issues?” Angel asked once he was back in the car.

“None, nobody in there.”

I stared at Four the rest of the way home and tenderly rubbed his head. I’d keep my promises to him. Too many people had been awful to him in his life, and I wouldn’t be one of them. If Angel believed my kindness could melt ice, my love would resurrect Four.

CHAPTER TWELVE

SHEP

I returnedto the house later than I’d hoped. I was able to get two of the five applicants to come in for an interview, and Lizzy had liked one of them instantly, so I’d hired the young guy. He’d worked at a bakery for three years prior so he had experience, he was polite, and Lizzy thought he’d be a quick study. She’d start training him tomorrow, but that meant I still needed to be there.

I crept into the bedroom, careful not to wake JJ, but as soon as I was halfway across the room, I realized he wasn’t even in there.

I made my way up the hallway to Mason’s room, but he wasn’t there. Gabe must be back at the hospital, because Mason was snoring lightly in the center of the bed.

“Looking for JJ?”

I spun, and there was Angel resting against his bedroom door.

“Yeah.”

He jerked his head up, his eyes going skyward. “He’s been in Four’s room.”

“Alone?” Were they insane?

“Relax.” Angel took a few steps forward. “Four was mostly out of it all day after the procedure. He’s extremely sensitive tosedatives. Which, if I’d known better, I wouldn’t have dosed him so much. I wanted to tie his arm to the bedpost in case Four woke up and tried to scratch the incision or freaked out over the tracker being gone.”

“Seems sensible.”

Angel snorted. “JJ called me a war criminal to strap down a victim, so I dunno…”

“And let me guess, JJ offered to watch over him all night?”

Angel winked. “Bingo.”

“But you’ve been watching over him watching over Four?”

“Got it in one.” He shrugged. “I heard you come in and figured you’d panic when you didn’t see your rabid little squirrel in bed.”

“He’s not rabid…” I furrowed my brows. “I don’t think.”

“Go shower and get to bed. You have to get to the shop again in the morning?”

I nodded. “I do. We got a new guy, nice kid, Lizzy-approved. She’s going to train him, but I still have to be there, and I’m interviewing three more tomorrow to get her even more hands.”

“That’ll be good. I’ll watch over your guy. Sleep.”

“I want to say good night; then I’ll pass out.”

Angel hummed and walked away while I took the stairs two at a time. The door to Four’s room was open, so I watched as JJ held Four’s hand but was fast asleep.

Four, on the other hand, was staring at the ceiling. I took a few steps in, and Four’s eyes darted my way.

“I’m just checking in on you two.”

Four’s gaze went to JJ, followed by me. He was oddly more responsive than I’d seen him without a cookie or something sweet in his hand.

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