Page 12 of Kill Me Sweetly

“That’s fine. But can you make the calls, at least?”

“Sure thing.”

Mason hung up, and I drove as fast as I could to the house. I didn’t want to be in a confined space with Four any longer than I had to.

“And bringing them here was the decision you made?” Gabe gripped the top of the dining chair, his jaw clenched.

“What would you have done?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You didn’t have the day JJ and I had; this wasn’t exactly on our bingo cards.”

Mason rolled his eyes. “Let’s not argue about things that can’t be changed. Right now, we have this to deal with.” He motioned toward Four and Maxwell, who were sitting at the table.

“Yeah, them.” The three of us turned to where JJ was leaning against the doorjamb, munching on popcorn. “What? I’m hungry. All I had today was coffee.”

“Anyway.” Mason snorted. “What’s the plan here?”

Silence. Well, not complete silence—there was JJ chomping behind me.

“Let’s get Angel and the twins in on this before we make any permanent decisions.” Gabe sighed. “We need to figure out where to put these two until then.”

“Wait a second,putus?” Maxwell spoke for the first time since we’d left his house. “All I did was try to save my daughter. And okay, I spoke to a friend who was desperate. I was worried about him; I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Okay.” JJ stepped forward and placed the now-empty bowl on the table. Not even leaving me a kernel…That’s love, folks.He approached Maxwell.

“Want to leave? Be on your own?”

Maxwell’s gaze flickered to each of us. “I…I don’t know what to do, but what if they go after my daughter when they can’t find me?”

JJ nodded. “That’s a fair concern.” He faced us. “We need a plan.”

“Wow.” Gabe slow clapped. “Thank God you’re here to shower us with your infinite wisdom.”

JJ puffed out his chest, never one to let sarcasm affect him. “You’re so welcome.”

“Max.” I interrupted whatever Gabe was about to say. “Once we speak with our brothers, we will get a better idea of how to handle this. In the meantime, we can get someone to watch over your daughter in the hospital.” I raised a brow at Gabe.

“Okay, fine. But my vote is that whatever the fuck you all choose, I don’t want any of us in danger.”

“Agreed,” I said.

Gabe nodded. “What hospital is she at?”

Once Gabe got all the information, he left. He’d be on our call at the hospital through an earpiece, but we didn’t know if he’d be able to contribute much to the conversation, which was why he’d let us know his vote. He knew we’d honor it—it was how we made decisions. Each of us got a vote, and the majority won.

“I have to work on that wedding cake. Four can come with me in the kitchen and?—”

“Nope.” JJ frowned. “We all go in the kitchen. Angel said he’d call at eight, so we have a few hours. We stay together.”

Mason nodded and I was outvoted. “Fine, let’s go.”

“I never got the flour and eggs.” JJ was pulling out bowls while Mason sat at the kitchen table with Maxwell and Four.

Mason pointed to the pantry. “Use what we have here; we can get more tomorrow.”

Fortunately, the kitchen was always stocked since there were many times I baked there instead of the shop because I just wanted to be home at night.

“How can I help?” JJ rubbed his hands together as he stared at the three bowls he’d set out.

“Let’s get mixing.” I smiled, and side by side JJ and I made the cake.

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