Page 28 of Kill Me Sweetly

Four’s hand closed into a fist, and a low growl rose from his chest.

“JJ’s been kind to you. At some point, a switch went off in your head, didn’t it?”

“Is that true, Four? Are you…can you talk to me?” I faced Four and met his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“JJ,” Aziza said. “He’s not one hundred percent. I need to talk to Four, though, and knowing he’s not in a sort of catatonic state, I feel I can now.”

I turned to Aziza. “You baited him?”

“I did.”

“How’d you know he’d defend me?”

“I didn’t completely. But you guide him around, and he gets a slightly softer expression on his face when you touch him or speak. I believe Four has imprinted on you a bit. You provide a safety for him he has either never had or had so long ago, only the shadow of the memory lingers. He’d want to protect that.”

“You gathered all that information in…” I glanced at the clock on the mantel. “Forty minutes?”

“You think it’s a lot, but it’s not.” She gestured to the chair. “Please have a seat, Four. I really do want to talk to you. I didn’t mean what I said to JJ, but I needed you to wake up.”

I faced Four and he was looking right at me. “I’m okay, Four.”

He sighed but did sit. I chose to stand beside him, and I hoped that relaxed him.

“I know you’re likely thinking I manipulated the situation, and you’d be right. Some of my colleagues frown upon that, but in dire situations risks need to be taken.”

“Mean.”

Aziza nodded. “It was, and I’ll be nice to JJ from here on out.”

Four nodded once.

“Shall we begin, Four?”

Another nod and Aziza asked her first question that set the whole tone.

“At what age is your first memory, and what was it?”

“I was very small, no age, screaming. A lot of screaming.”

Maybe I should sit down after all.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SHEP

I returnedto the house late once again. I tried to be quiet so as to not wake anyone, but apparently that didn’t matter since everyone was up.

“Hey.” JJ smiled and came over to me. I cupped his face and kissed him. I’d been so busy with the bakery and him with Four. I’d missed him.

“Hi, babe.”

“Tired, hungry?”

“Not hungry. I ate at the shop, but I’m tired.” I jerked my chin toward everyone congregating in the living room. “What’s going on?”

“Well, Georgia, Maxwell’s daughter…she was relocated to a rehab facility a couple of hours ago. And Maxwell wants to go because it’s in Wyoming and he thinks it’s far enough, but as you can see nobody is cool with that.”

“Are any of us going there?”

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