Page 14 of Covert Chaos

"Let's go." Hattie pointed to the back of the kitchen. "Let's go that way."

Emmeline watched us. "Who are you hiding from?"

"Mia's boyfriend," Hattie said cheerfully as she led the way across the kitchen.

"One of many," Lucy said.

I elbowed her. "Just stop with that?—"

The back door flew open, and a gorgeous, and I meangorgeous,Black woman burst through the door and crashed right into Hattie. "Whoops!" She grabbed Hattie’s shoulders to steady her, then burst into a huge smile. "Hattie! What trouble are you causing in my kitchen?"

"Chef Felicia!" Hattie sidestepped a big, ebullient hug, which made me laugh. Hattie wasn't really the type to randomly hug. "I heard you were here. Congrats on this new position."

"Thank you! It's been amazing! I love having my own kitchen." Chef Felicia's hair was hidden under her chef's hat, and her white chef's shirt was splattered with food. At first glance, she sort of looked like she'd been murdered, too, but it was definitely just food.

Yay for that. I didn't need a walking corpse in my life right now. That would take being a Corpse Whisperer to a level I had no interest in attaining.

She was wearing no makeup or jewelry. And yet, this woman was radiant. Not just her face, but her entire being seemed to emanate joy for life.

I wanted to be that happy. She was my life idol.

Hattie pointed at me and Lucy, even as she continued to move toward the hallway. "These gals are my nearest and dearest, Mia Murphy and Lucy Grande. Ladies, meet Chef Felicia, who is almost as good as I am."

"Almost as good as you, Hattie? That makes my day. That’s the gold standard right there." Amusement flickered on Chef Felicia's face. "Dare I even ask why you and your friends are in my kitchen?"

"We're being hunted by Mia's boyfriend," Hattie said cheerfully. "Can you pretend you didn't see us?" Hattie reached the back door and shoved it open. "It's girls date night," she said. "No one wants a man to invade girls date night."

"Agreed," Chef Felicia said. "I'd say this is an odd place for girls date night, but I've known you long enough not to be surprised by anything." There was warmth in her voice that made my heart smile.

I liked this gorgeous, model-worthy breath of beautifulness. She accepted Hattie as she was, and that made her a winner in my book.

Hattie paused. "How do you like working with Beckwith and Charles for those pies?"

Chef Felicia’s gaze slid over to Emmeline, then back to Hattie. "They're fine."

They weren't fine. She was lying. Dammit. All these people were lying.

At that moment, the door to Devlin's hallway began to open.

No more time for questions. But what was going on with Chef Felicia and the Barnes brothers?

Hattie placed her index finger across her lips and pointed at the door.

Chef Felicia winked. "Don't you worry, my dear. Head on out to the back deck. I'll send drinks out. Go do your girl stuff!" Then she grabbed her spoon and headed toward Devlin's door.

Hattie and Lucy sprinted out the door into the back hall, but I paused, because I couldn't quite help it. I wanted to see what was going to happen.

King Tut poked his head out of my sweatshirt, and I let him. If I got caught, King Tut being with me in a commercial kitchen would not be the top issue I was dealing with.

Emmeline pulled out her phone to text.

The door opened, and I saw Devlin poke his head in, but before he could take a step inside, Chef Felicia parked herself in front of him. "Hey! Out of my kitchen! Now!" she shouted, waving her spoon like a crazy celebrity chef gone mad.

Devlin looked at her sharply, but didn't pull back. "Did three women come through here?"

Emmeline looked up at the sound of his voice, her eyes going wide. Then she shoved her phone in her pocket, pulled back her shoulders, and started cutting slices of pie.

The kitchen door opened, and Rachel burst in, bumping into Devlin. "Where's Mia? Mia Murphy is here," she told Devlin. "She's hiding from you."

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