Page 77 of Smooth Sailing

“You can’t tell Muzzle and Big Petey about Suzette when Suzette is around. They’re gonna freak.”

She was right. They were gonna freak.

“But they need to know,” she continued. “And Big Petey and I have to come up with a strategy of how to get her to open up, and he and I can’t have a huddle with her around. We’ve already taken off first thing on a Saturday, which she might find weird. I don’t want her to think we’re ganging up on her or something is wrong.”

She was right again.

“We’ll finesse sharin’ the new intel and doin’ it away from Suzette,” he assured.

“I can keep her occupied. Maybe, if you’re ready to take Big Petey and Muzzle away, you can give me a hand gesture, like this one.”

She then, with her free hand, executed a hand gesture that would make any football offensive coach cream his pants it was so intricate and convoluted.

Hugger couldn’t believe it after the news they’d just heard, but it took everything he had not to bust out laughing.

How she managed to con hospital staff and a cop to get to Suzette, he had no clue. It was probably less about the con, and more about her charm.

“Then I’ll know to get her someplace she doesn’t notice you guys are gone, or something,” she finished.

“You don’t think she’s gonna notice me doin’ whatever you just did with your hand?” he asked, and he didn’t have enough left after stopping himself from laughing to control his voice vibrating with humor.

She screwed up her face in irritation.

“Well, do you have a plan?” she snapped.

“I’m gonna send Muzzle to Eight. Eight can tell him. I’m back, so we don’t need him here right now. And Pete can learn later. Don’t think it’s good we’re off someplace first thing in the morning, and you go barrelin’ in there to get her to share all her secrets and make a decision about something as important as her safety. But you do go in there easing into it. A little more pressure, a little more attention. She’s good where’s she’s at right now, and the FBI can wait until she’s ready. This all doesn’t have to happen today.”

“Good call,” she muttered.

“Can we go up now?” he asked.

She shot him a look he was sure she thought could kill, but it didn’t, since it was cute. She then hit the elevator button, so he guessed her answer was an affirmative.

Muzzle practically bowled him over on his way out as they were on their way in, which meant Eight already called him.

Pete gave him a What the fuck is up? look, which Hugger had no choice but to return with a Later one.

Diana got the brilliant idea to keep the day chill by doing normal stuff, and she corralled Suzette into helping her with it.

This included cleaning, doing laundry, sending Pete to the store with another list and starting the white chili (again in the Crock-pot). Hugger lugged out the trash and recycling and commandeered the vacuum after Diana pulled it out. Suzette and Diana made a pie (strawberry, fucking amazing, it was better than her elote). And they all sat around in the afternoon and watched a hilarious British movie called Death at a Funeral (Diana’s choice).

The boys showed at six.

They ate at the dining room table. They gabbed. Muzzle pissed him off (even though it was obviously a joke) by asking Diana to marry him after he ate her pie. And Hugger further reconsidered how he felt about Resurrection when Eight showed how pleased he was when Diana approved of the wine he brought (and he brought five bottles, though she only tasted one).

They took off a lot earlier than they did the night before. Pete went with them.

And the improvements kept coming when Suzette didn’t retreat to her room but watched another movie with them even though Hugger was there.

Diana coaxed Suzette to make the choice that time. She chose a Disney movie, Encanto, which Hugger was surprised didn’t suck, and the music was tight.

They all hit the sack after that, with Suzette speaking the first words she’d ever said to him, “’Night, Hugger.”

So more improvement.

When the women had gone to bed, he’d gone out on the balcony to call Rush and Big Petey.

Pete was at the crash pad, so by the time Hugger spoke to him, he already knew.

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