Page 131 of Finding Hope

“Yeah, and you deserved the broken nose you got for it,” Kit argues. She turns on her heel and walks toward the front door. “If you’re in, then let’s roll. If you’re a coward, you can stay here.”

“Brittany.”

My eyes snap to Aiden’s. The calm in the storm. The sensible and quiet brother. “Is your brother gonna shoot any of you?”

“Nope. But I might shoot him.”

“Suits me.” He turns to his wife. “Have fun. I love you. I’ll see you when you come home. Call me if you need to be bailed out. Don’t let Smalls touch the guns.”

She nods, like he’s her military commander and he just gave her permission to fire at will. Stepping onto her tiptoes, she pecks his lips, then follows Kit out the door.

“Bambie, don’t do this.”

I shrug, and when Annie steps up beside me, I take her collar and let her lead me outside. Like a damn comedy act, we climb into the Kincaid family minivan. A group of badass women, metaphorically wearing leather and packing heat, and we’re forced to cruise around in a damn bus.

Tina drives. Kit sits shot gun. Iz and Tink climb into the back with me, then Bean and Evie climb in next. Annie steps in last and flops on everyone.

Seven women and a giant three-legged dog, all set out to defend their man’s honor.

It would be comical, if I wasn’t so pissed at my brother.

Tina drives through the estate gates and heads toward Main Street instead of across town where my house is. Pulling to a skidding stop out front of Jonah’s store, she jumps out quick as a flash and dashes inside.

Three and a half minutes later, she comes out with half a dozen bags. Opening the long sliding door, she sets the bags by my feet and nods seriously.

“Start loading them.”

I look in the bag to find dozens and dozens of eggs. I understand them, I get what she wants to do with those, but the dishwashing liquid and syringes confuse me. I look up into her beautiful blue eyes.

“Put the soap inside the eggs. Be careful, don’t break the shells.”

“I don’t get it.”

“We smash him with the eggs, then the soap makes shit slippery. Add water and stupid boys, and we’ll get bubbles.”

Laughing, I shake my head at the war making its way to my brother’shouse, but that doesn’t stop me from taking out the syringes and passing one to Iz and Tink.

Alex has no clue what’s coming for him.

“Mom, you said shit a lot.”

Tina pins her daughter in the rearview mirror as she climbs into the front. “Babe, you’re a big girl now. You can handle that word. You’ve been saying it since you were two.”

Evie’s eyes dance with giddiness. “I can say shit?”

“Only tonight,” Tina bargains. “Then tomorrow, you stop again.”

“Deal!”

“Deal.” Grumbling, Tina puts the bus into gear and pulls away from the curb. A couple minutes later, we come screaming into my family’s driveway with several dozen soapy eggs, and another few dozen that we didn’t have time to fill yet.

Luc’s bike is gone, but everyone else is still here.

I smile as the blinds twitch, like this is a high stakes hostage situation. Like both sides have high powered automatic weapons, and we all know we’re about to die for a stupid cause.

“Let’s go,” Kit growls.

Fuck me. I might’ve made a mistake telling them what happened.

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