Page 58 of Frosted and Sliced

“Yes, because here’s why: if you constantly chase the good opinion of people, you’re going to feel amazing when you have it. But anything that has to be earned can also be lost, just as easily, and then you’ll feel terrible when that happens. And it will, because those people who bestow and revoke their opinions at will get high on the power of doing so. You’ll get caught in a perpetual cycle of trying to earn love and approval. So forget them, because they don’t matter. Find your ride or die people and focus on them.”

“How do you know when you’ve found your ride or die people?”

“They’re the people who show up, who don’t just say the words, they’re the people who actually show up and do the work.”

She thought of Brody, of Elyse and Cotton, who had pitched in to carry her tonight when she was out of her head. They hadn’t complained, hadn’t berated her, had merely done what needed to be done and continued to love her. And she thought of Burke, who’d driven to Boston to track down Siggy, to make certain he was safe. Of Burke, who had given so much of his time, effort, and energy to help her the last few months, who had renovated her attic at his own cost, who had hired decorators to complete her dream of a fantasy Christmas, who had washed her dishes and defended her to Jenna, who had been in the background of her life the last few months, ready and willing to swoop in and save her. She took a shaky breath and let it out in a whoosh, taking a step closer to him as her hands reached out and gathered his shirt.

Burke tensed but not, she realized suddenly, with displeasure. Always before when he’d tensed this way, she’d assumed it was because he was uncomfortable with her close proximity, with her unwelcome presence invading his hard-earned space. But tonight for the first time she saw it forwhat it was: Burke tensed because his body was aware of her, maybe evenwantedher. This tension had another name, and now she called it what it actually was: attraction. Burke wanted her, maybe desperately, a fact that was confirmed when he swallowed hard and smoothed his thumb along her windpipe, staring at her lips.

Georgette stood on her toes and tipped her face toward his. Short of installing a blaring PLEASE KISS ME sign on her forehead, she wasn’t certain how she could make her wishes any more clear. But instead of kissing her, Burke took a step away.

Before she could become offended by that, she realized an alarm was blaring from somewhere nearby. Flinching, she glanced around to see if anything was on fire, but it wasn’t that sort of alarm. Georgie knew because she’d had the fire alarm hard-wired to the lights, so she’d be certain to notice. The lights didn’t flicker, meaning this was something else.

Burke pushed open a panel, typed something, and the outside cameras flicked to life. Georgette watched as two people, dressed in black, began attempting to break in the back door of the inn.

With an annoyed sigh, Burke reached for a remote control and typed something into it. Fascinated, almost as if she were watching a movie, Georgette saw something fly out of the blackness and land on the two people, knocking them to the ground and pinning them there while they squirmed furiously, attempting futilely to get away.

This was the most intense, fascinating thing Georgette had ever witnessed, but Burke’s expression remained flat, almost annoyed, as he faced her. “I have to go deal with this. Don’t leave this room. I’m locking you in.”

And just like that, he was gone.

CHAPTER 25

Georgie dithered.

Should she call the police? No, that was no good. Maybe if the police weren’t her big brother, she might have. But she imagined calling Brody in on this, trying to explain Siggy’s kidnapping and whatever this new thing was. It had to be related to Siggy, didn’t it? Had he alerted someone? Was this a rescue attempt? Or possibly revenge?

Uncertain what to do next, Georgette sat at Burke’s desk and watched the scene play out on the cameras he’d installed. The two people in black remained pinned to the ground by whatever had flown at them from the darkness. Squinting, leaning closer for a better view, Georgette saw that it was some kind of circular electronic device. Where it came from or how it worked, she had no idea. She had never seen such a thing before. Either it was painful or very heavy, because no matter how much the two people tried to escape, they couldn’t. They weren’t paralyzed, she could tell by their squirming, but they were impenetrably detained.

Burke came into view, unhurried as always, confident and secure. She liked the way he walked. It gave her a good feeling, as if he were in charge, which he undoubtedly was. He crouchedbeside the first person and pulled off the mask. Georgie gasped, pressing her hand to her mouth as Jenna Archer’s face came into view. Even though Georgie was a topnotch lip reader, the screen was too fuzzy and dark to tell what she said to Burke. There was no mistaking her anger, however. Whatever words she said were spit and hissed, enraged.

Burke, unruffled, stood and made his way over to the other person, who turned out to be Jenna’s husband. Unlike his wife, he wasn’t angry. Georgie could tell because he wept piteously. Whether from pain or the fear of discovery, Georgie didn’t know. As she watched, it seemed like Jenna turned her fury on him.Shut up, stupid.Georgie definitely read those words from Jenna’s lips, and felt thankful all over again that Brody hadn’t ended up with her. Alone was better than with Jenna, of that much she was certain.

Reassured that Burke had the scene in hand and wasn’t in danger, she sat back, wishing for popcorn. It really was like a movie, she thought, as she saw Burke pull out his phone, dial someone, and talk for a while. He hung up and stared down at the pair on the ground, considering. Then he removed the remote from his pocket and touched something. Like magic, the devices fell off Jenna and Mitch. They struggled to their feet, Mitch still crying, Jenna still berating. Burke said something. Jenna yelled and pointed to him. Burke took a step toward her. Mitch put out a hand and grasped his wife’s wrist, dragging her away.

When they were safely gone, back into the darkness from whence they arrived, Burke retrieved the two circular devices. Georgie watched him go out of view from one camera and come into view on another, to the back of the inn where he’d built a wooden shed of sorts. She’d thought he’d built it to disguise the trashcans, but apparently not because when he opened it she saw an electronic unit that looked like it housed futuristicrobots. He secured the circular devices back into their slots. On closer inspection Georgette realized there were four of them, not two. Then Burke re-locked the shed, turned toward the camera, and waved at Georgette before heading unhurriedly back inside.

Suddenly Georgette felt a flutter of panic. They’d been on the track to something monumental, but now the moment was gone, and she had no idea how to get it back again. She liked being Burke’s friend, but she wanted so much more, and she had no idea how to make it happen.

Burke opened the door and walked to the bed, taking a seat across from her while she remained at the desk. “You know, for a small town inn in the middle of one of the least-populated states, you have a lot of intrigue here, Georgette.”

The way he said her name gave her a little chill. How had she never noticed that he said it like a caress? “Were they after more globes?”

He shook his head. “What did you say to Jenna tonight? Something about The Oracle?”

Georgette flushed. “Oops, sorry. I don’t actually remember. Apparently drunk me has loose lips.”

Burke’s gaze fell to her lips, and she got another chill. “Anyway, they weren’t after a globe, they were after you.”

Her brows rose. “Me? What did they want with me?”

“They wanted to know what you knew, wanted to use you as leverage to get to me. Or something, I don’t know. I think it was probably Mitch’s plan. Let’s just say that the villains on Scooby Doo came up with better ideas. Mitch’s hamster stopped turning a long time ago, I think, and Jenna’s too blinded by jealousy and rage to think rationally.”

“I don’t understand,” Georgette said.

“Purses. Jenna’s been using their maple shipments to smuggle knockoff designer purses from Bulgaria.”

“That was the chatter The Oracle picked up?”

---