Page 20 of Tainted King

“That’s what I’ve been telling her, but she refused to leave the hospital, until Althea threatened to take her off the approved visitor list.” Gunner, her fiancé, slung an arm around Freya’s shoulders and kissed her head. She leaned into him with a contented sigh.

“Hey, Gunner,” I greeted him, glad Freya had someone to lean on.

“Quinn.” He nodded at me. “I hope Liam explained everything to you on the way here.”

Freya studied me, a frown line appearing on her forehead. “Liam picked you up?”

“Yeah, he picked me up from the hospital. Why?”

Turning to Jude, she had a puzzled expression on her face, the frown line deepening. “He went all the way to San Francisco to pick up Quinn?”

Jude shrugged, then stuffed half a garlic bread in his mouth. “Don’t look at me like I know what’s going on with him. He wouldn’t let anyone else do it.”

Crumbs flew everywhere, and I was glad I stood far enough away to avoid the spray.

“Gross, dude,” Freya complained, grimacing. “Did you grow up in a cave?”

“Ugha, ugha,” he chanted, and with a nod at Gunner, he left.

Freya accepted the glass of water Nim handed her with a grateful smile. “Thank you, Nim. Gabriel and Liam should be here any minute, and then we can eat.”

I tensed at the mention of Liam. But as Freya was turned to face Nim, I hoped she didn’t see my reaction.

I chanced a glance at Gunner, my body going tight as a bowstring to see him studying me. He was great at reading people, and I’d come to realize that he didn’t miss much, if anything.

“Can I help set the table?” I asked Nim, who was putting the food in big bowls and on serving trays.

“That would be wonderful. Plates are in the cupboard next to the fridge, and cutlery is in the drawer opposite.”

I grabbed what I needed, sighing in relief that I could escape Gunner’s scrutiny. Even though I’d done nothing wrong, he always made me feel like the kid who was caught with their hand in the candy jar.

Nim carried the food in, shooing Freya and me away when we tried to take some of the platters. “You guys sit down and relax. Get yourself another drink.”

“You want to open some bubbles?” Freya asked, already uncorking a bottle.

Alcohol sounded great right now, especially since I needed liquid courage to survive dinner with Liam. “Sure. At least a near-death experience is a good excuse to start drinking.”

She settled in next to me, and we clinked glasses. “We’re going to have so much fun.”

“This is not a vacation, Freya. Your lives are in danger.” Liam’s gravelly voice made my belly flutter in excitement.

Freya waved him off, her glass swaying precariously in front of her. “You’re totally overreacting.”

Liam sat down opposite me, usual scowl in place. “The fire at her restaurant was deliberately set. We know because we picked up Harold and he sang like a bellbird’s mating call.”

Freya leaned closer, whispering loud enough for everyone to hear, “Liam used to be kind of a nerd. One of his hobbies was birds.” She fake shuddered. “The other one was playing piano. The first year of lessons was brutal.”

Jude plopped down in the empty chair next to me, and Gabriel took a seat on Liam’s other side. His facial features were similar to his brothers’, but his eyes were a startling blue.

Liam pulled a platter piled high with meat closer. “Let’s eat. I have to get back to work.”

His words seemed to be enough to declare open season on the food. I watched the three brothers put enough on their plates to last me three days. Freya stabbed Jude’s hand to get the last piece of steak, his startled yelp ignored in the chaos.

My plate disappeared only to return filled with food.

“Did you give her your food?” Gabriel asked, frowning at Liam.

Liam carefully cut his steak. “She’s a guest. And I didn’t give her all of it.”

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