“Baby,” she says, arms open and she comes right at me.
I let her fold me up into her arms, pressing kisses to my cheek. “You gotta go, Mom. The kids have school, you all have businesses that need running.”
“I don’t want to leave you, not while Chef is still out there.”
“Babe, we can be of more use at home. The Computas have all their shit there, they’ll be able to help Theo and Jay better from there,” Tav soothes.
“I don’t give a shit! My baby lost her husband!”
“He’s technically not lost,” Chewy says in a bland voice, ignoring the way Mom slowly turns her head to glare daggers at her. “Lost would mean he lost his way. He’s more likely been kidnapped.” Chewy takes a noisy slurp of her Capri Sun and I have to stifle the hysterical laughter that wants to bubble up. I know if I let that out, I’ll be sobbing in no time. All emotions must stay locked down until Takoda is safe at home. With me.
“Hey Dayz, check out this giant rat.” Pops points out the window then throws me a wink as Chewy waddles in his direction, saving me from more Chewy truths.
The vibe is extra shitty as my family all start saying their goodbyes. I know the DRMC are struggling with having to leave. Takoda was theirs before he belonged to the Keep, so it must feel like they're abandoning him. Not that anyone is giving up. We'vegot brothers riding out all hours of the day and night searching. Nancy is working her grand dame contacts. Businesses are barely running while we're searching for Takoda.
"We can leave brothers, boost your numbers." Marx offers.
"Brother, your men all have families they need to support. Businesses that need opening," Dex replies, running a hand down his face.
Marx makes a growly noise before conceding. "Status reports 7am and 7pm, until he's found."
"We'll find him, brother."
Marx and Dex do some man back slapping, as do all the men as the Girl Gang all give me hugs, kisses and last minute scraps of advice on how to make a man squeal. I’m not sure if they want me to use some of the moves on Takoda or Nathaniel.
“Psst,” Damian hisses, waving me over to where he, Justice, Joe, and Loyal are standing.
“What are you doing?”
“Keep your voice down!” Joe hisses, making my brows hit my hairline.
“Why are we whispering? And when did you get changed? Why are you in chino’s and polo shirt?” I whisper back, hunching for some reason, because standing upright and whispering feels weird.
“Wanna go get ice cream, cher?” Damian winks.
Standing, I let out a huff, “Dude, what the hell?” I say at normal volume only to have Justice slap his hand over my mouth while Joe and Loyal flap their hands.
I’m stunned into silence for a beat, then I start to thrash a little. When that doesn't work, I poke my tongue out and lick Justice’s palm. He jolts like I’ve electrocuted him, letting me go and taking one large step back.
“She licked me,” he says, hands up in disgust.
“Nice move. Gross, but nice,” Joe nods approvingly.
“Look, can we just like, act normal or something?”
“No. We want to know if you want to get secret ice cream,” Justice says in a bored voice.
“And by secret ice cream, he means, maybe go watch some preachin’ in town?” Joe says in a low voice, her brows wagging.
“Oh.Oh.”
My friends all grin once realization hits me, and I mean, they really could have done this in a much more normal way, but let’s face it, I’m working with two ex Keep members, a spooky Creole woman and a giant fucking chaotic Cajun. Add a woman with a husband kidnapped by my betrothed and we make one fucked up team.
“So you in?” Damian crooks a brow.
“Oh, I’m so fucking in.” Turning to Justice, I can feel the feral grin growing on my face. “Pack a couple of jars from that crate please.”
Chef
