AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brax looped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a sideways hug before leading her into the dining room. Everyone’s attention snapped their direction. Channeling some of Lily’s grace, Feb managed to stay upright on wobbly knees as she crossed to the empty chair beside Hawes. “Is Jax okay?”
“They’re good,” Hawes said. “Unhurt. Hacking for Ariel.”
“But he’s the bad guy?”
Hawes tilted his head one way, then the other. “To be determined.”
“I don’t follow.”
A deep, unfamiliar chuckle rumbled from the far end of the table. “It’s not always easy.” The honeyed Southern drawl drew Feb’s gaze, but that sexy accent was just the tip of the iceberg. Its owner was attractive enough to sink the fucking Titanic—waves of light brown hair, bright blue eyes, a wide, easy smile that had no business existing in this world. And good god, those shoulders. “Jesus, you’re fucking hot” was out of her mouth before she could catch it. She belatedly slapped a hand over her mouth, fingertips seared by the heat hitting her cheeks. “Sorry, sorry, sometimes the words outrun my brain. Apologies, mister...”
The unfairly handsome man smiled wider, humor dancing in his eyes. “Jamie’s just fine.”
Feb didn’t think the rest of the table was snickering at Jamie. “What’s so funny?” Besides the hotness iceberg sinking her manners. “I’m missing something, aren’t I?”
“Not a sports fan?” Helena asked.
“I can’t walk across my parents’ backyard without falling into a hole, so no.”
“Can we get back on topic?” The weariness in Fletcher’s voice sucked the humor right out of the room. The detective looked weary too, his blond hair raked through, the stubble over his upper lip dense, his brown eyes impossibly more bloodshot than they were last night.
“Again, sorry,” she apologized to the table at large, but mostly to him. “So Jax is okay for real?”
“For now,” he said. “I don’t think Ariel will hurt them. There’s no evidence he ever hurt anyone.”
Except you. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she caught them this time, not wanting to burden the poor man any more. He’d been held hostage like her, and from what she’d overheard last night, he’d also run interference with SFPD at the scene. And he’d had some sort of past relationship with Ariel. She didn’t need to add to his burdens; he had plenty already. “That’s good.” She gave him a small nod, then, glancing around the table again, focused on Mel. “Umm, Brax said you needed my help?”
“We need you to redo the Valentine’s Day meal.”
Feb shot out of her chair so fast it fell over. “Nope, nope, nope.”
Hawes clasped her wrist, more gently than she would have expected him capable of, enough to give her pause. “Hear us out,” he urged. “I want to get Jax back safely as much as you do. We all do.”
She held his ice blue stare, trying to soak up some of his steadiness. A deep breath later, she kneeled, righted her chair, and lowered herself back into it. “I’m listening.”
Holt slid a printout across the table to her. She recognized the branded banner across the top, the headline and review she’d read at least a dozen times since it had appeared that morning. “Did you catch what Ariel said in the second to last paragraph?”
“That he’d be back this Friday. I figured it was filler, like all the rest, seeing as he didn’t eat a bite to start with.”
“We think it was meant to lure someone there,” Mel said.
“So you—and now Ariel—want to use my restaurant as bait? Again?” She shook her head. “Nope, no thank you. I can’t risk my people or guests like that again. Not to mention the problems of the bullet holes in the ceiling, furniture in splinters, knives in the upholstery...”
“We can fix the dining room by Friday,” Brax said. “And none of your chefs or guests would be there this time. Only us.”
“We can handle the kitchen too,” Mel said. Jamie barked out a laugh that he failed to cover with a cough, but Mel ignored him, her intense gaze still on Feb. “You don’t need to risk yourself.”
“Jax was risking themselves, though, weren’t they? These past three months, Ariel could have come into UTT at any time. Jax was watching over us in case he did.”
“They were,” Mel conceded.
“I’ll be there. It’s my kitchen, and I owe Jax that much.” She angled in her chair toward Hawes. “Can I get your help in the kitchen?”
While his smile wasn’t as showstopping as Jamie’s, its softness in a face of such sharp angles was equally beautiful and far more interesting. “I’d love the chance to cook with you again.”
“Chloe will be there too,” Holt said, and Feb nearly sprained her neck whipping her head around so fast. “Like I’m giving that bitch a knife ever again.”
Laughter erupted around the table, even from Fletcher.
