The man obeyed, but he didn’t turn. Not right away. When he finally did, it was slow. Hesitant.
He tried to hide it.
He tried to look innocent and failed spectacularly.
He tried to act confused by my anger—and failed at that, too.
He might as well have stamped guilty on his own forehead.
“Okay, what the fuck is happening?” Glitch asked, his voice getting closer until he was right beside me.
I held up my hand but otherwise ignored him and Rhys’s similar question.
Something between a growl and a grumble came from Rhys. I knew it had to be him because the noise was behind me, not next to me.
I worked to keep my voice even. Flat. Scarily calm. “Please tell me that you visited Sweets You Rock today.”
“Uh, no?” the unnamed prospect answered before giving a look to the man at my side like I was crazy.
I kept the same tone. “A different bakery that just happened to copy Piper?”
“No—”
“Then would you care to explain why I just saw you eatingmycupcake?”
“Oh shit,” Glitch muttered, though he made no move to protect his friend.
And he should’ve.
I busted out my scariest scowl and stared at the man. He might’ve had six inches or so on me, but there was no mistakingthe fact I was looking down on him despite that height disadvantage.
“I wasn’t,” he tried, lighting the gas like the gaslighter he was.
I didn’t respond to lies. And it didn’t take my honed detective skills to know that was exactly what he was spewing.
The evidence of his treachery was on his face.
Figurativelyandliterally. There were pink crumbs in his patchy mustache.
He squirmed under my silence before trying to save face. “Whatever, I have work to do.”
“You just said you were leaving,” Glitch contradicted, and I almost felt bad. Not to mention, stupidly dramatic for making a small thing into something way bigger than it needed to be.
But I was too angry and too hungry to feel guilty, dammit.
“Answer her question,” he prodded when the silence stretched.
“What question?” the guy mumbled with a doofy expression that said he was trying to act innocent and unbothered at the same time. Like he couldn’t be caught since he hadn’t done anything, but he also wasn’t scared that he’d been caught.
Or maybe he was holding in a fart.
God, he looks so dumb while playing dumb, I almost believe it.
“Why’d you eat her cupcake?” Glitch asked.
The guy let out a sigh, and I could almost see him mentally rolling his eyes. Like his thievery was a joke. “I was hungry. And it was there. I thought…”
My anger reached new heights at his dismissive attitude. “You thoughtwhat?”
