Ignoring my brothers, I turned the corner and walked right into Mike and King, who held out his hand. “Coat, keys, wallet, anything that can be used as a weapon.”
“What?”
Mike stood firm, arms crossed over his chest. “Hand them over.”
Doing as the man ordered, I shrugged out of my coat and emptied all my pockets.
King slapped me on my shoulder and stepped to the side. “It was nice knowing you.”
“I’ve turned off the cameras. Bad enough you stepped in it big time and word has already spread. Don’t need visual evidence of your demise floating around, too.”
Gulping, I looked back at my brothers and asked, “How mad is she?”
“Oh, I’d say on a scale of one to ten, she’s nuclear.” Mike grinned, shaking my hand. “Good luck, Doc.”
With that, both men parted like the Red Sea as I walked into the unknown, and just then, I clearly heard King ask, “So what plans do you have for the remodel?”
“Thanks to Jack’s donation, I’m gutting this place and making it modern. There’s this new fingerprinting machine I’ve been dying to get my hands on. I can’t wait to try it out.”
“Dayum!” Bailey cringed while Sarah and Laurel flinched as they watched Josie hurl a stapler at my head. “Now that had to hurt.”
“Yep.” Devlyn grimaced. “My girl’s got a good aim. That’s for sure.”
Shoving more popcorn in her mouth, Bailey asked, “So what’s going on with you, Dev? Haven’t seen you around much lately.”
“Been busy over at city hall.”
“Liar.” Henley smirked, bumping her sister’s shoulder. “Mrs. Cohen told me you put in your two-week notice over a month ago and, according to Morgan, you barely leave your apartment anymore. So what gives, Sis?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Come on, Dev, it’s us,” Henley needled. “Your girlies. What’s going on?”
Sighing, Devlyn stated, “Just needed a break, ya know? Everyone around me is getting married and having babies. Plus, I’m tired of the same old shit day in and day out and can we all just agree, I won’t find anyone here in this town. So, I’m thinking of getting away for a while. Maybe a new adventure. Something to put the spark back into my life.”
“Would have thought a certain Cajun had done that.” Bailey snickered as I ducked another flying chair.
“Mom told me that Jack’s family was coming in for the wedding and wouldn’t you know it, I saw a Mr. Wade Crawley on the guest list,” Laurel offered happily.
“So Gator’s gonna be here for the wedding?” Bailey grinned wickedly.
“Yep.” Laurel nodded. “And according to my mom, it’s not just the Bourbon Kings. Gator’s mom, Marabella, and his aunt Glorianna are coming too. Jack said, the La Croix sisters never miss a family wedding.”
“Yep.” Sugar nodded, shoving popcorn into her mouth as Josie jumped on my back, trying to tie a phone cord around my neck. “My mom is already preparing for her older sisters. I can’t remember the last time all three of the La Croix sisters were in the same room together.”
“What about LeeAnn’s family?” Sarah asked.
Laurel groaned. “Oh, you won’t miss them. They will be the ones in overalls wearing faded white wifebeaters and straw hats. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are traveling north on I-75 rightnow in their supped-up trucks, horns blaring, singing “Dixieland Delight”!”
“Drop the scissors!” King shouted as Josie huffed, doing as she was told. Yet in the next instant, all the girls cringed, and the men groaned as Josie grabbed my crotch and squeezed tightly.
“Look at me,” my woman seethed.
Breathing through my nose, I nodded and gave her my complete, undivided attention.
“If you ever, EVER,” she screeched, “think about having my ass thrown in jail again, you better make damn sure I don’t get out! You get me, George Harrison Steiner?”
I squealed as her little hand tightened. “Yep. Yes, ma’am. I get you.”
