“Hey, Josie,” Laurel greeted, walking over to me, dragging the poor man behind her. “Hope you don’t mind one more. This is Alek, Nikoli’s older brother.” Laurel smiled proudly asshe patted his chest. “He’s staying a spell to catch up with his brother.”
The handsome man smiled, extending his hand.
“I hope I’m not too much of an inconvenience,” he said with a Russian accent.
Waving the thought away, I smiled. “Oh please. Welcome to my home, and please make yourself comfortable.”
“Come look at this, Uncle Alek!” Kai shouted across the room as the man grinned and walked away.
Linking her arm in mine, Laurel whispered as Jasper and Jasmine walked back into the room, making a beeline for Kai. “It’s a long story, but the short version is Alek and Nik were separated years ago because of some bloody war in Russia. They only reconnected a few weeks ago.”
I was about to ask more when the elevator dinged again, only this time it was my cousins, Romeo and Gator, who had Cameron flung over his shoulder, limply.
“Josie!” Romeo shouted, halting all conversations as I ran over to them.
“What the hell happened to Cameron?” I asked as Frank, George, and Lidi rushed over to check on the young boy, who was now giggling uncontrollably.
“You gotta help us, Josie, before King finds out. It wasn’t our fault. We were just teaching him how to play quarters. We didn’t know. We swear!” Romeo quickly said as George reached for a pulse as Lidi gasped, wrinkling her nose, taking a step back.
“We din’ know where else to take him,” Gator muttered, looking at a frighteningly angry Frank, who stood ramrod straight with his arms crossed over his chest.
“It was an accident. We thought it was Sprite,” Romeo added.
Narrowing my eyes, I asked, “You thought what was a Sprite?”
Cameron’s head popped up, his eyes glazed and bloodshot as he shouted to the room. “WHAZ’ UP, party bitches!”
“Juju’s moonshine,” my cousins both whispered.
LeeAnn gasped.
My dad whistled.
Frank growled.
“Oh. My. God!” I screeched. “He’s drunk?!”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Georgie
Quietly closing the door, I stormed down the hallway and grabbed Dumb & Dumber by the scruff of their necks, shoving them both against the wall. “Just what in the hell were you two thinking? I said watch the kid, not get him so fucking drunk he’s tasting colors and seeing smells! Do either of you have any fucking idea what King is going to do to me?”
“Oh, I know,” Banks piped up, chuckling.
“Not helping, babe,” Laurel smirked as I glared at her husband.
“Bad enough Josie took my balls earlier, ’cause now King is going to shove my dick up my ass when he sees that boy!”
“Aw, Doc.” Gator sighed. “It’s a harmless accident.”
“Yeah.” Romeo nodded. “Could have happened to anyone.”
“But it wasn’t anyone,” I seethed. “It happened to a seven-year-old boy, albeit a major pain in the ass, but more importantly, it happened to King’s son! My prez loves that brat and you got him drunk!”
“Actually, we didn’t. Like we said, we thought he was drinking a Sprite,” Romeo insisted as I growled.
“George,” Josie calmly said, rubbing my back. “I’m sure my cousins meant no harm. They would never intentionally allow a seven-year-old to drink moonshine, even if they were both raised in a barn.”
