Chapter 16 #3
I shrugged. “It just takes practice, and you’re already getting the hang of it. Soon enough we’ll be teaching you how to wield a blade and shoot a gun.”
She grimaced. “I don’t know about all that. I’m pretty squeamish about blood.”
“We’ll see.” I grinned, dropping the pads and heading back to collect our waters.
We lapsed into a comfortable silence as Sophia caught her breath.
The echo of the front door opening and multiple footsteps clomping through the doorway drew me on high alert, but I relaxed a moment later when their voices floated down to us.
“Francine is here?” Sophia asked excitedly before she mopped up the sweat from her brow and guzzled down the rest of her water.
Despite only meeting the one time at the ice cream shop, Francine quickly became one of Sophia’s favorite people. We rushed up the stairs just as they were coming down the hallway. Kellan, Spade, and Merrick all followed behind the older woman.
Sophia pounced on Francine the moment she laid eyes on her, wrapping her up in a tight embrace. I honestly wasn’t sure if Francine had truly made that much of an impact on her, or if she was just grateful to see someone apart from the six of us for once.
“I’d appreciate the hug more if you weren’t getting your sweat all over me.” Francine patted her gingerly, not pushing her away despite her words.
“Sorry.” Sophia winced. “I’ll run up for a shower quickly.”
She turned on her heel and rushed up the stairs, nearly tripping in her haste.
I grinned, but the smile faded the moment I glanced back at Francine. “You read the note?”
She nodded, tucking her hand into her pocket like she hadn’t been able to part from it. “And I want to be there when you go tonight.”
I couldn’t argue with her. She had a right to be there since she was the only reason we had this lead in the first place, and she could be extremely stubborn.
We all headed into the kitchen, and Merrick helped me gather refreshments.
We both grabbed a water and a protein shake for ourselves and put the kettle on for Francine.
Someone must’ve made a fresh pot of coffee earlier since there was still some warming on the machine.
Merrick poured Kellan and Spade a cup before rejoining me at the counter.
“How was your talk?”
“It was good.” I grinned, pressing my lips to his in a tender kiss. “Thank you for giving us some time alone.”
“Anything for you, little devil.” He chased my mouth as I pulled back, stealing another kiss before pulling away and gathering a mug and tea bag for Francine just as the kettle went off.
I grabbed our drinks and Sophia’s as we joined the others at the table, a tense silence filling the air between them.
“What’s going on?” I asked, a furrow forming between my brows.
“I told Francine we’d take the lead just in case it’s a setup, but she wants to go in first.” Kellan frowned.
“If that boy is going to kill any of us, he’s going to look me in the eye while he does it.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her jaw set stubbornly.
“It’s almost lunch; why don’t we get some food ready while we discuss it?” I tried to appeal to both of them, but neither would budge.
“I said I should take the lead.” Spade grinned, and I knew I immediately had to put a stop to that.
“Nope, he’ll be dead by the time any of us get in there.” I placed a hand on my hip, but he only laughed and threaded his fingers through mine.
“Oh, you know me so well, sugar.”
“We can’t really stop her if she wants to go in first.” I shrugged, drawing glares from Merrick and Kellan. “It’s her shop, and her choice. I don’t like it, but she knows him best, and it was her idea after all.”
Francine sat up a little straighter, her lips curled into a triumphant grin.
“Fine, but we’ll only give you a minute, then we’re coming in.” Kellan’s tone was harsher than usual, and I knew he wouldn’t brook any arguments.
Francine seemed to sense the same since she just nodded, her smile dimming a bit, but that was the best we could do.
“Okay then.” I clapped my hands, not wanting the conversation to lapse into any more disagreements. “Let’s have lunch, then we can show Francine around the property. The twenty-four-hour mark isn’t until eleven tonight, so we should all get some downtime before we head out.”
Merrick nodded his agreement. “We’ll get you a room or take you back to the motel if you want to get some rest.”
“Knowing you, if I return to the motel, you’ll try to leave me there.” Francine glared at the guys before taking a sip from her mug.
“I wouldn’t let them do that,” I said. “But you don’t need to. There are still a few empty rooms you can use.”
“Thank you.” Her eyes softened as they met mine.
“Did I hear lunch?” Sophia asked excitedly, bounding into the room with Sebastian unsurprisingly on her heels. Thankfully she wasn’t shouting about it this time. Her brow pinched before settling in the seat next to Francine.
I would take the little wins. And if Sophia felt marginally better after our talk, that was all that mattered to me, even if they ended up still sniping at each other.