Page 79 of Craving Francesca

“Let us know if you run into any trouble.”

“I will,” I replied, getting to my feet.

“She’s it?” he asked curiously.

I paused. Fuck.

“Yeah, she is.”

“Good choice,” he said simply.

I spent the next few minutes tracking Frankie through the line as she chatted with a couple of the old ladies while they filled their plates. She looked so fragile standing between them. It was so incredibly unlike her that I was still fucking furious no one else seemed to notice.

“Mick,” I called out as my cousin opened the front door. He waited until I caught up to him. “Round up the Hawthornes. Cian and Bas. The MacKenzies. Meet me out back.”

“On it,” he agreed.

Ten minutes later, we’d gathered around the side of the building. The boys were confused but game for whatever.

I hit Cian first. While everyone was wondering why the hell I’d done it, I turned and clipped Bas in the jaw, too. Brody, well, he knew by then what the fuck was happening, and he stood still for his.

“The fuck?” Rumi asked, his eyes lit with glee. “I mean, I love a good sucker punch, but I have no idea what’s going on.”

“She’s fuckin’ wastin’ away, and not a single one of you noticed,” I ground out.

“Who—” Cian muttered, staring at me. My hand curled into a fist again as realization hit his expression. “Frank.”

“That motherfucker has been terrorizin’ her at work,” I said, barely keeping my voice level. My throat strained as I struggled against raising it. “I asked you, every one of you, and every one of you said that shit was over.”

“That’s what she told us,” Brody replied quietly.

“All you had to do was fuckin’lookat her.”

Bas was silent.

“I’m not seein’ what you’re seein’, man,” Otto said softly, trying to calm my ass down. “It’s easy to miss.”

“I noticed it,” Mick countered. “Just saw her inside and wondered if she’d been sick or somethin’.”

“I did, too,” Jamison muttered.

“I’m takin’ her out for the week,” I announced, looking around at them. “And you’re gonna take care of it.”

There were nods all around.

“Cian, Bas, Brody, Titus,” I snapped. “You’re out. He’d recognize you too easy.”

“Fuck that,” Brody argued.

“Not up for discussion.”

“The rest of you are gonna make it hurt. You find him every day. He never knows who you are. You never, ever, say Francesca’s name. Make it clear that if he ever fucks with any woman again, you’ll be back.”

“We’ll make sure it sticks,” Rumi said, his face unnaturally solemn.

“Keep this to yourselves. This gets back to Frankie, those love taps I handed out are gonna be the least of your worries.” I met each of their eyes. I wasn’t fucking around. “Now go back to your women before they start wonderin’ where you are.”

The group thinned out, but I stayed where I was. I wasn’t ready to go mingle again. I was having a hard time stopping myself from going to grab Frankie right then so we could take off.

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