Page 30 of Stolen Goods
Before Addy could stop it, visions from the night before flooded back. The bullets. The evil gleam. The blood. The bodies. She shook her head, clearing the images as her panic spiked, but the question remained. Would Big John or Fred have kept her safe, the way Thad had already proven he could? The Feds maybe, she would trust. Surely the FBI was more capable than any local police force—but how long would it take for them to get here? And what would happen in the meantime, while she was waiting all alone?
Addy swallowed, head creeping slowly to the side, attention drawn inexplicably toward a man who was unquestionably dangerous, yet in this moment, in this situation, felt trustworthy. Her mind jumped back to the night before, as he’d held her in his arms and carried her to safety, promising she’d be okay. In her heart, she’d believed him.
For some insane reason, she still did.
“Okay,” Addy murmured, then took a deep breath, trying to make her voice stronger than she felt. “Okay, I’ll stay with Thad.”
“Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise,” Jo said, earnest. Yet the words did little to calm Addy’s racing heart. “I know that might not mean much, but I trust Thad with my life. He’s saved it more than once. And I trust him with yours too.”
Addy nodded, then promptly realized Jo couldn’t see.
It didn’t matter. Jo jumped in to fill the silence, voice bubbling and lively once more. “You know what helps calm me down? Baking! And talking about baking. Did you finish those buttercream flowers last night?”
“Oh, yeah. Yeah, I did.” The words popped out, requiring no thought at all. This was a topic she could talk about all day, no matter the circumstances. It was comforting to know Jo, her Jo, still felt the same. “Actually, they came out great. They’re in the fridge, cooling, before I—” But she wouldn’t be taking them out to decorate the cake for the wedding on Saturday. Come to think of it, would Edie? When her boss walked into the shop this morning, there would be at least one dead body and a messy paste of blood-soaked flour staining the floor. Edie would scream. She’d call the cops. Addy would be pronounced missing, likely dead. And—
“Addy?” Jo asked softly, as though sensing the turn in her thoughts. “This might cheer you up! Your use of the code brown situation inspired me.”
“What?” Addy shook her head, dispelling the image of Edie’s horrified face and her mother’s tear-filled eyes. “Thatinspired you?”
“I’m going to make a coopie called thecode brown! It’ll be great. I’ll nestle a gooey brownie inside pie crust, and then I’ll dip the whole thing in a chocolate glaze, and maybe top it with a little swirl of ganache in the shape of that poop emoji—just to be cheeky. It could be a social media hit! It might put my food truck on the map.”
“Jo, that’s—that’s genius!” Addy smiled despite herself. Jo had a way of always making that happen, no matter how dour the situation.
“I thought you’d think so. McKenzie might have a fit but, well, we can’t all be fancy French-trained pastry chefs.”
A little giggle slipped through Addy’s lips. “Well, we both know her favorite dessert looks like a turd, just don’t tell her I said so.”
“Which one?” Jo said, then gasped.
At the same time, they both shrieked, “Eclairs!”
Addy laughed—a real, loud, throaty laugh—and a smile widened her cheeks, stretching her muscles in a way that felt good, that felt normal. Even as the sound died away, the sensation of lightness remained, the hope that somehow she’d get through this.
“It’ll be okay, Addy,” Jo said through the silence.
“I know.” And that time, she actually believed it.
“Tell Thad I said,It’s not over, in your most intimidating voice. He’ll know what I mean. And shoot me email updates if you have a chance, so I know you’re okay. I showed Thad how to scatter an IP address ages ago. He should remember. He better remember—”
“I will,” Addy cut in, not wanting to know more than she had to about the criminal activities she’d somehow been wrapped up in. Her mood was better now, amazingly hopeful, and she wanted to keep it that way. “When all of this is over, I demand a coopie. Actually, I demand the firstcode brown, baked fresh, by you.”
“Done.”
Addy hung up and turned to her new protector, not exactly full of confidence when she found him leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching her with dubiously raised brows. She wiped the smile from her face and adopted her most stern expression. “Jo says,It’s not over.”
He rolled his eyes and pushed off the wall, not acknowledging the warning in the slightest. “We need to do something about your look.”
“My look?” Addy glanced down at her polka-dot skirt, the apron she hadn’t realized was still on, the bubbly pink flats. “What about my look?”
“It’s too…” He waved his hands around absently.
“Too what?”
“The pink, the hair, the whole girly-girly vibe…” He frowned. “It’s too obvious.”
Addy arched a brow, not sure where all this indignant attitude had come from, but relishing it all the same. Normally, she was shy, one to shrink back and avoid confrontation at all costs. Yet here, with Thad, for some reason she was itching to finally give someone a piece of her mind. “Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
The edge of his lip quirked in amusement, digging that flirtatious dimple back into his cheek. “It means, if we don’t want to get noticed by the cops or by the bad guys, we need to change your look. How do you feel about being a blonde?”
