“Macy kicked us out.”
“Good. You can’t stick around.” She held up a small bag. “Take these and go.”
The panic in her voice reminded him of Maya, the day they arrived. He reached for her. “What are you afraid of, Nile?”
“I’m afraid of what will happen if you’re still here when my brother gets back.” She thrust the bag at his chest and tried to walk away.
“Hey,” he grabbed her arm, tugging her back. “Don’t you think we need to talk? What’s going on?”
Her resistance wasn’t strong enough for him to notice. “Your brother and his friend are the stupidest people I’ve ever met in my life. Jake declared war. People are going to suffer. If you go now, it might be averted. But after tonight, I won’t help you. I won’t help anyone.”
Her desperation crept into his soul. “No. No. Quit with this vague shit. Tell me what’s going on.”
She wasn’t paying attention. A car came down the street. It was a Rolls Royce. “Crap.” She ripped the bag open, grabbed a cupcake, and shoved it into his mouth. The car stopped in front of the B&B.
“Wha’ the...” He tried to talk around the cake.
“Eat it!” She pushed more in.
He had to swallow to keep from gagging.
“Get out of here.” She brushed aside a tear, kissed him quick and ran.
Dylan stood there frozen. His mind was unable to process. The only thought he could muster was, it was a red velvet cupcake with real cream cheese frosting.
Chapter Seventeen
Macy’s booming voice brought Dylan out of his stupor. Sonny told him not to eat the food. Did Nile poison him? Naw. That didn’t fit the get-out-of-dodge message she laid on him. He wiped his mouth and went around front.
Macy changed from her house dress into attire more suitable for business. She passed out Americanos that had nothing to do with espressos. Tigris, her dad, and uncle accepted the drinks. Across from them, Jake and Sonny both declined, earning stares of disapproval.
Dylan inhaled deeply and walked up the steps. “Good evening,” he said.
“Would you like a drink, Dylan?” Macy offered.
“I would. Thank you.” Dylan reached for a glass.
Jake stopped him. “No, he doesn’t want a drink either. We’re good.”
Dylan quirked an eyebrow.
Tigris snickered.
“We don’t need your food. We don’t need your drinks,” Sonny said. “We’re leaving.”
“On your way to Connecticut?” Uncle Nick inquired.
“Not at all.” Jake took a step forward.
Sonny cut in, “Don’t worry about our business.”
“Yet, you feel you need to worry about ours.” Tigris sipped her Americano.
“We haven’t met,” Ronald offered his hand to Sonny. “You may call me, Mr. Bishop.”
“You may call me Mr. Hurston.” Sonny didn’t shake his hand until Dylan nudged him.
Ronald chose not to address him at all, directing his comments to Jake and Dylan instead. “You boys have no idea what you’re getting yourself involved in. For the good of everyone, please...please, go home and put this behind you.”
Jake shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere without Maya. If you were interested in anyone’s good, you wouldn’t have interfered with her happiness.”
“If you were interested in Maya’s happiness, you would have come alone,” Tigris said, “But, you didn’t. It doesn’t matter what business you think you’re about, for your own good, you...and your crew need to leave.”
“Our good?” Jake asked. “Look, I’m just going to say it. We know you’ve been blackmailing and poisoning people.” He pointed to the tray Macy still held.
“We’ve already talked to the FBI— they’re on to you—so you can’t hurt us.” Sonny smirked.
Jake kept talking. “Why don’t you cooperate? Or, at the very least, leave us alone.”
Tigris looked at Nick. He hunched his shoulders. She turned to Ronald. He shook his head no. She nodded once and said, “Okay.”
Dylan’s stomach tightened. That ‘okay’ felt ominous.
Jake had the same reaction. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
“What’s that mean?” Sonny asked.
“It means okay...all right...whatever...” Tigris talked slow.
Macy heaved a sigh. “May I be excused?”
“By all means,” Ronald said. They returned their cups to her tray. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
“Pleasure. Call me if you need anything.” She went inside.
Jake reclaimed the conversation. “That’s it? That’s all you have to say? You didn’t want us here. You’ve been trying to get us to leave from the start. Now, it’s okay?”
“That’s right, bright boy.” Tigris flipped her braids out of her way. “You don’t know anything about anything, but that hasn’t stopped you at all. You’re going to die. Probably sooner rather than later. We wanted you gone because in general, we’re not fond of death. But, you’re grown. Stay as long as you want. I’m sure Macy will let you keep your rooms.”
Sonny sneered. “We’re not going to die. But you might be going to prison for threatening us.”
“That’s funny.” Tigris got in his face. “We haven’t been poisoning you, dumbass. We’ve been protecting you. Now, we’re done.” She followed her father and uncle down the steps but turned back. She went to Dylan. “I hope you enjoyed your cake.” She brushed the telltale crumbs from his shirt. “There won’t be another one like it.”
Dylan matched her words to Nile’s frantic actions and knew the Bishops weren’t lying.
Sonny whistled. “Man. What is up with these people?”
“They are all kinds of crazy,” Jake agreed. “What do you make of it, Dylan?”
“I’m not sure. But one thing is certain. Threatening them was stupid. And, I’m positive your meeting—whatever that was about—was a mistake that will bite us in the ass. I’ll let you know where I stop.” Dylan got on his bike and left them standing on the porch.
“We have our differences,” Sonny said when Dylan was out of sight. “But, I never took him for a punk.”
“He’s not.” Jake got his phone and had a seat. “He’s fed up. And, he’s right. We messed up somewhere.” He dialed a number.
“This is Detective Malroy.”
“Detective Malroy, this is Jacob Spegal. I think we have a problem.”
“Explain.”
“We confronted the Bishops—”
“You did what?!”
Jake put him on speaker. “We confronted the Bishops. They told us we are going to die. Is that a credible threat? I thought you said, they couldn’t hurt us.”
“Mr. Spegal, nobody authorized you to inform the Bishops the agency was involved. It was a secret meeting for a reason.”
Jake wasn’t sure how to answer. He could hear Detective Goins in the background cursing.
“All we asked is that you remain in town. Telling these people, challenging these people, wrecks this case! Did you tell them who was at the meeting?”