Now, I’m thinkin’ you boys have things to do.”

“Smithie, sweetie –” LaTeesha said softly.

“It’s covered, Smithie,” Shirleen put in.

“Yeah, it’l be covered,” Smithie snapped at Shirleen.

“You’re movin’ your black ass in with me tonight and you’re bringin’ the boys. LaTeesha, that okay with you?”

“Just fine. I’l make chicken and dumplin’s,” LaTeesha replied on a wide grin at Roam and Sniff.

“Can we have pizza?” Sniff asked.

Shirleen cuffed him gently up the side of his head.

“What’s the matter with you, boy? You heard the woman.

LaTeesha’s makin’ chicken and dumplin’s. You’re eatin’

chicken and dumplin’s.”

“I like chicken and dumplin’s,” Roam put in.

“See? We’l be fine,” LaTeesha finished.

“Yeah, we’l be fine ‘cause I got myself a shotgun and I bought you that .38 last year for Christmas,” Smithie told LaTeesha. “That’l make us just fine.”

“I’m not hearing this,” Eddie muttered and walked out the door.

“Smithie, I want your address. You just got put on the drive-by route,” Lee said to Smithie and he walked out, Smithie fol owing him muttering what I thought was, “Damn straight”.

After that, the Hot Bunch filed out. Luke and Vance after giving Ava and Jules some PDA. Hector after asking me if I knew about the meeting on Thursday with Dixon Jones.

LaTeesha fol owed Matt who was going to take her to Lee and Smithie. Roam and Sniff fol owed Bobby who was going to take them to the TV in the safe room.

This left the room fil ed with Rock Chicks, Tex and Duke.

And for some reason everyone had eyes on me.

I didn’t think this was a good thing.

Therefore, to deflect attention off me, I turned to Roxie and said, “Congratulations, Roxie. That’s cool.” She smiled and said, “Yeah.”

“Ava, sugar, go get Stel a a cup of coffee,” Daisy said softly and a chil ran up my spine as Ava nodded and took off on her errand.

“What’s up?” I asked as I realized I’d failed at deflecting attention off of me.

“You hear from Mace, darlin’?” Tex asked and I stared at him.

Shitsofuckit.

I had to lie.

“Erm…” I said instead of flat out lying.

“I’m not sure I agree with this,” Al y put in, her voice far softer than normal and that chil that went up my spine chased its way back down.

“I don’t wanna talk about Mace,” I tried to waylay whatever they had planned but Daisy got up, walked to my chair and pul ed me out of it.

“I think you need to be on the couch for this one,” she said to me as she walked me to the couch.

Not good.

“Listen, guys, seriously, Mace and I are over and –” I started again but Daisy ignored me and pushed me down onto the couch.

While Daisy was doing this, Jet pul ed Daisy’s chair close to me and sat on it. It wasn’t her actions that made me stop talking. It was the look on her face.

“Sometimes a Rock Chick needs a little help from her friends,” Jet said quietly.

“And sometimes her friends need to know when to back off,” I replied just as quietly.

Not being a bitch or anything but whatever this was, it was unnecessary.

Of course, they didn’t know that but stil .

“Yeah, and now isn’t one of those times,” Duke put in, sitting down beside me, his arm coming to rest on the back of the couch behind me, his big body turned to mine.

“Duke –” I started.

“Would’ve preferred Mace share this with you in his own time but that time’s a-wastin’ and bul ets are flyin’. It took the girls awhile to talk me into this shit last night but they did.”

“Real y, Duke –” I protested.

“Quiet, girl, and listen,” Duke halted my protest then he asked, “How much you know about Mace, his daddy and his sister?”

Oh.

That was it.

“Everything,” I semi-lied. I would know everything, eventual y.

Duke’s brows went up. “Everything?”

I nodded.

“You know Mace’s sister was kidnapped?” Jet asked softly.

I nodded, this time to Jet.

“You know her Dad hired some commandos to try to rescue her and it went bad?” Jet went on.

Uh-oh.

I didn’t know that.

That didn’t sound too good.

My heart started beating a mile a minute and I tried to cover.

Nodding again, I lied, “I know everything.” Then as proof I offered, “I know she was murdered and Mace holds himself responsible.”

“So why’re you and Mace estranged, sugar? I can’t believe you know what happened and you’d let that man go on alone,” Daisy asked.

Erm.

I didn’t have a response to that so I said, “It’s complicated.”

“Just knowing about her hand would make it so I never left his side,” Al y muttered, my mile-a-minute beating heart skipped to a halt and I stared at her.

She looked a little bit angry and that anger was directed at me.

I didn’t have time for Al y’s anger.

“Her hand?” I breathed, finding I was fighting for air.

They al looked at each other.

“You don’t know everything,” Tex’s boom was low and he was looking pale.

“What about Caitlin’s hand?” I went on.

“Stel a –” Duke started.

I twisted to Duke and grabbed his forearm, my voice sounding strained and desperate (exactly how I felt) when I said, “Tel me about her effing hand.”

Duke’s eyes lifted to Tex, my fingers squeezed his arm; he looked back to me and sighed.

Then he said quietly, “After the commandos botched the rescue job, in retaliation, her kidnappers cut off her hand and sent it to her father in a –”

He didn’t finish.

I jumped from the couch, eyes on Indy, and whispered,

“Bathroom.”

I didn’t wait for her to answer, I ran from the room. I got into the hal and Indy was there, hands on me, guiding me. I was making gagging noises, hand over my mouth, I barely made it into and through Lee’s office to his bathroom when I hit my knees, tagged the bowl with my arms and hurled eggs benedict into the toilet.

Indy held back my hair as my body lurched through vomiting and then the dry heaves.