Eden chokes on a laugh, her eyes bugging out and her mouth falling open. She slaps my arm with the back of her hand. “JW, really?”
“I’m not kidding.” I stuff my mouth with more of the gooey orgasmic goodness, giving not one fuck that my teeth are covered in chocolate when I flash her a grin.
“That is so disgusting,” she says, wrinkling her nose.
“What in the hell are these things?” I shove another brownie looking thing in my mouth. Fuck it, I’m going to be fat because of these things, and I don’t even care.
She looks damn proud of herself when she answers. “They’re called crinkles. It’s my mom’s recipe.”
“Oh no you don’t,” I reprimand as I scoop up Piper before she can climb on the table and investigate. “I’m stingy. You can’t have any.”
Eden giggles as I set Piper back down on the floor and throw the squishy ball with a bell inside across the room. She scampers off after it.
I take a big gulp of milk, and damn if it doesn’t make the crinkles taste even better. “What else you got?”
She pushes another plate toward me, and I snatch up what looks like a hunk of chocolate. “It’s chocolate peanut butter fudge. Another of my mom’s recipes.”
I take a bite and fall even further into sugary heaven. I’m normally not a sweet eater, but this stuff is too damn good to resist.
“Damn you, woman.” I look at the chunk of half-eaten fudge in my hand. “I’m going to end up with diabetes because of you.”
She giggles again, looking pretty pleased with herself.
“What’s up with all the sweets?” I ask, nodding my head toward the rest of the dishes on the counter filled with all kinds of sweet shit.
Her smile loses its luster and she shrugs. “I bake when I get nervous or upset. It keeps my mind occupied.”
I drop the rest of the fudge on the plate, lick my fingers clean, and snag her chair with my foot. When she’s close enough, I grab her up from the chair by her waist and plant her ass across my lap. One arm goes around my neck and she presses her other hand on my chest.
“Look at me,” I say firmly. Once I have her eyes, I tuck some loose hair behind her ear. “Don’t let that asshole do this to you, Eden. He’s not worth one second of your worry. We’ll catch him and he’ll be dealt with accordingly.”
“What does that mean exactly? He’ll be dealt with? What are you going to do?”
I hold her stare and fight with myself on what to tell her. In the end, I leave it up to her.
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to, Gypsy. You might find they aren’t something you can handle.”
Her eyes slide away from mine and she chews on her bottom lip, her brows dropping into a frown. After a moment, she straightens her spine and looks back at me, conviction written on her face. “I want to know,” she says determinedly.
Her bravery would make me smile if the situation wasn’t so dire. The answer to her question isn’t simple, and it’s not one I should give. It’s dangerous and has the potential to be hazardous to my brothers and myself. It’s an answer that could be our downfall, but for some inexplicable reason I trust her with it.
I tighten my arms around her waist and give her the truth. “He’ll die. By mine and my brother’s hands.”
It’s not shock I see on her face. It’s not disbelief or contempt or even fear. No, her eyes light up with interest, like the idea isn’t one she’s against, but one she actually agrees with. For some reason, I expected this response from her. Eden doesn’t have a vindictive bone in her body, but with this, I knew she would be on board.
“How will you do it?”
I clench my jaw and blow out a harsh breath between my teeth. “That’s something you don’t need to know.” She opens her mouth to ask again, but I cut her off. “No, Gypsy.”
Her lips clamps shut and her shoulders fall an inch. “Okay,” she says quietly. “But can you answer one question?” I keep quiet. “Will it be painful?”
“Extremely,” I answer gravely.
She nods, her expression fierce. “Good.”
“It doesn’t bother you that I plan to kill Diego?” I ask, looking at her curiously.
A wrinkle appears between her eyes, giving away her uncertainty. Her gaze moves to her hand resting on my shoulder.