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"Cork it, Az." Rich's deep voice cut through Az's words. "Craig tells me we're having a dinner party, but this looks morelike an interrogation of the Princess. I didn't clear either, but I know which one I'll throw you all out over."

Az's lips drew into a thin line, but he didn't finish what he'd been about to say. I cast a relieved glance at Rich, leaning against the wall at the entry to the Great Room. The urge to mouth 'Thank you' was nearly overwhelming, but Tiff and Leighton had embarrassed me enough already. They would definitely spot it, and I didn't wantmorequestions. That didn't stop Rich from catching the relief on my face, and he winked at me from where he leaned against the wall. I chose to ignore how it made my chest flutter.

"So, this is the sort your father has protecting you?" Noah said, raising a brow in my direction. "I knew you had Casadei as muscle, but I wasn't aware of the whole..." He gestured around the room, not finishing his sentence.

"What's the matter, Mercer? Jealous?" Az smirked. "Or just too dense to notice a hole staring you in the face? I'm a little concerned about your ability to serve and protect if these are the kind of detective skills you're working with."

"I think I'm going to go check on dinner." I interjected, standing from the couch.

Each step toward the kitchen was punctuated by thoughts of how bad an idea this dinner party was. I wasn't sure what Noah's deal was, but the tension in the great room grew with each new addition. My shoulders relaxed when I stepped into the kitchen, and the scent of gumbo reached my nose.

"Hey, Bunny." Craig smiled over his shoulder. "Come to check on things?"

"Yeah, it was getting a little intense in the great room. We need to feed everyone before they turn on each other."

"Joey is already setting the table. This is almost done. The bread is cooling over there." He tilted his head toward the farend of the counter. "If you want to mix the salad together, we can get everyone to the table in five."

I scanned the room, finding a large salad bowl on the island counter with a myriad of prepped vegetables waiting beside it.

"You already chopped everything?"

"Of course, a good chef always does his prep work first." He chuckled. "There's some seasonings behind the bowl there too. Make sure you add those while you're mixing everything together."

I went to work putting the salad together, and by the time I was finished, Craig was moving the gumbo from the pot to a serving dish. I followed him to the dining room to find that Joey had already gathered the others to the table, and the tension in the room had only risen in my absence.

Rich sat at the head of the table, Az to his right, Leighton to his left. Joey sat next to Az, followed by Noah. I assumed an empty chair between Leighton and G.G. was for Craig because Tiffany sat directly opposite Noah, leaving the foot of the table for me.I placed the salad in the center of the table before taking my seat, feeling like everyone's eyes were on me.

"Eat up," Craig crooned, plopping down between Leighton and G.G. after he'd placed the serving dish filled with gumbo and a tray of sliced bread next to the salad.

"Ladies first." Noah said, snatching my plate and bowl from in front of me and serving up my meal.

Unsure how to respond, I mumbled a thank you before turning to Tiff and G.G., intent on striking up a conversation about the plans I wanted to discuss with Georgialynn. Tiffany smirked at me, her eyes pointedly shifting between me and Noah. I gave her a slight shake of my head and rolled my eyes before conversing with her date.

"So, G.G., I saw the most recent article on the expansions you're implementing in your work. You're intending to startproviding therapy and other supports to the children of the women you work with?"

"That's the plan. It's not enough to get these women out of dangerous situations and help them heal. They can't afford to put their kids in therapy and ensure the cycle is really broken. Getting the kids to trust us and open up so we can really help them has proven difficult."

"I think I have a proposal that could help with that! Before the incident with the Gala, I'd been working with Mrs. McMillan on expansion plans. I've been trying to garner the donations we missed out on after the fire to get that going again, but maybe if your donors are willing to invest, we can speed things up. The kids are already comfortable there, and it might make them more willing to open up if it's somewhere they already feel safe."

"Speaking of the center," Noah interrupted. "I heard there was an incident there this morning."

All five of the men at the other end of the table stiffened.

"What would a beat cop know about an incident at the youth center?" Az drawled. "I'm pretty sure your only job is writing parking tickets."

"Enough to know that a cleanup crew had already been there before Mrs. McMillan called me," Noah shot back. "She seems to be under the impression that abeat copis better protection for Victoria than five gangsters."

"What the fuck, Tory. Why didn't you tell me something happened at the center?" Tiffany demanded, reaching out and squeezing my arm before turning to narrow her eyes at Rich. "You're supposed to be keeping her safe."

"It's being handled," Rich replied smoothly.

"Doesn't look that way from where I'm standing. I canvassed the area after Mrs. McMillan filled me in, and nobody, not even your boy's high-tech security system, saw a thing."

"What are you implying, Mercer?" Az spat.

"I'm notimplyinganything. I'm saying outright that Hugo Bristol made a mistake picking you assholes to protect Victoria. I'm saying the suspicious lack of evidence makes me wonder if you five didn't position yourselves to be able to hurt her for some reason."

Leighton stood from his seat so fast the wooden chair clattered to the floor. "Say that again. I fucking dare you." He seethed, murderous intent in his eyes.