Thirty minutes later we’re in the back parking lot. Jake holds my hand tightly in his. He’s holding a suitcase in the other as we run toward a white vintage car. It’s a dark night and the outside lights are dim, but there’s no mistaking it as the wedding car. It’s decorated in shaving cream, condoms, and streamers. It’s downright tacky and screams of Frog and Cooper’s handiwork. Clearly they were out here earlier, up to their own brand of mischief.
Hair comes loose from my pins as we run. I hold the back of it and spare a quick glance behind me. There’s no one around to see what we’re up to.
“Have you got the keys?”
“In my pocket,” Jake replies.
We arrive at the car. He lets go of my hand and slides the key in, popping open the boot. It lifts with ease and reveals Jared and Evie’s suitcases. They’re packed and ready to leave, heading to the airport direct from the reception for their honeymoon destination.
Jake pulls Jared’s suitcase out and replaces it with the identical one he’s carrying with him.
“This is so bad,” I say with more than a little glee.
“Too much you think?” Jake asks, amusement glittering in his eyes.
“There’s no such thing as too much when it comes to my brothers.” My gaze falls to the replacement suitcase inside the boot. “Show me.”
Jake chuckles as he reaches in and unzips his way around the bag. He lifts the flap, and I burst out laughing.
“Shush,” he says with force and takes a furtive glance left and right.
“Whose idea was this?” I ask, eyeing the contents inside the suitcase. My brother is heading to Thailand for an entire week with nothing but G-strings. They’re bright and come in all the colours of the rainbow. Some have images—pineapples, bananas, jellybeans—and some have animal print. There’s even one with the words Badass Brigade printed on the front.
“It was my idea,” he replies.
“You’re evil.”
Jake cocks a brow, his expression downright devilish. “I know.”
“I like it.”
“I know that too,” he says with a smirk as he locks the boot and pockets the keys. It’s a simple matter of placing Jared’s real suitcase in the boot of the Subaru that Travis owns. All we have left to do now is replace the stolen car keys before anyone notices them missing.
“Jared is going to kill us,” I announce as we stroll back to the reception, taking our time now that the mischievous deed is done.
Jake takes my hand in his and threads our fingers together. He shrugs. “Probably.”
“You don’t seem scared.”
He squeezes my hand and grins in the dark. “I can take him.”
I return his grin. “I have no doubt.”
“Do you think he’ll realise it’s us who did it anyway?”
“Of course,” I reply, pointing at the security camera trained on the back parking lot. It’s likely tracking our every move. I blow it a kiss and give a little wave. “The first thing my brother will do when he returns is check the security footage. Be prepared for payback, Jake. When it comes, and it will come, it’s going to be big.”
“Unless we delete the tapes before he sees them.”
I arch a brow. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“You want him to know it was us?”
“Of course. That was an epic prank. We should get credit for it.”
Jake lets go of my hand when we step inside. The loss of contact leaves me bereft. His glance at me is wistful. Does he feel the loss like I do?
There’s a gathering around the cake table. As we make our way toward it, Henry materialises at my side and looks between the both of us. “Where were you two?”
I widen my eyes and give Henry the speech we rehearsed when we plotted the execution of our prank. “We were in the kitchen making sure there was enough champagne for the toasts.”
Henry’s gaze narrows with suspicion. “That’s funny, because I looked for you both in the kitchen, Mac, and neither you nor Jake were in there.”
“You were looking for us?”
“Evie wanted the both of you here for the cutting of the cake.”
“You must have just missed us,” Jake interjects smoothly and as if on cue, waiters emerge en masse from the kitchen bearing trays of freshly poured champagne.
“Must have,” Henry mutters, not sounding like he believes us in the least.
A waiter passes by and Jake plucks two glasses from the tray then hands one to me. “Thanks, Romero.”
“Anytime, Valentine.”
I hide the twitching of my lips by taking a sip of champagne, and we turn to face the bridal couple. Evie and Jared have the knife to the cake and slide it downward. Camera’s flash from all directions and they look up, smiling. My brother is definitely happier than he has been in a long time. “Oh yeah,” I mutter to Jake. “He’s definitely going to kill us.”
“You worried, Princess?”
“Not at all. We’ll go down fighting.”
Jake nudges my shoulder and gives me a wink. “Together.”
The smile I gave him is puny at best because there is no together. Hell will freeze over before Jake puts his pride aside and agrees to me working in any type of dangerous situation with Jamieson & Valentine Consulting.
I can’t see my brothers agreeing either, but it’s not about agreement. If it were, I’d have asked to join the team already and been given a flat ‘no.’ It’s why I have to show them instead. Actions speak louder than words.
So I’ve decided I need a case of my own. One I can work on without interference. My plan is to visit Tim at the office. There’s a tray on his desk that contains files of new casework. Unless it’s marked urgent, they’re handed out on Tuesday mornings at the weekly staff meetings. I’ll need to visit on a Monday.
“What are you up to, Mackenzie?”
I jump a mile in the air. When my heart rate recovers, I turn and face my father. The wedding is a black tie affair, and he looks like a distinguished Robert Redford in his sharp suit and glass of scotch in hand.
Dad takes my empty glass. He places it on the tray of a passing waiter and picks up a full one.
“What am I up to?” I repeat as I take the offered champagne. “Nothing, why?”
“You think I don’t recognise the look on your face? You’re my little girl. You’ve been scheming and hatching plots since the dawn of time. And here you are, up to mischief at your brother’s wedding no less.” He turns to Jake. “Romero. Good to see you as always.”
Dad’s tone indicates it isn’t good to see him at all. Their relationship is a strained one. My father likes to blame Jake for my failure to attend FDH. Jake likes to act as though it doesn’t bother him. He straightens his shoulders beneath the weight of my father’s stare. “You too, sir.”
“Are you keeping my daughter out of trouble?”
My fingers tighten on the stem of my glass.
“No offense, sir, but it’s not up to me to keep Mac out of trouble. Though, I guarantee if she was, I’d be right there doing whatever I could to help.”
My father takes a sip of scotch and contemplates Jake over the rim of his glass. “If she was in any trouble, the first thing I’d hope you do is tell me.”
“I’m standing right here,” I snap. “And I’m not in any trouble.”
“Sir, she’s not in any trouble.”
“But she always manages to find herself in the thick of it…” Dad looks at me “…don’t you, sweetheart?”