Free The Miss Fortune Series: Undercover Bubba (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Miss Chance meets Miss Fortune Book 3) by Sam Cheever Page B

cramps then,” Fortune offered.
    “Or childbirth,” Gertie added, nodding.
    “Welcome to being a woman,” I told the big guy.
    “What can we help you ladies with today?” Little asked, sliding an assessing gaze over Cal.
    I bit back an urge to introduce my PI to Little and Mannie. I wasn’t up on mob manners, but I sensed introducing your muscle wasn’t the thing to do.
    “We’re looking for Brother Mike from The Order of Saint Francis Assisi on the Bayou.”
    Little puckered his small face. “Saint Francis of the whatsis? What would we be doing with a monk?”
    “He’s missing and, since you were at the Mudbug Art Emporium last night and he’s a client and potential contributing artist…we thought you might be acquainted with him.”
    Little laughed, glancing toward Mannie. Mr. Micro Aggression laughed too, apparently finding a temporary safe place. “That’s quite a leap. Even for you four ditzes.”
    Fortune’s expression hardened and one hand slipped over her hip as if she were reaching for a gun. I stepped forward, drawing Little’s attention away from her. “My father is looking for Brother Mike. Since you’ve done some business with Felonius we were thinking he might have come to you for help.”
    “You thought wrong, honey.” Little came out from behind the counter and moved close, really close. In fact he was well inside my comfort zone. In one, smooth move, Cal was next to me, his hands hanging at his sides, fingers bunched. “You might want to step back,” he warned Little in his deep, sexy voice.
    I nearly sighed, then had to chastise myself for being a such a sap. It was clear I’d read waaaay too many romance novels.
    Ignoring Cal’s warning, Mannie stepped forward too and suddenly we had a thing. A confrontation was a breath away. I wasn’t sure how that had happened. Lifting my hands, palms out, I threw Little a smile. “We didn’t come here looking for trouble Mr. Hebert. I just wanted to know if you’d spoken to my father.”
    Little frowned. “I thought you were looking for that monk.”
    “We are.”
    “You’re looking for your father again too?” He shook his head. “You need to embed a tracking device on that guy, honey. You’re always losing him.”
    Teeth grinding together, I forced my smile to stay in place. “As I said, he’s trying to find Brother Mike. But we have reason to believe they’re in danger and it has something to do with the Mudbug Art Emporium .”
    “And since we saw you there,” Cal offered, his gaze locked on Mannie as if daring him to make a move.
    Little shrugged. “So what? A guy can’t visit an art show once in a while?”
    “You don’t seem the type,” Gertie said.
    “I’m not so sure that’s not an insult,” Little said with a glower.
    I bit my tongue against making a comment about his negative-heavy sentence. My brain wasn’t in any kind of shape to decipher it at the moment. “Do you have some kind of business agreement with Gregor Pleece? The gallery owner?”
    Little’s face turned mean at my question.
    Mannie reacted by leaning closer, causing Cal to slide neatly between us, pushing me gently back with one hand.
    Their faces an inch apart, the two men stayed locked in silent battle for a moment, large bodies hard as rock and sharing a glower with fists clenched.
    Finally Little seemed to realize things were spinning out of control. “Back off, Mannie.”
    The thug stepped slowly back, his face showing his reluctance to give way to Cal.
    But Little’s next statement didn’t do much to extinguish the tension. “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here, questioning us about our business.”
    Mannie reached into his coat and came out with a massive gun.
    Having retrieved his gun before leaving Sinful, Cal slid his Glock 9mm from the small of his back.
    Fortune pulled a gun from somewhere.
    And Gertie suddenly held a pistol that might have seen its first use during Wyatt Earp’s reign. The barrel of the thing was as