Free The Focaccia Fatality by J. M. Griffin

gave a slight nod. Who would send this type of person to find me? “How c-can I help you?” I stammered.
    “Your gran sent me. She’s in trouble. You better follow me,” he said with a hasty glance at Aidan.
    I gasped. “Seanmhair? She sent you to find me?”
    When he nodded, his long, greasy hair fell forward and grossed me out like I hadn’t been in ages. My skin crawled as I took stock of this badass. His worn jeans were covered in leather chaps that had seen better days, just as he had. Shoulder-length, scraggy brown hair lay thin across his scalp. The jacket he wore had patches of leather missing and was a sad, faded black. The dude looked mangy. I’d noted his teeth were as much a mess as the rest of him. One front tooth was missing, and the others were stained as though he chewed tobacco and had little use for a toothbrush or dentist.
    “How do you know Sean?” I asked as Aidan and I stood.
    “She’s my BFF on Facebook,” he said with a smile that sent shockwaves from my head to my toes.
    “Really?” I asked and gave him a look of disbelief with a raised brow.
    “She’s been trying to call you, and got worried when you didn’t answer,” he said with a nod. “I think she seriously needs you now. You comin’ or what?”
    I gave Aidan a glance and then slipped my jacket on. Billy Badass led the way. We left the pizzeria after Aidan tossed enough money on the table to cover the bill. The lawless looking dude loped in long strides toward a stripped-down Harley Davidson, and I hurried to keep pace.
    “Why did she call you, and what did she say?” I asked.
    Over his shoulder, Billy Badass replied, “She didn’t explain what the problem was. She just said to bring you to her. Her voice is all wobbly and she sounded kinda hysterical.”
    Aidan’s hand clamped onto my wrist. I glanced up and saw his headshake. “We would ask you to wait a moment,” he said to the man.
    The guy stopped, turned on his heel, and stepped closer to us, though his attention was solely on Aidan. “What did you just say?”
    “I said we want you to wait a moment,” Aidan repeated succinctly.
    The words came out as ‘aye sayed we won’ted you to wheat a moomaint,’ and I smiled.
    At the look on the stranger’s face, I stepped between the two men. “We’d like you to wait so we can ask you more questions,” I said and gave Aidan a wink. He appeared affronted by the fact that Billy Badass hadn’t understood him. With a narrowed glare, Aidan looked him straight in the eye and nodded.
    “Well, why didn’t you say so?” the dude answered.
    I interrupted before Aidan could utter a word and asked, “Exactly where is Sean?”
    “She’s hiding in an alley off Water Place Park. I wanted to pick her up, but she insisted I come find you. Good thing you hadn’t gone too far from the bakery.”
    I nodded. We began hurrying toward the motorcycle again and I asked, “What’s she doing there?”
    “Spying,” he spit the word out.
    “On who?” I asked.
    Abruptly, the dreadful man stopped short, gave us both a look of disgust, and barked, “How the hell do I know? She’s a wild one, that one, and it does no good to ask questions. You oughtta know that by now.”
    “Where on Water Place Park?” Aidan asked.
    “Up a ways from the courthouse.”
    I stumbled on the pavement, and Aidan grabbed my arm before I hit the ground. Holy crap, my worst fears were realized. Seanmhair was up to her armpits in no good. Hells bells, this was the last thing I needed, or wanted. Sean, known for her spirit and feisty attitude, had, on occasion, been in more than one tight place. She’d now found herself in that same spot once again. At the thought, I puffed like a dragon and tilted my head toward Aidan’s car.
    “We’ll follow you, just wait, okay?” I instructed Billy Badass.
    A nod and grunt were his answer as the dude swung his leg over the motorcycle seat and started the engine. It rumbled to life and he waited at the curb until