Free Buttercream Bump Off by Jenn McKinlay Page B

shrugged.
    While it was quiet, Mel decided to fold up some four-pack boxes. In addition to Mr. Zelaznik’s three entries today, there had been five more entries in the Fairy Tale Cupcake contest this morning alone. Most surprising was the fact that they were men. Mel had a feeling that with Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching, guys were looking for something special for their significant others, and wasn’t a night on the town topped with cupcakes just perfect?
    Maybe there would even be a run on four-packs of cupcakes. She was crouched down behind the counter to pull out a stack of flat boxes to be folded into four-pack carriers when she heard the door chime.
    “I’ll be right with you,” she called.
    “Where’s Angie?”
    “Is she in back?”
    “We need to talk to her.”
    “Pronto.”
    Uh-oh. Mel stayed hunkered down behind the counter. The DeLaura brothers were here. It sounded like all seven of them. No, Joe would have called her if he was coming over. That meant the rest of them were here, and they were not going to be happy when they found out Angie wasn’t.
    Mel wondered if she could crawl out the kitchen door before they noticed her.
    Tony, the tallest, leaned over the counter and spotted her. “Hi, Mel.”
    She sighed and slowly rose to her feet. Six of the seven DeLaura brothers stood before her: Dom, Ray, Sal, Tony, Paulie, and Al. Angie’s brothers. It was a bit overwhelming to be confronting six good-looking variations of her boyfriend Joe. She couldn’t help but notice that the level of testosterone in the bakery had risen to a level she’d never before experienced.
    “Hi, boys. What brings you in today?”
    “I do,” Tate said from behind her. He was standing in the doorway and, even in his pink Fairy Tale Cupcakes apron, he looked resolute. “Gentlemen, if you’ll follow me.”
    “What are you, mob owned?” Mr. Zelaznik called to Mel from his table. “Is this just a cover operation for a house of ill repute?”
    “No!” she snapped. “It most certainly is not.”
    “Darn,” Mr. Zelaznik said as he stuffed in another bite of cupcake.
    Mel pushed through the swinging doors after the last of the DeLaura brothers and stared at Tate as if he’d lost his mind. He met her stare, refusing to back down.
    She grabbed him by the elbow and hauled him into the corner and hissed, “Did you call them all here? Does the term dead man walking mean anything to you?”
    “What?” Tate asked. “Angie could be out there with a murderer right now. We need to strategize.”
    “Tate, she is going to murder you for dragging the brothers into this,” Mel warned.
    “If it means keeping her safe, I’ll risk it,” he said.
    Melanie just shook her head. “I notice Joe isn’t here.”
    “Yeah, he seemed to think you and Angie would not be on board with this plan.”
    “You think?”
    “Hey, Mel, how about a round of cupcakes?” Paulie asked.
    “My treat,” Tate said and Mel turned to glower at him.
    “You got that right,” she said.
    She pushed through the swinging doors and loaded up a tray with a half dozen cupcakes and glasses of milk, except for one glass of iced tea for Sal, because he was lactose intolerant.
    When she reentered the kitchen, Tate was pacing in front of the brothers, who were all seated on stools around the steel worktable, watching him with varying levels of concern.
    “This Roach character,” Dom said. “How long has she known him? And what kind of name is that anyway?”
    “It’s his stage name, and they met yesterday, right Mel?” Tate asked.
    “Oh, no. I am not a party to this,” Mel said.
    “But he could be a murderer!” Tate said. “And she’s your best friend. How can you be so unconcerned?”
    “I’m concerned, but I also trust Angie’s judgment,” Mel said. “Besides, he has no reason to harm her. I saw the way he looked at her this morning. I think he really likes her.”
    “How did he look at her?” Ray asked. He dropped his fork and