“Everything’s going well, except that someone had a need to come get some frozen yogurt.”
The diminutive brunette smiled up at them then glanced at her husband.
“Stop looming like the Grim Reaper, Micah, and sit.”
His lips twitched before doing what his wife ordered.
She turned her attention back to them. “I think I met you at the wedding.”
Then he did remember meeting them. She hadn’t been as pregnant then.
“Yes. We did. I’m Rory McAlister and this is Zeke O’Brian.”
“Oh, I know Zeke well since he turned me into the feds.”
Zee shook his head. “I didn’t turn you into the feds. Just into Conner.”
She laughed then turned back to Maura. “So, I like the blonde hair.”
And they had been dismissed. He had an idea that the woman was a sub with a husband who ran a BDSM club and the fact that he screamed Dom just by his actions. But she really did run things in her own way.
“Yeah, and yours is completely brunette now. I don’t know why you would have changed it before.”
She laughed and he watched as Micah turned his head slightly, his expression softening a bit.
“So, you boys here for a vacation?” she asked.
He would usually take offense at being called a boy, but he had a feeling Dee Ross didn’t mean anything by it.
“Yeah.”
Then, her and Maura started talking.
“Are you here because of Peterson?” Micah asked.
Zee nodded. “In a way. I don’t think we have anything to worry about, really. We turned everything over to the FBI, they took it from there. We aren’t even mentioned in any of the papers. They conducted their own investigation. Conner just thought it best if we were removed from the situation at least during the beginning of the trial. Plus, he was worried about other things,” he said looking over at Maura.
Micah followed his line of vision and nodded in understanding. “What flavor did you say you wanted, babe?”
“Chocolate. But I can get it.”
“No, you sit. You remember what the doc said about staying off your feet as much as possible. Maura?”
“Vanilla, waffle cone.”
He signaled with his head and they followed him.
“She’s not looking very good.”
It wasn’t an accusation but it still felt that way. He bit back the retort, but apparently Ross picked up on his feelings.
“And don’t be getting upset with me. It’s just an observation. Since everything that went down with Conner, I know that she has been on edge. Dee said she sensed it in her voice when they would talk. She’s been a little worried about Maura. Running the office by herself is hard.”
“I’m there and I hate to have to keep pointing this out, but I’m partners with Conner,” Zee said. Rory sensed he was mildly irritated.
Ross sighed as he stepped in line. “I get that, but you know that girl. She’s so focused on not letting Conner down. The fact that she’s changing hair color is a sure sign.”
Rory frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”
Ross eyed him. “Dee has said in the past that Maura changes her hair color when she is upset.”
Zee nodded. “I picked up on it, but at least she didn’t go dark. When Conner and Jillian were in that mess, she died it black. That wasn’t pretty.”
He glanced back at the table and smiled when he watched her throw her head back and laugh.
“Does Conner know?” Ross asked.
He had to pull his attention away from Maura to concentrate on Ross. He found the Dom watching him without an expression on his face.
“What?”
“No, he doesn’t know,” Zee said. “And we would rather not have to deal with that.”
Ross crossed his arms and stared them down. Rory had dealt with more bastards than he wanted to remember, but at the moment, most of them paled in comparison to Micah Ross.
“There is one thing I want both of you to understand. I love my wife.”
“Nice to know,” Rory said, sarcasm dripping from his words.
“My wife has a soft spot in her heart for Maura. I do too.”
“And, what does this mean to me?” Rory asked, not able to keep the sneer out of his voice.
“This means that if you hurt her in any way, Dee will give me permission to beat the shit out of you.”
He glanced at the woman again. She was very petite and small boned. She had one of the sweetest faces. He turned back to face Ross.
“She’s too sweet.”
Micah snorted. “You got that off the what fifteen minutes total you’ve spent with her?” Rory opened his mouth but Micah stopped him. “Sweet Dee is the daughter of Tony Rizzoli. Yeah, that’s right. And, she hid for years, all the while learning how to defend herself. The only thing she got from that bastard of a father was that you mess with one of her family—either one of your choosing or blood—she will happily order me to hurt them. Ask Zeke here.”