March 27

"So, why exactly are we here again?" Justin asked for the dozenth time that evening; Molly huffed and cast an irritated look his way, but too fucking bad. It was exactly as she deserved for kidnapping him this evening, ruining all the lovely plans that he and Brian had made the day before.

Plans that he'd very much been looking forward to for three fucking days.

It had all started on the yacht, after Brian and he had made-up; they had been spending their evening, wrapped-up in post-coital bliss, discussing his latest test results and the minor case of anemia that had cropped up. Justin, despite his Twinkie craze, had actually been fairly good about his eating habits, sticking to healthy options on most days. Not that you'd know that by the way everyone acted.

Brian being one of those people; he'd used the minor anemia as an excuse to get on Justin's case about his so-called poor eating habit, citing the Twinkies as the biggest offense. Justin had grown irritated by that accusation, because outside of his Twinkies, he'd stuck to what Anna had prepared for him fuck you very much; and he wasn't going to put up with Brian's bitching. He'd then quickly defended himself, saying that he was quite capable of feeding his own damned self and didn't need his Lordship to rein anything in.

Brian, of course, had scoffed at that and said that Justin didn't have the necessary self-control to go even a day without eating one fatty or bad for him food item, let alone the wherewithal to go longer than that. Justin, to say the least, had been a little miffed; and it had led to a minor squabble between the two of them, which ended with Brian daring Justin to go three days eating only the foods he chose.

Justin had glared at his husband, but agreed to the terms, prompting Brian to write up a menu that Justin was expected to follow to a 'T' starting that very evening and ending tonight; and if he so much as even touched a single fry or a Twinkie, even if he hadn't eaten them, then he would lose and was expected to then let the controlling bastard plan their meals for the next month.

And like hell was that going to happen; he'd seen the gleam in Brian's eyes as he'd said that and Justin knew that if he caved, he could kiss his Twinkies goodbye for said month. So, he'd stubbornly jutted out his chin, and told Brian to do his worst; but that when he won, and he would, Brian would shut the hell up and leave his eating habits alone.

Brian had rolled his eyes, but still nodded and agreed; sweetening the pot with some unknown surprise if Justin complied with all his demands without complaining once. As if Justin had needed the extra incentive. Brian really should have known better than to challenge him. Victory had never been so sweet and the reward would have been even sweeter if his bitch of sister and her minions hadn't busted into his house and dragged him to his mother's for some, so far, untold reason.

Could you tell that he was a wee bit irritated at being interrupted?

"It's the first official meeting of the Luscious Ladies' Retribution Club," Molly huffed for the same dozenth time, looking as if she wanted to kill Justin.

Pissing interfering sister off? Mission accomplished.

"Okay," Justin said slowly, as if here were speaking to a small child. "Then why am I here; seeing as I lack the required parts for said club?"

Because that was what he really wanted to know; if this was for the Luscious Ladies, why the fuck did he have to be present? He could be at home right now, with his husband, having hot food-porn sex instead of eating this dry…whatever the hell was in this tea sandwich and listening to them gossip about nothing important, and getting on his last nerve because he could be have sex right now!

"You're an honorary member," Molly said, looking far too pleased with herself; Justin glowered at his sister, but it didn't seem to have much of an affect on her.

"You know," Justin huffed a bit testily, barely even registering when Emmett walked through the door and made a beeline for him and Molly. "Just because I'm pregnant…"

"Don't worry, Baby," Emmett said, trying to sound reassuring; and usually Emmett cheered him up because that's just who Em was – you couldn't help but smile at his antics. But Justin wasn't in the mood to be cheered up. "I'm an honorary member too!"

"That makes me feel so much better…" Justin said sarcastically; he quickly finished off the tasteless cucumber salad and mourned the promised goodies that were currently being withheld from him because he was stuck at his mother's house.

"Well, someone's in a mood," Emmett huffed, arching a brow.

"Someone had plans tonight," Justin huffed, snagging yet another of the little bland sandwiches his mother had offered him as some sort of peace offering. It hadn't worked. "Plans that involved nudity, a nine-inch dick and strawberry cheesecake. And then I was kidnapped; I'm allowed to be cranky."

"Please, that's like every night for you, Baby," Emmett snorted; Justin glared at his friend, but Emmett just laughed, completely unperturbed by Justin's continuing foul mood.

"Cheesecake, Em," Justin emphasized; because really, there was no substitution for cheesecake-covered Brian; especially when Justin had been eating the tasteless offerings on Brian's menu of culinary torture for three days. "There is no forgiveness for being deprived of my cheesecake."

"I do have to agree with Blondie on that account," Lucille broke in, taking a seat next to Justin; she handed Justin a plate of the good stuff. "If you were going to kidnap the poor boy, the very least you could have done was bring the cheesecake with you."

"Lucille!" Justin happily exclaimed, taking the plate of pizza bites and artichoke cups from her, humming happily as he chowed down of the first tasty bit of greasy goodness that he'd been deprived of the past three days. Hey, the bet was over and Justin won; he could have as much bad shit as he wanted again. "I thought I had missed you."

"Leo had to fly home yesterday," Lucille said, watching Justin's antics with no little amount of amusement. "But I couldn't in all good conscience go home without spending some more time with my boys. You know, since the two of you abandoned me in favor of fucking like bunnies on Drew's yacht."

"Lucille," Justin huffed, turning red and stammering as Emmett and Molly laughed; sometimes, he just didn't know how to handle her bluntness. "Uh…well…we…I mean…"

"But since you both came back better off than when you left, I'll forgive you," Lucille teased, stealing one of the pizza bites off of Justin's plate. "This time…"

"How magnanimous of you," Justin said dryly, before tucking into an artichoke cup and again hummed with delight; God, he had so missed food with actual flavor.

"Of course, I am, darling boy," Lucille smirked, blatantly ignoring Justin's disbelieving snort as she patted her hair into place. "Far too forgiving for my own good."

"I'm sure that's not what Michael was thinking a couple of weeks back," Justin said with a sly smile; he still didn't know the full story behind Michael's behavior at the opening, but it had to be a doozey given Michael's spooked expression after their conversation.

"Well, I do make a special exception for weasels," Lucille said with a satisfied smirk.

"And speaking of retribution…" Molly said, leaning forward with a rapacious gleam in her eyes. "You never did tell us what you said to Michael at the show. It had to be good though as he was practically shitting his pants every time he looked at you."

"Ah, yes; that was fun," Lucille said, her eyes gleaming. "I was just talking about what it was like growing up on the ranch and how I was often involved with herd management; I'm not really sure what exactly set him off."

Lucille lazily stalked her prey, watching and waiting for the right moment to pounce. She'd been studying the odious, little man that had caused her darling boy far too much pain and stress all night, contemplating her next move and effectively squashing the little weasel's attempts to engage Justin. No way in hell was she going to allow this pipsqueak to ruin her boy's night.

Although, she had noted that she wasn't the only one that had been thwarting the weasel's movements; several others had been watching him and putting themselves directly into his path, including, but not limited to, Emmy Lou, Drew, Mel, Cynthia, Daphne, Liam, and Ted and Blake when they had been here, among others that Lucille didn't recognize. But they all seemed to have one common goal – protect their Sunshine from the evil, little assholes bent on destroying his evening.

Lucille glanced over at a silently fuming Lindsay, peeved that yet another of her attempts to engage Justin or Brian, it didn't seem to matter to her which one; this time by Gus, who was talking to her about some school project. Lucille wouldn't think much of that if it were any other 13-year-old, but that kid was all Kinney, and very protective of his Jus. She didn't doubt that he'd purposely engaged his mother until Justin was safely across the room and away from her. Frowning, Lucille knew that was another snake in the grass to watch, but she would have to be put on the back burner for now; she had a bone to pick with Mr. Novotny, and it couldn't wait.

Sneering as the weasel's mother walked up to him, Lucille rolled her eyes at the way she fawned over the petulant brat. For the most part, she'd enjoyed Deb's company; but Lucille couldn't condone the way she constantly coddled that spoiled brat of hers. Had he been her child, he would have been pulled over her knee a long time ago and given something real to whine about. In public for that matter; that way the scolding would stick.

But, alas, she wasn't his mother and she had to wait until Deb moseyed on, leaving the weasel unattended and ripe for a more subtle warning. Rounding another display, she smiled as she recognized the piece that weasel was standing in front of; it was one that she'd purchased earlier for her own mother, knowing that she'd love Justin's interpretation at the rugged land surrounding the ranch.

It was a lovely piece and she couldn't wait to get it home.

Standing back and studying it for what felt like the dozenth time, Lucille bade her time until; finally, Jenny ran up to her grandmother, prattling on about something she'd seen in one of the other rooms. And then the little darling had grabbed her grandmother's hand and dragged her through the gallery, leaving weasel all alone.

Good; she wanted to be sure that no one would interfere with this her discussion with Michael.

"Michael," Lucille greeted, smirking when the idiot turned towards her with a confused frown; he obviously didn't remember their first meeting. She sidled up to him with a thin smile. "How lovely it is to see you again."

"Uh…hi?" Michael said, still confused; and it didn't bother her that he didn't recognize her. In fact, she would have prefered that he ignored her completely, and vice versa, if it weren't for the necessity of this talk.

"Oh, forgive me," Lucille simpered, wanting this foul creature fully off guard. "We likely haven't been formally introduced, as the last time I saw you, there was some unfortunate incident with a…a fall off the ladder was it?"

"Right," Michael said in a tight voice, a grimace on his face as he recalled the situation she referred to. "How could I forget that?"

Lucille still had no idea what exactly had happened; she just knew that she and Leo had been at one of their 'family' dinners at Britin about two years ago, when Michael had come in sporting gashes and scratches all over his hands, face and arms. And his hair…well… there was some sort of sap or stick substance in it, and it had definitely seen far better days. She had been amazed that he hadn't far more harmed than he had been in the fall.

"It was quite memorable," Lucille hummed, and then introduced herself because she wanted this asshole to sweat every time he heard her name after this night. "Anyways, I'm Lucille Brown; Leo Brown's wife and a good friend of both Brian and Justin. I do hope that you don't mind that I came up to talk to you; Brian and Justin speak of all of you so often that I feel like I know you."

"It's no problem," Michael said a bit hesitantly, a pleased smile spreading over his lips. Oh, but he won't be pleased for very long. "So, they talk about us a lot?"

"Oh, yes," Lucille said, linking her arm with Michael's and pulling him close; after all, she didn't want him to escape, nor did she want to be overheard. "They are particularly vocal about you; especially in the last few weeks. It seems you have been quite the busy man. Always looking out for your friends' interests; almost to the detriment of others."

"I…uh…" Michael stammered, catching the slight edge in her voice when she said those last few words; he looked around nervously, but no one was nearby to help him out, just as she'd planned. "Well, I suppose I have."

"Hmmm…" Lucille hummed again, but this time it was far less pleased sounding; and then she abruptly changed the subject to keep him off balance. No need to bludgeon him just yet. "I do so love this piece, don't you?"

"I suppose," Micahel said, and Lucille frowned at the sneer she detected in the his voice; she gripped his arm just a little tighter, drawing a small yelp past his lips. She smiled unapologetically as she'd love to do more than that to the little weasel. "I never really understood Justin's work."

"Yes," Lucille said, smirking internally as she set out to destroy this man's peace of mind for the night at the very least. "I suppose that with it being an abstract it would be a little confusing for those who refuse to see beneath the surface of the subject. But I've always loved them; it gives me the chance to feel the piece rather than just look at a pretty picture."

"I…guess," Michael grumbled, his expression souring as he stared at the pastel.

"Like this one," Lucille said with a fond smile. "It makes me think of long, hard days, working on my father's ranch; this was before meeting and marrying Leo, of course. It looked a lot like this. All that open space, the hint of mountains rising in the distance, the cool, gray, early mornings and the deep red clay of the dirt. I can almost smell the rich, damp soil…it's such a lovely place. Justin did a magnificent job of capturing it."

"So this is of your ranch?" Michael reluctantly asked, obviously more than aware that he wasn't going to get loose any time soon.

"Oh, yes," Lucille nodded, her fond smile growing as Justin flit across the room to find Brian. "That dear boy; he wanted to see it after all the times that we talked about it; so I offered it up to them for a few days when they were on their honeymoon tour."

"How nice for them," Michael said sourly, his face pinched as he watched Justin and Brian banter for a few minutes before exchanging a quick kiss and walking off in opposite directions once more.

"Well, what are friends are for?" Lucille said, her voice growing hard and garnering the weasel's wary attention once more. "Plus, there is something so invigorating about being back there. I really miss it sometimes; especially when I run into troublesome problems or pests that need a firm hand."

"I see…" Michael said uneasily; although, she doubted he 'saw' just yet, but he would.

"I was quite the cowhand in those days you know," Lucille said conversationally, warming to her topic. "My father was ever so proud of me. A lot females couldn't handle some of the tasks you must perform on a cattle ranch; too squeamish. But I was a dab hand if I do say so myself; never met a task that I couldn't master."

Michael remained silent, his brow pinched with confusion as he tried to follow her words; likely trying to figure out where she was going with this.

"But what I was best at was herd management," Lucille continued with a diamond-sharp smile; one the bared far too many teeth to be a true smile. "You see, you can't just breed any bull with just any heifer, you know. It could adversely affect the quality of the herd. Like with any species, breeding to close along family lines can lead to genetic problems; but that's just common sense. For me, what I dealt with for the most part was making sure that undesirable traits and genetics didn't make it into the gene pool, and thus made sure to quickly cut them out before they could bring down the rest of the herd. Sadly, not everyone is so conscientious of this."

"Uh…I don't understand…" Michael stammered, obviously still confused, but growing uneasy with the her tone and manner.

"Oh, sorry, dear," Lucille apologized, even if her tone implied anything but. "I guess that I was being kind of vague; I was speaking of castration; bull castration to be precise since we had a cattle ranch. I was in charge of judging the merit and soundness of the male population of the herd; and then, when a bull was breeding too close to certain lines or were displaying unfavorable traits, or heaven forbid, aggression towards other members of the herd…well, we solved that with a quick little snip."

And there it was. Lucille smirked as Michael turned a violent shade of green and swallowed thickly. She cast his a faux concerned look, but pressed on as she wasn't going to let the weasel get away without making her point.

"It's a very important task," Lucille said, smiling serenely as Michael struggled to remain still; but he was decidedly paler. "The safety and peace of the herd depends upon it. And I was so very good at my job. It has come in handy more than a few times over the years; especially when a male was being particularly aggressive and stubborn."

"I…uh…" Michael stumbled on his words, and then fell silent when nothing obviously came to mind, leaving Lucille to continue.

"There are several ways to geld a bull, you know," Lucille said confidentially, an evil little gleam in her eyes as she saw Michael starting to grasp her words. "The most traditional way is cutting; but despite its efficacy, most people can't handle it because it takes a strong stomach to get through it. Thankfully, I've never had that problem. You see, you take a scalpel and cut the tip of the scrotum open and pull the testicles out. Sometimes they are cut off; but me, I've always preferred the method of pulling the cords until they've disconnected."

"You mean you…?" Michael trailed off, looking sicker by the moment.

"Rip them out," Lucille bluntly stated, smirking when Michael flinched at the words. "Yes, that would be somewhat accurate. It is a painful method, but doesn't compromise the health one bit so long as you properly sanitize the area. And the best part of cutting? It can be done at any stage in the bull's life."

"I…uh…" Michael squirmed, looking desperately around for an escape; but Lucille just tightened her hold on him and continued in a conversational tone.

"And then there is pinching," she said, ignoring all of Michael's attempts to leave.

"Pinching?" Michael said, halting his movements as he stared at her with wide eyes.

"Yes, dear," Lucille smiled blandly; she was enjoying this far too much. "You take a specialized tool that does exactly as the method implies – you wrap it around the cords of the testicles and clamp down, pinching them to such a degree that cuts off the blood supply and renders the bull sterile."

Michael swallowed harshly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to work the bile or saliva past his constricted throat. He again looked ill; but Lucille felt no mercy for the little weasel. Every time she thought she might be going a bit overboard, she remembered the fear in Brian's voice and the despair in Justin's when they told her about the hospitalization and the lingering health issues due to this asshole.

"I don't often employ that method however," Lucille said, scrunching up her nose. "Because, while there is no open wound, cutting back the chance of an infection, it isn't always effective if it's not done correctly; and that leads to having to do it again or employing one of the other methods. I've always felt that it was best to stick to the tried and true effective methods. Snip, snip."

"That's…" Michael again trailed off as he looked around the gallery for salvation; but few were looking his way, and those that were, turned their backs on him.

"And then, there is banding," Lucille said a touch more cheerfully than she really should; but she hadn't had this much fun in a long while and the little weasel deserved it.

"Banding…" Michael said, turning green again; was it something she said?

"Oh, yes dear," Lucille said, a smirk firmly planted on her lips. "With banding, which is becoming more and more popular these days, you take a tool and wrap what is essentially a thick rubber band around the scrotum and testicles. And this thick elastic cuts off the blood supply causing the testicles to simply fall off in the matter of weeks. I'm a little up in the air about this method; on the one hand, it is clean and there are no open wounds to speak of; however, there is also a risk of infection or tetanus. Although, I do wonder if you can employ this method with just any thick rubber band and without the tools; I suppose I'll have to experiment when I find a suitable subject."

"But…" Michael recoiled, looking sick at the idea.

"I know," Lucille sighed, trying to look distressed by the idea; and then she went in for the kill. "It probably seems cruel and unusual to experiment with an untried method, but how do you think we come up the other methods? Trial and error, that's how. I'll have to keep my eyes open." Lucille paused and flashed a nasty smile his way. "Although, there is this one aggressive, stubborn young bull that I know, who can't seem to keep from terrorizing the rest; we'd want to nip that kind of behavior in the bud as soon as possible before he spreads his unpalatable traits onto the next generation. Or at the very least, before he can do so again. Thankfully, in the one he did manage to breed, the calf favored her mother and not him."

Michael paled, stunned speechless as he'd picked up on her meaning; and soon realized that this wasn't just idle chit chat, but a full blown threat. She held his eyes, making sure he understood that if she heard even one more peep out of him, or if he caused Justin even a shadow of a smidgeon of stress, he'd face her. And then she smiled benignly and patted his arm.

"Oh, I am sorry, my dear," Lucille said, looking a bit sheepish. "I do get a bit passionate on the topic and forget myself; are you well? You're looking a little green around the gills. I could get you some ginger ale if you need it?"

"I…I have to go," Michael said, quickly disengaging his arm; and she allowed it this time.

"Oh, well," Lucille called as the weasel quickly made his way towards the bar. "If you must; it was a pleasure talking to you, Michael. I do hope we can chat again some time."

And then she smile, looked at her pastel once more and turned on her heel to find her husband; she was certain that he was getting himself into mischief again.

Justin just stared at Lucille, torn between admiration and discomfort because, while he might despise Michael and his recent actions, he was a man. And threatening a man's balls was just wrong on so many levels. But yet, he also wished he could have witnessed the little showdown first hand. He exchanged an uneasy look with Emmett, who was squirming uncomfortably as well while the rest of the women laughed.

Note to self, never piss Lucille off.

"That is so awesome!" Molly exclaimed, her eyes wide with wonder and an evil little smile on her face. "Teach me your ways, Oh Mistress of Retribution…"

Justin shuddered at the thought, and then shared another commiserating look with Emmett; they needed that like they all needed another hole in their heads.

"Stick with me, kid," Lucille smirked, sipping coolly on her drink as if she hadn't just described, in great detail, the various ways she wanted to castrate Michael. Justin was suddenly glad that Deb had to work that night. "You ain't seen nothing yet."

"Well, after that entertaining and informative story," Daphne giggled as she pulled out a notebook "I now call the Luscious Ladies' Retribution Club to order."

"Excuse me," Justin huffed, arching a brow; he was so not letting her emasculate him.

"Sorry," Daphne said, rolling her eyes. "I call the Luscious Ladies' and Men'sRetribution Club to order."

"That's better," Justin said; because he was a man damn it, and no way was he going to be lumped in as an honorary Lady.

"That just doesn't have the same ring to it," Molly frowned thoughtfully.

"Tough," Justin said with a sour expression on his face. "I am quite attached to my dick; I have no intentions of getting rid of it any time soon."

"Are you sure of that, dear?" Lucille teased, making Justin lean away from her warily. "I happen to be quite skilled at…"

"Stay away from my privates, woman," Justin huffed, pointing at her while he protectively cupped his family jewels. "I will not be held responsible for Brian's reaction if you were to damage them."

The rest of the ladies laughed at his antics, but he exchanged a look with a wide-eyed Emmett who was shielding his own pride and joy and nodded. They were definitely keeping an eye out on Lucille and never, ever pissing her off.

… … … … …

An hour and a half later, Justin sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face as the meeting broke up; he was still trying to figure out the purpose of this little gathering. Or, well, he'd figured out that it had to do with Lindsay and them wanting to get even with Lindsay for her actions, but not much had been agreed upon. Something he found annoying because he was seriously missing cheesecake and sex for this? So, not fair.

And speaking of retribution…

Standing up, Justin held up five fingers to Molly and then pointed at Daphne; his sister nodded and then quickly engaged in a conversation with Lucille and his mother. He followed Daphne across the room, isolating the two of them from the rest of the gossiping women, a small frown on his face. He really needed to know what Daphne had been thinking when it came to releasing that video.

Not because he cared that it made Lindsay look bad; in fact, he'd found the entire thing funny when Kiki was telling him about it. It wasn't until later, after he'd thought about it, that he started to grow uneasy with their actions. This was going to paint a target on both Daphne and Emmett's back if Lindsay was feeling bitchy; and he didn't think that they had completely thought the consequences through.

Daphne looked up and smiled, but it quickly fell as she noted Justin's sober expression; she winced and nodded, as if she'd already known what Justin wanted to discuss. And she likely did; they'd been friends forever and could read each other like the back of their hands, much to the other's annoyance sometimes.

"Hey bestie," Justin said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "We need to talk."

"You're mad about the video," Daphne guessed, cutting straight to the chase; and Justin had always appreciated that about her. She never played games.

"Not mad," Justin hedged; because he wasn't. He was worried; very, very worried that she'd opened a can of worms and this was going to blow up in her face. "A little annoyed though; and worried. There were a lot of personal things on there that I would have preferred not get out no matter how justified."

"Have you had the chance to see it?" Daphne asked, chewing on her lower lip; she crossed her arms across her stomach and leaned against the counter.

"No, I haven't looked it up yet," Justin admitted; he had planned to look it up last night, but Brian had been waiting for him when he'd gotten out of his studio and then Justin had forgotten about everything but him. "I've been a little busy since we got back from our trip and haven't had the time."

"We didn't send out the whole thing, Justin," Daphne said, trying to reassure him; and Justin was glad to hear that, but it didn't change the fact that this could be a time bomb waiting to go off. "We did edit it, bleeping out the names of innocents and… You remember that highlights video that Kiki made of Michael's and my argument?"

"Yes," Justin said; he had a feeling he knew where this was headed.

"It was more like that," Daphne said, twisting her hands. "It was just enough to hang her and Simon, even if no one knew his full name."

"It wouldn't take much to put things together based on the things we said," Justin pointed out; he knew that he'd let quite a bit out of the bag in their argument, and there was plenty that would narrow down who he was talking about.

"They both deserve it, Justin," Daphne hissed, her eyes flashing angrily; and Justin didn't deny that, he just thought going about it this way was risky. "After what they did to you; and I can't believe you never told me."

"I love you, Daph," Justin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But this is exactly why I never said anything. I know you; and I know you wouldn't be able to resist beating her ass down. And that would have ended very badly, because this bitch is vindictive enough to have you arrested for assault."

"She'd have to prove it first," Daphne huffed, not ready to concede; but Justin needed her to focus on the potential problems this attack could have raised.

"Trust me," Justin said, his lips compressing into a thin line. "She plays the victim very well; don't underestimate her, Daph. She plays dumb; and I agree that some of her actions aren't the brightest, but she's a pro when it comes to manipulation. I don't need you getting into hot water for this. Plus, I have no idea what the legal repercussions could be. It's not like there was anything that was said that wasn't true; and I doubt Simon will want to acknowledge it too closely, as accusing me of slander would open a can of worms he doesn't want; but you never know how people will react to something that has the potential to very publicly tarnish their reputation."

"We didn't think of that," Daphne flushed, her eyes now wide with worry as his words sank in. "We just wanted people to see how horrible a person Lindsay is…"

"While I appreciate the thought; please, don't do it again," Justin said firmly; and he did appreciate it, but not at the risk of her own happiness and freedom. "Not without mine and Brian's permission. There were things on there that can cause serious repercussions; and at this point in time, we don't need to escalate the situation."

"I just wanted them to pay," Daphne said in a small voice.

"I want them to pay too," Justin agreed with a nod. "And they will; but this has to be handled the right way. And trust me; we have a plan in place. It was part of why we left – to work out our issues and figure out where to go from here."

"It doesn't seem right for her to get away with…" Daphne scowled, but then trailed off when Justin shot her an exasperated look.

"Oh, she's not getting away with a damned thing," Justin laughed mirthlessly, his own eyes burning. "And all those annoying little pranks you guys want to do, feel free. Just make sure it's legal and be careful; I don't need to bail the lot of you out of jail."

"Sorry," Daphne muttered, shifting on her feet. "I guess we didn't think this one through."

"Sorry's bullshit," Justin sighed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into a hug; he pressed his lips to her brow. "Just…until we know who all of the players are in this game, be careful. Brian and I would be devastated if something happened to you as a result of this."