It was a warm day with little clouds and no fresh wind. The three men had been at it all day, removing the old wooden planks to change them with the new ones that were brought in this morning by a company. While they worked on the bottom floor with music playing loudly, you were on the second floor, finishing the second layer of paint. A good thing about the hot weather would help the paint dry faster, but on the other hand, everyone was sweating, heaving, and struggling. It was abnormally warm for a Spring day but the temperature kept rising over the years. How fun global warming was.

After another hour, Soap fell backward on his butt and leaned his back on the wall. "Steamin' Jesus! 's too bloody hot! Fuckin' hell..." There was no AC for two reasons: 1. You just bought this place, of course, there was no AC; 2. You lived in Britain. You don't need an AC - or shouldn't at least. Yet, everyone wished there was one right now.

Ghost was also taking a break as he gulped down a bottle of fresh water. He was not wearing his shirt anymore, just like the rest of the boys, but kept his skull mask on, the one he had when you first met. The tattoos on his arm and back were visible, adding charms to the man. The tattoos were mainly composed of skulls and death references. Quite creepy but fitting for him. "Why did I agree to this..?" He was starting to regret listening to Soap. He had been tricked into doing it and he was mad at the Scot for that. He would get his revenge.

"Sorry, boys. I didn't think it would be that hot today, otherwise, I would have prepared iced tea." Your voice caught their attention. You just stepped out of the kitchen with a large tray in your hands. Soap's face lit up immediately and he stood up quickly at the sight of what you were carrying. You had made Raspberry Icebox Cake, fresh and sweet, the perfect refresher under this temperature.

"Oh, wow! They look fuckin' delicious! Can I?" He hurried over. He was already salivating at the sight of those cakes. You made several as you figured those beasts of men ate a lot.

"Please, do. I'm trying something new as well so I would like to hear what you think," you explained and the Scottish man did not waste any more time. He took one of them and took a large bite of it. The pleasured sounds and muffled hums told you all you needed, along with the aggressive nods and thumbs-ups. You could not help the small laugh that escaped your lips. Soap looked like the type of man to always light up the mood whenever he spoke. He had such a booming and bright personality, it was difficult not to get attached to this man. Maybe those guys were not so bad.

"Thanks, Sunshine. They look amazing as always." Kyle came closer and placed a hand on top of your head. He gave you his signature smile, the one that could melt icebergs, the one that made your heartbeat go faster, and the one that made your face a little warmer. He took a bite of it and hummed in approval after he swallowed the first bite. "Wow. Your pastries taste even better than in my memories."

His comment forced a smile onto your face, a sense of pride filling you. "Thank you so much, Kyle... I'm glad you two like it."

You did not notice when Ghost got that close to you. You could feel his body heat against your right side and back. One of his arms snaked around to your front where he took one cake as well. Your eyes were wide open when you noticed his presence, a shiver running down your spine. You glanced over your shoulder to see his toned scarred chest filling your view. Your cheeks grew another layer of red as you realized how attractive he was. Why were you feeling this way? Did you have a secret kink for masked men? You quickly looked away when you felt him back away. However, you swore you heard him smirk when he pulled away. Was he doing this on purpose? You turned your head to look at him again for any sign that would confirm your doubt but he was not looking at you. The only thing he was doing was eating his cake in silence, not even giving you any feedback. Yet, the fact that he ate it in just a few seconds was enough to tell you what he thought about it. You bit down your bottom lip to prevent that smile from coming up again.

"Can I take another?" Soap brought you back to reality and you turned to see him with a hand close to a cake, ready for another serving.

But you slapped his hand away. He hissed and backed it away, rubbing it with a small pout. You sure were ballsy to act like this around very dangerous people, slapping their hands when they could probably snap you in two. You never asked what they did because you knew they would dodge the question but as long as they let you do what you wanted, you would not poke your nose where it did not belong. You did not want to relive that traumatic torture you almost went through. "After lunch maybe. It's almost time so we should get something to eat."

"How about we order food and eat here? I know a good Mexican restaurant." Kyle suggested with a smile.

"Oh, Las Almas?" You questioned and he seemed surprised to see you knew the place he was talking about. "I went there once when I started working at the bakery. It was so delicious!"

That made the British man smile. "Glad you liked it. The restaurant is owned by good friends of ours. I'll call them." He took his phone out and stepped outside to order the food.

Good friends of theirs? You wondered what type of friends exactly they were but of course, you would not ask. You turned back to the kitchen to put the cakes away before the Scottish gremlin would start eating them all.

The four of you talked together while you were waiting for the food. You learned more about Soap's passion for his homeland Scotland and he showed you the flag - and not a small one - he carried all the time with him just to make the Brits angry, as he liked to say. "Why did you move to Britain if you hate them?" You asked him, an air of confusion on your face.

"That's confidential information, Bonnie. Got ta keep part of the mystery, mh~" His tone was teasing as the situation amused him, especially that frustrated look on your face. After all, you were already tired of hearing the three of them say that to you.

A knock on the door caught your attention. You stood up first and opened the door, expecting the delivery man to be there. "Hello, got a delivery for Gaz." The man said.

He had a Spanish accent from what you could tell. You studied him, curious about who this person was. He knew Kyle's codename or whatever it was, so he was probably in the same business as them, you concluded. He seemed about the same size as Soap with short black hair slicked back. He had a mole on his face between his mouth and jaw. He seemed like a serious person at first glance but his brown eyes held a certain softness behind his irises. He was handsome, just like the rest of those men, only older looking than Kyle and Soap. His eyes landed on you and he seemed to study you carefully as if he was trying to read your mind. It was quite intimidating if you were honest.

"Hey, Rudy. Thanks for the food." Kyle spoke before you could. You looked back at him to see him right behind you, his bare chest pressed against your back as he took the bags of food. Fucking hot men.

"No problemo, hermano." His eyes moved away quickly from the Brit to look back at you. "And you are? Sorry I've never seen you before, I'm just curious." He gave you a friendly smile. He knew who you were but he would not straight up say that to you. He preferred a friendly approach.

"That's my childhood friend. Remember? I talked about them last time." Kyle stepped in after he gave the bags to Soap.

"Oh, yes. I remember," he said with a smile. He extended a hand to shake it with yours. "Nice to meet you. I'm Rodolfo, I'm running Los Almas with my hermano Alejandro. Maybe you'll see him soon."

You took his hand with a smile and shook it. He looked like such a nice man. "Nice to meet you, Rodolfo. I'm not yet running this bakery but soon enough I should be able to open it." Your comment seemed to have amused the Mexican man as he let out an adorable chuckle. Maybe you should go to that restaurant more often.

"I can't wait to be able to see it finished then. I heard from Gaz that you make wonderful pastries, I would love to try some."

Hearing that Kyle was talking about you to his friends and bragging about your skills made you slightly flustered. "If you weren't on your shift, I would have offered you one. I have some in the fridge right now."

Rodolfo ran his tongue over his front teeth with a hum as he thought about your offer. "Ale can survive without me for thirty minutes, right? I would love to try whatever you made."

You laughed a bit and nodded. "Alright. As long as you don't get into trouble. I'll get the cakes, don't eat my food, you guys!" You turned around and pointed your finger to Soap in particular. The latter looked offended.

"Me?! Who ye takin me for?!" He shouted at you, pointing his finger at you as well. " 'm nae food stealer, ye numpty!"

You rolled your eyes as you moved to the kitchen. "I don't give cakes to people with that attitude."

"The fuck- Wha kind of businessperson ye are?!" He stood up from the ground but received a blow behind his head from Ghost. "Ow! Yer aff her heid!"

"Shut the fuck up. You're being fuckin annoying, Johnny." He sighed and rubbed his temple. "I can't with you..."

"Johnny?" You questioned as you joined the group who was sitting on the ground with the food in the middle. "Is that your real name Soap?" You looked back and forth between the Scottish man and the scary-looking British man.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Na exactly. Jus' a nickname Ghost calls me." He dug in his food as everyone finally joined in.

"Really? That's kinda cute. Especially coming from the big scary Ghost himself," you joked as you took a bite into your enchiladas.

Ghost's eyes landed on you and he looked far from amused. You wondered if he had ever laughed in his life. "Cute?" He repeated, an eyebrow rose.

Kyle and Soap could not help the laugh that came out of their mouths. They had never heard anyone associating the words cute and Ghost together. Not anyone alive that was. You did not know if you should be laughing with those two or be scared for your life. You shot him a smile, hoping he would not kill you. Luckily, he just rolled his eyes and punched Soap's side instead. This time you laughed along with Kyle. What a funny little group...

"Oh wow," Rodolfo exclaimed, which got your attention. "This cake's amazing, hermane." He gave you a nod of approval before he took another bite. "I'm even more excited to see the place up and running now. I'll definitely stop by to get cakes or anything you'd make."

You felt your face flushed red at his words and your lips curled up on their own. "Thank you, Rodolfo. I'll make sure to come by your restaurant more often too. I absolutely love the food you make."

You two shared heartfelt compliments, blush on your cheeks, under the careful eyes of your childhood friend. He was looking at the way you responded to Rudy's compliments and how your face flushed. He felt a strange pang of emotion in his chest. It made him realize that you were obviously attractive to others as well and you were subject to find others beautiful or handsome. He should not be feeling this way, you were not exclusive to him, but this feeling... He knew he was feeling jealous. He did not want to lose you after finally reuniting with you.

......

"Ale, I'm back," Rodolfo announced himself as he entered through the backdoor of the kitchen.

"¡Pendejo! Where have you been? You left us alone when we had so many customers!" A man with a white apron hurried to his side and slapped his friend with a towel, a heavy frown on his face. He was taller than the other man and a Spanish accent was mixed with his deep raspy voice. He also had dark hair, shorter than the other, with dark brown eyes and a beard complimenting his face. The man also had dimples that some often tried to make fun of. But you do not make fun of the boss of Los Vaqueros that easily, nor his men. Alejandro was a man who took care of his own and would do anything for them, and that was what made him dangerous because he could become an unstoppable force. As Rodolfo, his second-in-command, often said, the only thing that could kill Alejandro was Alejandro.

The poor Mexican man hissed at the feeling, holding his arm in pain. He took a few steps back before he could receive another blow. "¡Perdón, jefe! I was with Price's men and the new one."

Alejandro calmed down immediately at the mention of the 'new one'. "The civilian? How are they like then?" Ever since he heard that John Price himself had put so much effort into surveying this civilian, it got him curious. He wanted to meet you as well and know what made Price so cautious.

The shorter of the two men leaned his back against the nearest wall and shrugged his shoulders. "They look pretty much normal. I don't know why Price is putting all that surveyance. But I've got to say..." His pause caught Alejandro's full attention. "They're something. Despite knowing how dangerous 141 are, they joke around with them, making fun of even Ghost as if it was the most normal thing. And they make amazing pastries."

Alejandro tilted his head to the side while scratching his beard. "I guess I should pay them a visit too. I want to know who we are dealing with."

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I don't speak well Spanish anymore so if I make mistakes, please let me know!