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No, it doesn’t.

“And what about Imogene and Dahlia?”

Nothing can happen to Dahlia. Ever. “Let’s get more information first.” If it comes down to a choice between the world and Dahlia, she wins every time.

Me: We need to talk.

Max: Again. I’m starting to think we might be friends.

No chance of that ever happening.

Me: This is serious.

Max: You’re always serious.

Now I’m seriously thinking about breaking a few of his fingers.

Max: My house in an hour.

Me: It needs to be private.

Max: The park across the street from my house.

Does he not understand the meaning of private?

Me: Private

Max: My office?

We could do it here, but then I’d need to get Shock back to set up all his techy stuff.

Me: Private

Max: I’ll text you an address. Meet me there in an hour.

Is this where the Vincentis take care of problems? I guess I’m about to find out.

***

A warehouse in the middle of nowhere fits the bill for private. It’s also a solid place to take care of wetworks. You never have to worry about surprise guests in this area. Payne and I have our own warehouse, which is not too far from here.

As I pull up, a garage door opens.

Max knows I’m here. The door shuts as I turn off the ignition.

Max steps out of a room in the back corner. “You weren’t followed.”

“Of course, I wasn’t followed.”

“You can never be too careful with drones these days. Follow me.” Max doesn’t wait for me to agree before heading back into the room.

“Do you have a box for our phones?”

“No need. The room is lined, and I have a digital jammer running. Whatever you say in this room stays in this room.”

Good to know. I might need one of these setups in the future. “Shock needs to use your tech again.”

“For his private project?”