I scoff. “Big Robin sent his righthand man on a recon mission to Redwood Prep.” I pace slightly to the left as his friends get closer. “But he didn’t bother telling you who I am.”
“Wait… you’re that Asian guy.”
I notice someone creeping to my left. He steps into the moonlight. Our gazes connect, and he lunges at me. I take advantage of his momentum and step back, letting him stumble over himself and crash into the door.
“You okay in there?” J’s voice pours through the earbuds.
My brothers and Sol start shaking the door, trying to get in.
I knock on the door three times sharply, and they stop.
“Okay, okay. This is getting real.” J’s words rush together, making her hard to understand. “I have a few nudes here? Mr. Rico—he’s the owner of this phone—he’s cheating on his girlfriend.” J snorts. “Of course he is. Why can’t men just break it off if they’re no longer interested?”
“That won’t work,” I growl.
The words are for J, but Ace’s buddy takes it personally.
He tries to attack me too. I grab his wrist and curl it backward.
He bawls out.
I shove him away, and he stumbles forward, arms flailing.
“I’m ditching Rico’s phone. It doesn’t have anything I can work with.”
I prowl away from the door, keeping myself hidden as much as I can.
“Where the hell are you?” Ace roars. “Show yourself, you prick!”
The first guy who attacked me spots me as I shift through the shadows. He makes a running leap, eyes wide and desperate. I sidestep him easily, grab his ankle and give it a good twist. He screams and I let go, watching him hop on one leg to the opposite side of the shed.
The second guy comes at me next. He throws a surprisingly solid punch for someone who hasn’t eaten all day. I dodge the punch and kick him straight into Ace who stumbles down in a rage of expletives.
“Oooh. Finn, this other guy—Rasheed… he’s got a secure folder with all the goodies,” J announces in my earbuds.
Ace’s eyes bulge. Curses fly out of his mouth as he races to me and tries to headbutt me. His hands are still tied up, so I don’t understand what he’s hoping to accomplish.As Ace draws closer, I note the way his nostrils flare and a vein pops in his forehead.
Ah. Rage.
Unfortunately for Ace, he didn’t have a sensei who taught him to control his anger. He’s making emotional decisions. Which makes him stupid.
If I wasn’t stalling for time, I could knock him out in a second.
I dance close enough to taunt Ace but continue dodging his attempts to stomp and headbutt me. He’s tiring himself out with every attempt. I hope J finds something soon. These guys are exhausted and food deprived. They’ll drop like flies before I can make a move of my own.
“Okay, okay,” J mumbles. “I see something I can work with. ATM receipts. Let me calculate something…”
Ace stumbles backward. He’s moving at a sluggish pace. Sweat beads on his neck and drops down his face.
“… There’s a master spreadsheet here, but they don’t match the receipts. Hold on…”
“Is that the best you can do?” I taunt.
He comes at me again, moving like a drunk elephant. His flying kicks don’t land and that seems to upset him more, but the more emotional he becomes, the less accurate his aim becomes. It’s a cruel cycle.
“… okay. I found the connection. Rasheed has text-message screenshots here. They’re between him and a contact saved as Numbers. The receipts don’t match though. I’m about eighty percent sure they are under-reporting the money they collect, Finn.”
Eighty percent is good enough.
