“I notice you’re not keen to clarify what you’d be recruiting me for.”
This Hedy person smiles and hands me an old-school business card. “Meet me at the plant nursery on the square in Wimberley next Saturday, two-ish. They’re repotting my alocasia for me, and we can talk details then.”
Omar grips my shoulder, his eyes sparkling. “Don’t forget to bring a flak jacket.”
The five of them laugh like he’s just said the funniest thing ever.
Well fuck. If Omar Bash thinks I need body armor to go into this conversation, I should probably update my will or something because I… uh.
I mean, they…
I sigh, no idea what the fuck I just agreed to. But I have a feeling it’s about to change my life.
17
RAMI
“Baba! Dad! What a surprise!”I say with fake enthusiasm and not one wit of surprise. “We were about to go up for a swim, then put some meat on the grill. Do you wanna join us?”
The others, genuinely surprised to see my scheming fathers, readily agree that they should join us for dinner.
“I believe you know where your swim trunks are in the spare room. Do be aware of the fact that the guy who cleans our place is here.” I lean in and push the tiny button camera into Baba’s hand, whispering, “Try not to Eiffel Tower him while you’re back there.”
Dad watches the cousins as they crowd into the elevator.
I wave. “I’ll be up in a bit with the parentals!”
The second the doors close, I turn to face my fathers, my mouth in a tight line.
Baba rubs his forehead. “I take it you aren’t having a secret tryst with Preston Whitaker. Nor is he paying you in fentanyl.”
“Ya think?”I ask, my hands on my hips. “What the fuck did we do to deserve listening and video devices installed everywhere?”
“What do you mean everywhere?” Dad asks.
“I foundseventeendevices with Dex’s app.”
Dexter is one of my friend-cousins from Seguin, and he’s like some kind of mad scientist inventor. He’s not the most socially adept human on the planet, but we all love him to death, even if he makes the rest of us look likeD-students on a good day.
Hell, he doesn’t even specialize in that kind of scanning technology. His dad is a world-famous punk rocker, with the digital stalkers that come standard with that level of recognition. Hotel rooms are especially tricky, so Dex invented an advanced scanning app that picks up every known device, not to mention a few unknowns.
That one app alone made him richer than his fathers.
“Shit,” Dad says. “I forgot about Dex.”
“How?” I ask, incredulous. “He works in the same building as you.”
“Yeah, but he likes, uh…field work…better than office work.”
This is true—I try to avoid talking to Dex about his real job.Blech.
Dad turns to Baba. “Seventeen? Really? I thought you were only putting them in the elevator.”
Baba thins his lips. “I didn’t put them in any of the kids’ rooms or in the bathroom.”
“Yeah,” I say, letting my annoyance show. “Just in the elevator, foyer, living room, kitchen, and all over the rooftop. It’s a good thing we have a no fucking in open spaces policy.”
Baba rubs the back of his head. “I really do appreciate that rule.”
