My hand touches the door Payne is holding open to climb in when Everett comes running over.
He’s not going to stop us.
“Ignore the kid.” Vex opens his own door.
“Max won’t be happy.” Everett stops two feet away, huffing and puffing.
“I’ll get rid of him.” Vex moves towards the boy.
Everett is brilliant. Brains like his… “Everett could be useful.”
Vex doesn’t hesitate. He walks over and picks up the boy, tossing him over his shoulder. “Inside now.”
Canyon can’t see us on this side of the chopper. But every second is a risk. I jump in, and Everett flops in half on his side, half on his back, before Payne climbs in.
“Headphones. If you like the idea of hearing in your sixties,” Payne shouts over the engine starting.
Everett scrambles up off the floor, tugging on his headphones and then buckling up. “What are you guys doing? Why isn’t Max going with you?”
“Because Fiona is going to rescue my sister, not talk ‘til she’s blue in the face like they are doing right now back in Maddox’s place.” Vex starts lifting us off the ground. “Why did we need the kid?”
“Because he’s a genius. A literal computer genius. And if I’m walking in there with only a tracking beacon on me for protection, I want to know someone like him is behind the controls.” This might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life.
“We have trackers.” Payne reaches under the bench and pulls a little bag out of a duffel. “They’re state-of-the-art.”
Everett swipes the bag from his hand, digging into it. “What is state-of-the-art? If she goes more than ten feet underground with one of these, she’s going to disappear. Fiona will be dead, and your sister will vanish again.”
“You got a better idea, genius?” Vex doesn’t do tact.
“I might, but you’re going to need a scalpel and some thread. Numbing cream would be nice too.”
“We got that. We even have a doctor. How long will it take?” Vex makes a hard turn, and my belly swishes around with the chopper.
“Thirty minutes. Twenty if the doctor is fast.” Everett looks a little green around the gills.
“Barb doesn’t fool around.” Vex needs to learn how to drive this thing nice and smooth. “What do you require? Other than an outfit.”
“A few johns. Preferably ones that won’t rape me.” But if that’s the worst thing that happens, the night is going to go better than expected.
Vex chuckles. “I don’t actually want Max to kill me.”
“You know he’s going to.” It’s only fair that I warn Vex.
“It’ll be worth it to save my sister.”
Yeah, it would be.
“You do know I could tell Max where we are.” Everett doesn’t seem to have many brains in his head today.
“Figured you could, Kid. I figure you’re also smart enough to know this is going to happen regardless of what you do. So, you can help keep her safe, or I can dump you somewhere and keep on going. You pick. But do it now, because I have no qualms about choosing my sister over you or anyone else.”
Would Vex dump Everett out of the helicopter? Probably not. Dahlia didn’t marry a heartless man.
“Understood.” Everett nods.
I reach over and take the boy’s hand, offering him some comfort.
***
