“You can’t ask him to do that!” I whispered.
“You said it yourself: it’s just a computer.”
I snatched my phone back. “And if you and Cam get caught, you couldbothgo to jail!”
“Good. It’s about time Cam suffered a few consequences for all this, too.”
“We don’t even know if hacking that thing is possible.”
“And we won’t know unless we call him and ask.” She held her hand out for my phone. We stared at each other, neither of us budging.
“Your mother is going to murder me if I let you out of this house,” I said sternly.
“She doesn’t have to know. I used her pruning shears to clip thewires to Ramón’s cameras last night while you three were getting ready to leave for the bars.”
“That’s what you were doing in the backyard?”
Vero looked incredulous. “Did you think I was gardening?”
With an exasperated huff, I swiped open my contacts and dialed Cam’s number. If I didn’t take control of this conversation, who knew what else Vero might ask him to try?
“Hey, Mrs. D!” Cam answered. “How’s everything in Maryland? I went to your house yesterday, but Nick said you were out of town.”
I frowned. Cam showed up at my house unannounced only when he needed money, maternal advice, or a meal—usually all three. Somehow, I had become a parental figure in his life. While I didn’t mind assuming the role, being a de facto guardian to an eighteen-year-old career felon had come with its own unique set of challenges. Especially since he supplemented his income by working as a confidential informant to the cops, which I knew only because my boyfriend was one of them. “Is your grandma okay?”
“Yeah, she’s good,” he said, perking up the way he usually did when he talked about his grandmother. Cam’s parents weren’t in the picture. His grandmother was supposed to be his legal guardian, but lately it seemed more like it was the other way around. “She met some British guy on that singles cruise I sent her on last month. I hooked her up with a Discord account, and they’ve been talking every day. I’ve been keeping an eye on their conversations, you know, just to make sure the guy isn’t a creep or anything. He seems okay. Everything at my house is great.” The subtle emphasis he placed onhishouse suggested that something else, somewhereelse, wasnotgreat.
“Is everything atmyhouse okay?”
Cam’s pause was telling. “Yeah, sure, Mrs. D.”
“Cam?”
“Nick just asked me to come by and help him with something, that’s all.”
“Nick asked you to help him with what?”
“He wanted me to set Delia and Zach up with some kid-friendly entertainment. You know, Minecraft and Animal Crossing and stuff.”
“Is thatallhe needed help with?”
“I feel like the answer to that might get me in trouble.”
“Notanswering that will also get you in trouble.”
“I swear on my grandma, Mrs. D, there is nothing you need to know.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling a headache coming on. “You’re sure?”
“Would I lie to you?”
“Never mind.” I had promised to trust Nick, and he had promised to contact me if anything urgent came up. Whatever Nick had needed help with probably wasn’t a crisis.
“Did you need something? You called me,” Cam reminded me.
“Right.” I took a breath, dismissing my niggling worry. “I need to ask your advice about something. Hypothetically. Between us.”
“Shoot.”
