Thus, I shouldn’t remind Byron she had three kids, three jobs, and she could be a bitch.
Second, Dream was my sister.
Should I hook her up with some dude I’d known for years, but clearly I did not know him very well. A dude who watched people’s money without their knowledge for undisclosed clients he “liked” to think were good guys?
To buy time, I remarked, “I thought you didn’t like her.”
“Why wouldn’t I like her?”
“Because you took my back when she was handing me shit that one time.”
“I’ve seen growth lately.”
This was true. I had too. Even when it came to me.
“It takes a certain kind of strength of character to be so deep into who you are, but still, you can take a look at yourself and realize you need to do better and be kinder,” he carried on. “And then you do better and you’re kinder.”
This was true too. And food for thought when it came to my own mission with Dream.
“And she’s hot,” Byron finished.
I couldn’t make that call, but I could say that even rundown, Dream was pretty. It was just her personality that made that shine dim.
“No offense, Byron, but, even if you know I don’t exactly get along with my sister,”—I flicked a hand to his laptop— “you hang out on the dark web and have a morally vague job.”
“That isn’t on the dark web,” he said.
“Wait. Those boards are on the regular web?”
“No. They’re on the web where even the people on the dark web don’t have the skills to access the…erm, secret web.”
“You are so totally a computer guru,” I accused.
He lifted his chin, sidestepped my comment and stated his case. “I make good money. I like kids. I know how to cook. I’ll take the garbage out when it’s full or the bin smells, and not only because I live alone, but because the garbage needs to go out. I’m a decent looking guy. I own my own home and car. Not outright on the home, but I’m only five years out on that. And what I do doesn’t hurt anybody, but it might stop others getting hurt.”
I tipped my head to the side, because that was a good case.
“So let’s be clear. If I get you a date with Dream, you’ll do how many jobs for us?”
He shrugged. “If I have the time, and if I can do it, whatever you ask.”
“For one date?”
“You can get me the date, but you can’t control if your sister is going to like me.”
Too true.
“I need to think on this,” I told him.
“Take your time.”
“And I’ll reiterate, I’m gonna tell the Angels about you.”
“I figured.”
“And get up in the shit of the Nightingale guys because they didn’t tell us about you,” I went on.
“That’s their problem, not mine.”
