Page 551 of Devil’s Disciples

“I still can’t believe it,” she said. “Talk about a relief. This is just crazy.”

“I guess I should have known,” I said. “If the little fucker can hack into the Pentagon’s computer system, why couldn’t he hack into the Social Security Administration’s and a few others?”

“I had no idea he was that good.”

“Tito?” I laughed. “He’s as good as it gets.”

“Well,” she said. “We’re all set now. We’ve all got our driver’s licenses. My father’s going to work part-time as a consultant. Sam’s going to sell cars, and mother’s happy just being herself.”

I glanced toward the temporary dance floor. Gina and Oscar were still going like the night was young, but it wasn’t. Goose had hired the DJ to stay until midnight and had already slipped him some extra money to stay another hour.

“Looks like she wants to be a dancer,” I said.

Carma smiled. “She loves to dance.”

“Your father, too?”

“He doesn’t have a choice.”

“Is that how it works?” I asked.

“What?”

“Marriage? Does the man lose his ability to have a voice?”

“Absolutely,” she deadpanned.

“He’d have to be comfortable his wife had a good voice then, wouldn’t he? If he was relinquishing his?”

“I suppose so.” She looked at me. “Do I have a good voice?”

I chuckled. “You did a few weeks ago when you were chewing Watson’s ass at the police station.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I felt terrible about that.”

I looked at Watson, who was fifty feet away, talking to Crip. “Can I tell you something?”

“Sure.”

“That day we went there? To the police station?”

“Yeah?”

“He knew you were coming, and why,” I said. “I told him.”

She stood and turned to face me. “Seriously?”

I covered my face with my forearms, like a boxer who was protecting himself from an assault in the ring. “Uh huh.”

“Why?”

“Because I was afraid you would do what you did,” I said through the opening between my arms. “I didn’t want him to end up arresting you.”

She stepped to the side and glared. “Arresting me?”

I lowered my arms. “You got pretty close to being out of hand.”

She gave me a look. “According to who?”