Page 13 of Sunburned

He gave me an affectionate pat on the shoulder. “Shrimp, bell pepper, and pineapple skewers.”

“Yum. What’s that?” I asked, pointing at the palm-size packets of tinfoil.

“Marinated lionfish we caught diving today,” Tyson said.

I raised my brows. “Are we going to die tonight?”

“I watched a video online on how to fillet it,” Cody said. “It’s supposed to be good. And it won’t kill you, even if I did it wrong.”

“A ringing endorsement,” I said dryly.

But when we sat down to eat at the table on the covered porch, we all had to agree that the lionfish was actually quite good, white and flaky and slightly buttery, similar to mahi-mahi.

After dinner, Cody topped up our glasses of white wine as Tyson popped the cap on another Coors Light. “Sure you don’t want to drink something that doesn’t taste like piss?” Cody teased.

“One man’s piss is another man’s wine,” Tyson quipped.

“Ew,” I said, rising to walk out to the glowing pool. The pavement was still warm with the heat of the day as I sat on the edge and dangled my feet in the soft water.

Behind me, a phone dinged. “I’m gonna run over to Ian’s and pick up some weed,” Tyson said.

As he went out the back gate, Cody sat down next to me, lying back on the pavement with his feet in the pool.

All week I’d been going back and forth over the idea Tyson had planted about hacking to get the money for my mom’s treatments, fearful of losing her but equally fearful of crossing a line I couldn’t uncross. But something had clicked inside me today when we were at the beach, and I now knew I’d do whatever it took to save her.

“Did Tyson tell you about my mom?” I asked, afraid to look at Cody.

He nodded. “I’m so sorry, Audrey.”

I bit my lip, holding back tears. “It’s not fair,” I said to the sky.

“No, it’s not,” he agreed. “Tyson told me about the treatment she needs, and how much it costs.” He let out a sigh. “I don’t know if I can help.”

I closed my eyes as my heart imploded.

“But I want to try,” he finished.

My head snapped toward him. “What do you mean?”

“I can get you into the system. The rest is up to you.”

“Seriously?” I asked, my heart beating erratically.

He nodded. “It’s big and disorganized with very little oversight, and honestly the company is doing enough shady shit that while I don’t like to break the law, I also don’t feel like it’s morally wrong. Alex needs the money more than their billionaire CEO does.”

I blinked at him, flooded with gratitude. “Thank you.”

“Poke around, come up with a workable plan, then we can go over it together.”

“Okay. I’ll be careful, I swear. If I think there’s any chance of getting caught, I won’t do it.”

“I trust your judgment.”

I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Thank you, Cody.”

The gate on the far side of the patio swung open and Tyson entered, a look of annoyance on his face. I realized why a split second later, when Ian followed him through, letting the gate slam behind him.

“Oh shit,” Ian said as the metal clanged, turning back so quickly that he almost lost his balance. He was barefoot in basketball shorts and a dirty sleeveless T-shirt, and as he drew closer, I could see that his pupils were as big as saucers. “Whassup?” he said, reaching down to give Cody and me sloppy high-fives.

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