Page 11 of Dev

I take out my cell and call Lex as I drive out the gates and head toward home. It’s late, but he still answers on the first ring, and the sound of his computer keyboard clicking in the background assures me that I haven’t woken him up.

“What’s up, Corey?” he asks.

“I need a favor.”

“Everyone's always looking for a favor.” He laughs to himself.

“Yeah, but not everyone got you through senior year by writing up your essays for you,” I remind him.

“Look, if you're asking me to hack the college board's database and change your grades, I–”

“We both know that's not what I need,” I interrupt him. “I was just wondering if you still have that equipment you used to catch your stepmom cheating on your dad?”

“Of course, I do, you never know when it’ll come in useful. You think Millie’s been seeing someone else? Is that why she ende–”

“It’s got nothing to do with Millie. Lex, this is something for the club, but that has to stay between us.” I know there's no way I’m gonna get away with not telling him why I’m asking. Lex is as intuitive as he is skilled.

“The club?!” I know I have his full attention when the persistent clicking of his fingers stops.

“Dude, what's our mission because I’m choosing to accept it?”

“I’m on my way to yours. I’ll explain when I get there.” I shake my head and laugh at him before ending the call.

This is my chance to prove to Dev that I’m strong enough to become a member, and when I’m done doing that, I’m gonna fight for my girl. I’ll show her that I can still give her all those privileges her daddy does when she becomes my old lady.

“You know I can smell that joint from the top of your street,” I tell Lex as I step inside his dad's pool house. The walls are painted black, and lit-up monitors and laptop screens are providing all the light.

“Just a second.” He finishes typing something on his laptop before placing it down and looking up at me.“So. Club business?” He has an enthusiastic look on his face as he takes a drag of his blunt and hands it over to me.

“Apparently, there’s a new Irish crew in town, and the club wants intel,” I explain, catching a glimpse of what's on one of the monitors and leaning in to get a closer look. It looks to me like live security footage from a strip joint.

“Just ignore that.” Lex turns the monitor off and urges me to continue.

“I was thinking that maybe I could use those cameras you had to get the club some eyes behind enemy lines.” I rest my ass back on his desk and wait for him to respond.

“Sounds like a great idea, except for the part where you set the cameras up. I don’t like the sound of us going behind enemy lines, bro.” He takes his blunt back and takes a deep inhale.

“Not us, me. All I need you to do is link the cameras up to my laptop so the club can have a constant live stream of what those fuckers are up to. Just like you did with Marion.”

“Your brother’s okay with this? Sounds kinda dangerous to me.” Lex's frown tells me he ain’t convinced.

“I’m the only person who knows the place well enough. I can be in and out without anyone ever knowing I’ve been there.”

“Corey, this is the shot you’ve been waiting for.” His confusion fades into a smile.

“And I don’t intend to let ‘em down.” I nod proudly.

“I’ll get you what you need.” He stands up from his gaming chair and heads over to the locker, then keying in a code, he pops it open and takes out a belt bag.

“Everything's in there.” He hands it over and retakes his seat. “Each wireless camera has 4K HD quality, a built-in microphone, and a battery life that will last you around four days. Thanks to yours truly being always prepared, they’re fully charged and good to go.”

“Perfect.” I pull one of the cameras out the bag and check it out. “These things are tiny.”

“No expense was spared in catching that money-grabbing slut. Grandma picked up the bill.” He swivels in his chair. “You’ll find some double-sided sticky pads in there to stick them on with.”

“And these pick up sound, too?” I check I heard him right, knowing how useful that would be for the club.

“Hell, yeah, you should have heard all the things Marion wanted to do to Dad’s business partner. Kinda got me off while I was watching.” My eyes automatically go to the massage oil that’s next to the closed-down monitor, and he quickly opens the desk drawer and throws it inside.

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