Page 83 of Provocation
He nods and I get up, walking a couple of steps before turning back to where he’s still sat at the table, unmoving.
‘Don’t contact me, don’t send me any more letters and I’ll put a hundred in your account every month ’til you get probation. Deal?’
He hesitates and then nods again, looking a little disappointed, but I ignore his expression as I turn.
As I’m leaving, I see a pair of guys at the table behind ours. Both are covered in tats and staring right at me. I look back at my father who’s gaze is swinging back and forth between us all.
Son of a bitch.I catch his eye and shake my head in disgust.
He got me here so these fuckers could get a look at me. I take in as much about their appearances as I can while I walk slowly by their table, memorizing tattoos and features so I’ll recognize them if see them around. They could be Kormak’s guys, Sauvage’s, someone else. The last thing I need is more heat on me.
I don’t look back even though I can feel his eyes boring a hole into my head. I grab my stuff from the locker and leave. The rain is still coming down hard as I get on the road.
What a waste of fucking time that was.
I drive back to the KIP house and find some of the guys milling around, but the upperclassmen are getting ready for the party at the club in a couple of days and the rest are preparing to go home for Thanksgiving next week.
Upstairs is quiet and I check on the program I wrote to unscramble the corrupted data from the cameras. It’s still working, so I do some classwork, and take some time to get together a list of the names of the girls who have been harassing Daisy. I ordered her a new coat yesterday, so I’m hoping that comes soon. The look on her face when she was trying to wash the ruined one in the bath broke me. I knew she liked it, but I don’t think I’d realized that she loved it so much she’d cry over it. Angry at Laurie, Jolie, Tabatha, and Michelle all over again, I consider how we should punish them. The usual beatings and drug charges are getting a little boring.
I think about what Daisy said to me about the work I have to do to pay off my debt, how she wasn’t disgusted. And the fact that she wanted to get Bennet back by herself. Maybe I should let her in on the decision-making process for her bullies. It might be good for her to have some control over what we do to them.
Yeah, I decide, that’s a great idea. I’m kind of interested to see what she comes up with.
I check the program again and look through the files it’s fixed so far to see if there’s anything interesting. But it’s all just normal video of the KIP brothers going about their daily lives. It hasn’t even gotten to Daisy’s files yet and they’re all so muddled up that I can’t tell what’s what until the program has fixed what it can. I frown as I see a text file appear and open it, scanning the random lines of code. Something jumps out at me–another external source besides the one in Richmond. A second location with remote access to our cameras. Heart quickening, I note down the corresponding IP address. That’s all there is, but I search for it. The approximate location makes me take out my phone and call Shade.
He answers immediately.
‘Where are you?’ I ask, not bothering with a greeting.
‘The club.’
I grab my coat and my laptop. ‘I’ll be there in a few.’
I take Shade’s car. The drive is slow because of the weather. It’s still coming down in sheets and the wind is crazy. There are branches all over the roads and I see more than one tree down. It’s starting to freeze, too, but I make it to the club in one piece within the hour.
Inside, I find Shade, Mav, and Daisy up in the office. They’re watching a movie on Mav’s laptop, trying to broaden Daisy’s film and music experience since she missed out on so much. I need to get her intoNorth and SouthorTipping the Velvet, a couple of my period drama favorites.
‘What is it?’ Shade asks.
‘I found something.’
He pauses the movie, and they all look up at me expectantly. I take a seat and glance at Shade and then Daisy meaningfully, but he shakes his head.
‘No more secrets. Daisy needs to know what we know.’
The smile she gives him at his words could light the room.
‘I found another IP address of the person who was watching.’
‘And?’ Mav asks. ‘Did you get an address?’
I shake my head. ‘There’s no way of narrowing it down that much, but the general area was south of Richmond.’
‘My father’s house?’ Shade mutters.
‘I think so. There’s nothing else really out that way, is there?’
Daisy tilts her head. ‘You’re sure? It couldn’t be anywhere else?’
