Page 153 of The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The Second Collection
Lindy nods. “And if I’m wrong, I swear this is it. I won’t go after Orelo anymore.”
“No?”
“No.” He clears his throat. “Your friendship is more important.”
I rock back in my chair. Then I shake myself, reminding myself that he’s a liar.
My phone buzzes.
De Leon: Give it up, Max. You’re going to forgive him.
Since Lindy can’t see it and I’m confident De Leon’s watching me somehow, I stick my hand in the air and give him the middle finger.
“Yeah, okay. I’m good with these. Any idea what version of WEDGE they’re running?”
Lindy shakes his head.
“You done any preliminary work on either site?”
Lindy nods. “There’s a document in that folder titled Acquisition. That’s all the research I’ve done on the company structures, users who might have administrative access to the systems, that kind of thing. I didn’t take a trial run because I didn’t want to leave any footprints, but that Lumpstone one in Canada looks like it’s going to be harder to crack.”
“Okay.” I find the file and read through the information he’s gathered. It’s good. Thorough. It’s what I’d do if I was gathering intel on a target. “I’ll take Lumpstone. You take Bluett.”
“You’re giving me the easier target. Why?”
“If I crack Lumpstone, you give me an A on the exam I missed.”
Lindy chuckles beneath the hood. “Fair enough.”
De Leon: Check Lindy’s restraints and then strap in. We’ll be landing in 5.
I do, making sure Lindy’s fingers and toes are pink and warm. As I’m putting his socks back on, Lindy murmurs, “You don’t really hate me, do you?”
“I’m just being responsible. Don’t ask me for forgiveness yet. It’s too soon after I realized you were a psycho stalker blackhat.”
“Your friendship really does mean more to me now than revenge.”
Grumbling, I lace up his sneakers. “Still too soon.”
“You’ll tell me when it’s not too soon?”
“When the nachos are on me again, you’ll know.”
Lindy makes a happy humming noise beneath the hood.
I take my seat, strap in, and text Cynnie before turning off my phone for the descent.
Miss you, baby. Wish I was still snuggled up with you. Lindy’s trying to get me to forgive him. It’s weird. Text me one good thing to see when I land.
When I turn the phone back on after a smooth landing at a small airstrip in the middle of heavy woods that could be anywhere on the East Coast, Cynnie’s sent me a series of chibis: heart-eyes, cuddles, good-girl. And a text.
Bumble: Miss you, too, Oppa! One good thing is that I’ll see you tomorrow! And I’ll wear my pretty dress for you and dance the night away with you. I can’t wait!
I can’t wait, either, baby. Did you talk to your grandmother?
Bumble: Yes, I apologized and she accepted my apology. I haven’t talked to Jun. I don’t want to.
You don’t have to. Are you going to get lots done today so we can play all weekend?
