“Change of scenery.” I draw in a breath. “Good for the soul.”
“I get you. I get you.” He bobs his head in a nod, but he clearly doesn’t. “You know if you need anything, I’m still your guy. I know you got a girl now, and she’s all your priority, but I don’t mind getting my hands dirty if it helps.”
Yeah, fuck. “Look, Mike. I got to be honest. I’m doing a little recon over here, but it would really help me out if you can tell me what the fuck Tanner Lewis is up to these days.” Clapping him on the shoulder, I give it a squeeze. “You’d be doing me a solid.”
“Yeah, man.” Mike smiles. He’s like a fucking golden retriever. Mastermind of none, but definitely a willing follower. We just can’t be sure he’s still following us. “Sure thing. I’ll text you what I find out.”
Mike heads inside. Besides, it can’t hurt to know what Tanner is up to. The fact that we didn’t know about his connection with Zach left me feeling like a fool. I’m supposed to know this shit. But if I don’t sleep, my brain gets a little tangled.
Fortunately, the guy walking toward the building with his head down is exactly the guy I need to talk to to help me get untangled. I wait until he’s even with me before I step out from the wall.
“Will Frank, just the guy I was hoping to find.” I wrap my arm around his shoulders before he can jerk away. His black-rimmed glasses slide down his nose and he pushes them back up. I’ve got an inch or two on him, but he’s not a short guy.
“What do you want?” His tone is suspicious. Fuck, I can’t say that I blame him. We haven’t built a reputation by being good little boys. I’d be more curious if he’d been more confident.
“You have something I want. I just need to figure out what makes you tick.” I lead him into the building and to his locker.
His eyes narrow at the fact I know where his locker is. “I don’t have money.”
My brow furrows. “What makes you think I want your money?”
“Isn’t that what bullies want?” He shrugs as he puts his backpack in his locker, watching me the whole time. “Lunch money?”
I laugh, because fuck, that’s cliché. “Dude, I have all the money I need. I don’t need yours.”
His head bobs in a sort of nod before he grabs his first period books.
I lean against the locker next to his. “See, I’ve found this little bug...”
His eyes widen, but he tries to remain stoic like he doesn’t know I’m talking about computers.
“But it’s been difficult to trace. Normally, I’d just send an exterminator after it. But see, here’s the tricky part, Will.” I smack the back of my hand on his shoulder lightly. He flinches at the push, but doesn’t get upset. “I find I need a bug so I thought to myself: What might a bug want that I can give him?”
Will tips his eyes up to me and straightens his glasses again. He closes his locker. “Why would you give the bug anything?”
“See that’s where you come in.” I put my arm around his shoulders and lead him down the hallway. Some people watch in fascination, wondering what the fuck I’m going to do to poor Will Frank. Others scurry away, afraid of the backlash.
“I’m not sure how I can help you, Jack.”
I scan the hallway. Yeah, too busy. I pull him into a dark classroom and turn on the light.
Will backs away from me, giving himself some space. “Look, I don’t know what you’re after?—”
“Time, Will. I need fucking time and someone who’s almost as smart as me to do what I don’t have time to do.” I cock my head to the side and narrow my eyes. “While I love a good game of cat and mouse, these analogies aren’t getting us anywhere.”
Will swallows.
“I’m fairly certain you helped Sidney Brown break into my security system. I also know you’ve been trying to ride my ass into my webcam sessions with my girl and into my system.”
His head shakes and he rubs his hand on his pants.
“I’m not coming at you looking for a fight.” I lean back against the door and cross my arms. “That’s not my style.”
“Yeah, right.” His gaze darts around, looking for an escape.
“If I wanted to pound you, I would have done it in the hallway. You see, doing it in front of other people really gets the message across faster.” I step away from the door. “You obviously know people are coming after us and our girl. What I’m here to offer is whatever they’re giving you, we can do better.”
His mouth opens and closes as he thinks about what I’m saying.
