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River speaks up. “No. Has to do with the woman living on the ranch.”
“So girl trouble.” Syd chuckles.
“Every woman is trouble,” Warren grumbles. “Some more than others.”
“You all okay with this?” I scan my brothers. From each, I get a curt nod.
Ezra looks at Syd. “Tell us what you want.” Despite not wanting to be involved, he always comes along anyway. It’s the way he’s built. As long as he knows every option, he feels in control.
“One more year of running barrels.” Syd grins.
“Fuckin’ great.” Ezra states the obvious, his voice one big sigh.
“You got a deal.” I stick out a hand, and we shake.
“Just because I like you, I’ll toss in something extra.”
“What is this, a Costco?” Ezra grumbles.
“What’s the extra?” I pass over the USB to Syd, who passes it down to Chili, who sits silently at the front desk and immediately plugs it into his computer.
“A favor.” Syd arcs a brow. “You’ll know it when you need it.”
“Appreciate it,” I say while thinking of Delilah alone in my house right now.
Chili pops his head up from the computer. Whistles and shoves his glasses up on his nose with cheesy orange-stained fingers. “The hell you Westons got yourself into now?”
Chili, whose real name is Josh, is a smart, skinny kid who loves spicy junk food, weed, and Dungeons & Dragons. He and Ezra were friends in high school. He graduated with top honors, went to Harvard, and got kicked out that fall for hacking computers and changing grades. We knew he’d be back. It’s the way of Tempest.
“It bad?” Warren’s arms fold over his chest.
“It’s encrypted as hell.”
“Can you do it?” River asks.
Chili scoffs like he’s been insulted. “Yeah. But it’ll take a while.”
“How long’s a while?” I ask, feeling my patience thinning. I’ll be on edge as long as someone is still out there looking for Delilah.
“A couple of days. A week.” Chili looks up at Ezra, hunching his shoulders as he blindly clicks around on the computer. “You’re lookin’ uglier these days, man.”
Ezra chuckles. “Not what your mom said last night.”
“You sure?” Syd asks me, reminding me of what I’m in for.
“I’m sure.” Delilah could wage a war, and I’d be right in the middle of it fighting for her.
“We’ll call you when it’s done.” Syd claps me on the back. His voice drops as he scans all of us. “The next run’s set for the end of August.”
“We got eyes and ears ready.” Warren nods.
We say goodbye and exit out back into the alleyway. Fat raindrops fall as we head to our trucks. It’s muggy and gray, like the day just wants to exist as night.
“What now?” Ezra sounds calm. Resigned.
“Now we wait.” Time’s my enemy. Not knowing who’s out there, who’s coming for Delilah. I hope Chili can work quickly.
“We don’t even know what we’re workin’ with yet.” River blows out a breath. “It could be an easy fix. An ex. An amateur.”
