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“Sure you will,” I growled, leaning down for a sweaty but still lingering kiss.
Hannah swatted me, grinning as we broke apart. “You can earn extra credit with me later—after you see Ellis and, more importantly, after you take a shower.”
* * *
After what had happened with Carey, my brother refused to leave Fiona’s house, so I grabbed takeout and a six-pack and brought them over. He ushered me into the kitchen; we could hear Fiona on a conference call in her study.
“Don’t you ever take a day off?”
He put a plate in front of me and scowled. “With everything that’s been going on, no.”
“Don’t you need to go home to change? Take a shower? Hit the gym?”
Ellis bit into the burger and didn’t answer until he’d finished chewing. “Don’t have to. I have everything I need here.”
“So you’re basically living here.”
He shrugged and kept eating.
“Listen, Hannah needs a favor.”
“Hannah, or you?”
“Hannah.” He wouldn’t do it for me.
“Fine. What does she need?”
“Her contact in Shenzhen’s dropped out. She said she can’t talk for a while. Hannah just wants to confirm that she’s okay, and also maybe get a message to her.”
“Sounds like she’s not interested in getting a message.” He grabbed a handful of my sweet potato fries and ate them before I could protest.
I sighed—he was right. “Do you have someone who could check on her? Shenzhen’s not far from Hong Kong.”
Ellis gave me a look. “I know where it is, little brother.”
“Do you know anybody who can do it now? We’ll pay them, make it worth their while.”
“Like our other buddy—the one from the parking lot?” Ellis kept his voice low, but he sounded pissed. He didn’t approve of the fact that Carey, aka Mr. Gray Hoodie, was free and on our payroll.
I took a swig of beer. “That was Hannah’s idea, and it was a pretty good one. She’s paying him to find out information that we couldn’t get otherwise. The police and the FBI have been completely useless.”
My brother leaned closer, glowering. “If I see that dude’s face again, I’m going to break it.”
“Can you just give me an answer about Shenzhen?”
“The answer is maybe. I’ll let you know.”
I wanted to ask when, but Fiona came in.
“Hey, Wes. I didn’t know you were here. Sorry to interrupt.” She bustled around in the pantry, finally retrieving a bag of organic fish crackers. “The girls want a snack. Can I get you two anything?”
“No, but thank you.”
Ellis didn’t say anything. He stared in her direction after she left the room.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
He grabbed his beer. “Yeah—she’s just been through a lot. So have the girls. I want to make this go away so they can move on.”
