Page 89 of Penny For Your Thoughts
“Gee, you’re right. You might end up locked up for buying a bag of chips, and I don’t have bail money. Better not get caught.”
Darcy’s indignation surfaced. “You’re kind of an asshole.”
“You get used to it,” I said, interrupting and earning a caustic glare from my boyfriend. “What? I happen to adore your assholery. Have since the day we met. Not everybody gets it.”
“Shut up, Tallus.”
“See. Shut up is code for ‘I love you.’ PS. I love you too.” I blew Diem an air-kiss, and the corner of his lip twitched into an almost smile. “My cuddle bear.”
His chest rumbled, and the smile broke free.
“You guys are so gross,” Darcy muttered as he pushed out the door, the bell announcing his departure.
The minute it closed again, I rounded on my boyfriend. “It’s a minor miracle he’s still alive. I’ll be honest. I didn’t think you two would last a whole day together.”
“He’s an idiot, but he’s not so bad.”
I quirked a brow, but Diem diverted.
“I need an opinion.” He handed me Darcy’s burner phone. “Read that text. We haven’t sent it yet. I was afraid the guy would jump before I was ready, and I needed you with us.”
I took the phone and skimmed the text he’d prepared.
So, remember how I saw G yesterday? Well, there’s something I haven’t told you. She gave me an envelope of cash and asked if I would deposit it at the bank. Something about an old slush fund her husband kept under the mattress in their room. IDK. It’s over 2k. I was going to keep it, but I thought you’d get mad. What should I do?
“Did you write this?”
“Yeah. I tried to mimic Darcy’s style.”
“It’s not bad.”
“Believable?”
I studied it again, then motioned to the screen. “Do you mind if I do some editing?”
“Go for it.”
I made a few adjustments, inserting a few spelling errors and adding bad grammar and more text acronyms, before handing it to Diem.
He read the newly formed text, nodding. “He’s not going to let the kid keep two thousand bucks, is he?”
“Doubt it. It does seem a bit far-fetched. Owning up to having the money.”
“That’s what Darcy said, but I don’t know how else to draw this Luke guy out.”
“What if he gives Darcy banking information and tells him to deposit it?”
I could tell Diem hadn’t considered that. His frown deepened. “I don’t know. He deals in cash with payments. I doubt he does. I guess we see what happens and go from there.”
Darcy returned with Sun Chips and a can of Dr Pepper, the latter he handed to Diem. Wow. One day hanging out with my boyfriend, and the kid already knew how to play his cards.
The little shit was smarter than I thought.
I still didn’t like him.
“Are we going to do this now?” Darcy glanced between us as he crunched chips.
Diem locked gazes with me, silently seeking confirmation that I was on board, and asking if we were doing the right thing. It was rare he sought my advice, and a swell of pride bloomed in my chest.
