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I frowned and pursed my lips. The memories of this douche were definitely coming back.

“So I agreed to drinks one night, just to get him off my fucking back. He kept rambling on and on about this new association he’s in. I just kind of thought it was a fuckin’ bullshit rich boy circle jerk.”

I snorted a laugh.

“But he was tryingrealhard to impress me, you know? And let slip a couple of things that maybe he shouldn’t have, and I put it together pretty quickly that they were trying to play white-collar criminals like their daddies.”

“What did his family do again?”

Larissa scrubbed at her forehead, mouth popped open into a little O shape as she thought.

“Real estate shit, I think. Maybe like high-rise development stuff?”

I nodded, trying my best to remember William.

The name had rang an immediate bell, but I couldn’t quite picture the guy anymore. He wasn’t in our grade, and we definitely didn’t run in the same circles.

What did surface immediately though, was memories of the stories about him from the other girls in the school. The cocky, pushy, manipulative guy who used to collect nudes of girls to use as blackmail.

So yeah, he was a dick from day one.

The door swung open and Theo headed back inside, still frowning down at his phone.

“How did that go?” I asked as he sighed and pocketed the phone.

He answered with a resigned shrug and a tight smile that told me I probably shouldn’t get my hopes up.

* * *

Theo was quiet for most of the afternoon.

He had become such a constant presence at the shop that he had started to help out with the opening and closing routines. He pulled down the shutters behind the glass windows without prompting and armed the security system as I headed out onto the street.

Larissa had clocked off a little early, and honestly, with Theo there, it was hardly noticeable. But there was something definitely off with Theo. He scrubbed at his stubbled cheek with frustration while I locked the doors.

“Alright, what’s the matter with you?” I chuckled, prodding him in the ribs as we headed towards his car.

He shook his head, opening the door and waiting for me to slide into the passenger seat. But I stayed stubbornly put, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

Theo rolled his eyes.

“Nothing,” he groaned. “I just,” he ran a hand down his face. “I just worry that I overstepped this morning. I should’ve just told the fuckin’ Redliner to speak to Toni directly.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes.

“Don’t be stupid. You did nothing wrong. All you did was deliver a message.”

“Oh yeah,” he chuckled, motioning for me to hurry up and get into the car. “And your brother is known fornevershooting the messenger.”

“Toni would never,” I chuckled too now, relenting and sliding into the seat. “It’s Rome you gotta watch.”

He barked a laugh. “Yeah. She can be worrisome,” he mumbled, before slamming the door shut.

Lately, Theo and I had enjoyed the drive back to my apartment in a comfortable and familiar silence, maybe with a little bit of chatting. There was no need for forced small talk or anything. But this afternoon, the silence felt a little heavier than usual. Theo drove with his shoulders a little stiffer, and his back a little straighter.

“Do you remember William Peck from school?” I asked with two motives in mind.

The first was to get his mind off of whatever Toni might’ve said to him on the phone, and the second was to try and piece together the seemingly unconnected puzzle pieces I’d been given about the people who might’ve been trying to hurt my family.