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“Jonathan Keegan!” I growled.
“Actually, my name is—”
“I know what your name is, John Keegan! But I am furious at you right now.” I snapped. “So, your name is whatever the hell I say it is! Take them down!”
“Take what down,khap?”
I knew I would have regretted teaching him Thai. He never used it unless he was messing with me. In that moment, I wanted to reach through the phone and kick his ass.
“The digital boards! What the hell?”
“You weren’t answering our calls.” Tex rationalized. “I figured that was the best way to get your attention.”
“And I told you I would speak to Taz when I’m good and ready and right now I’m not ready.” I dragged my fingers through my hair. “Now, take them down.”
Tex sighed. “If you won’t speak to Taz, at least have a conversation Zoom and Kaos.”
Frowning, I looked over at Beam who was now leaning against the car, facing me. He tilted his head, questions filling his brown eyes.
Shaking my head, I lifted my eyes to the three boards I could see from where I was now standing.
They all had my face, in bright, neon lights asking if anyone had seen this man and the number to call. Above my head were the wordsmissing person.
“Fine, I’ll talk to Kaos.” I caved. “AndonlyKaos.”
The moment I said that, all the billboards kind of flickered and went back to their regular scheduled programing.
“See?” Tex asked. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“You’re an asshole.”
“I’ve been told.”
Instead of arguing with him, I hung up and bit back the urge to whip the phone across the street. I turned to face the other side, gripped the guardrail and shouted my frustration.
“What was that all about, P?” Beam asked.
“Word of advice, don’t become friends with American special forces soldiers.” I grunted. “Especially one who uses a computer like he’s God.”
Beam stared blankly at me but nodded.
Exhaling, we climbed back into the car and went on our way.
The rest of the day was fine—slow, silent but fine and when I was finally alone, I checked the time and gave Kaos a call, disregarding what time it might be for him. I didn’t care. If he was going to inconvenience my life, I figured two could play it that way.
“Storm.” Kaos cleared his throat. “Hang on, I’ll put you on speaker.”
“No.” I shook my head. “The agreement was, I talked to you and only you.”
“Okay.” Kaos glanced off screen then returned his eyes to me. “I assume you’re calling about Taz.”
“No. I’m calling because Tex is an asshole who wouldn’t stop until I called you, P.” I replied. “Now what do you want?”
“It’s about Taz.”
I sighed heavily, but said nothing. I ensured he saw just how displeased I was with this entire conversation—this entire fucking situation.
“She’s in trouble.”