Page 85 of Throwing Fire

I chuckle. “A new record.”

She pouts for a moment, until I divert her by asking, “While you been with Chi, has she ever logged into the T-net as me?”

The fact that someone released the mag-gun with my authorization is still bugging me.

“Nope. Chi uses her own avvy. She’s had it since birth and she’s got better access than either of us.”

“What’s Chi got access to that we don’t?” It occurs to me that I should know this, and it concerns me that I don’t. Although I have a hard time believing Chi is behind the tag on Kez, I should have looked into this before. Chiara doesn’t get to keep any secrets from me, either.

“Tyng family files. She’s showed me some of them. Lots of bad poetry.”

That makes me chuckle. What do you do with more credits than you could ever spend? Write bad poetry. “Someone’s used my access, and it ain’t me.”

“And you think it could be Chi?”

“Could.” I’m still not sure that Ape gettin’ Nev knocked up translates into a reason to try for Kez. “She’s got the creds, and the access. Without wantin’ to ruin your beautiful friendship, I think we need to put the theory to the test.”

“How?” Kez asks.

I nod at the central viewie, where several messages from Chi to Kez are flashing. “Plex her back. Tell her where you’re gonna be and when. If they try for you, we know she’s behind it.”

“She’s not the only person who knows we’re going to Kuus.”

“Don’t tell her about Kuus. Tell her about Tonlye. So far you an’ me are the only ones who know about that.” I haven’t even told Acker.

“Okay.” She taps up the plex interface and records a message for Chi. She sounds relaxed and casual. Not a hint of what we suspect. Much smoother than my message to Myhre. Smart kitten.

“Good job,” I say, once the message is winging its way through the digital ether.

She sighs. “Have I told you recently how much I hate this?”

“Once or twice.”

“It was easier when I thought it was someone like Jaxon or this guy Drogan.” She wipes her hand across her eyes, and I suspect she’s wiping away tears, although her voice is steady. “Finding out about Dunk. Suspecting Chi. I’d almost rather not know.”

“You don’t wanna know, I won’t tell you,” I offer.

She shakes her head. “I’m not that much of a coward.”

“Kitten, you ain’t any kind of coward.” This is her family that’s betrayed her. “I know this ain’t easy. But it’ll be over soon. Tomorrow, day after, I’ll have Jaxon. He’ll lead us wherever he leads us, an’ then I’ll have them, too. That’ll be the end of it. Then we’re going on fucking vacation.”

Kez smiles. “I’ll hold you to that. I got the plex, by the way. StarWave House, huh?”

I forgot that the change in our reservation would ping to Kez’s viewie. “Yeah.”

“Big spender,” she says, the smile still in her voice, and I can hear it when that smile turns mischievous. “I had a thought for our vacation. Something I want to try. You’d need to bring a lot of rope, though.”

I lift an eyebrow. “How much rope?”

“A lot. Enough to tie me up and suspend me.”

That gets the little monster’s attention. “Suspend you?”

“Uh-huh.” Kez grins. “All the way off the ground.”

The little monster’s up for that. Way, way up. I shift in my chair. “An’ what will you be doin’ all the way off the ground?”

Kez giggles.