Page 79 of Gamma

“Shit!” I startle, juggling the phone before catching it and shoving it into my back pocket, jogging over to the back of the Toyota; I snatch up the phone. “Sorry about that, Daddy.”

“Corinna, what just happened?”

“Oh, nothing. Just, you know, taking some selfies for the ’Gram.”

He is not amused. “Corinna Abigail Roth.”

“What do you think just happened, Dad? We’re being tracked by Spaulding’s cheap-ass rental thugs. Right as you called, I was about to take care of the latest squad. Which I did.”

A sigh. “Like mother, like daughter.”

“Damn right I’m like Mom,” I say. “Where the hell is our backup? This running and hiding bullshit is getting old.”

“Approaching Tunis. We’re about…how far, Harris?” I hear Uncle Harry’s voice. “A hundred kilometers, he says.”

“We have to nail this guy, Dad. I’m not going to have my wedding ruined by this two-bit criminal.”

A pause. “Wait, wedding?”

I grin at Apollo, leaning against the back of the SUV. “Yeah, we got engaged.”

“While running for your lives and fighting off mercenaries?”

“Yep.”

Dad sighs. “Sounds about right.”

“We weren’t actively running or fighting when he proposed,” I say. “We were in the, um, hiding portion of the program, you might say.”

Dad snickers. “Yeah, I’m well aware of the effect high adrenaline situations have on sexual hormones, Rin. Very,verywell aware. You, after all, by your own admission are very much your mother’s daughter.”

I gag. “Dad!”

“You started it.”

“I do not need the mental image of you and Mom getting freaky while the bullets fly.”

“You don’t get freakywhilethe bullets are flying, you get freakyafter.”

“Yes, Dad, I know.”

“Just making sure. You can’t let hormones make you dumb.”

I groan. “Yep. Got it. On that note, we need to get scarce. Where are we going to rendezvous?”

A moment of muffled speech while they confer on the other end. “Best to not say over the phone. When we’re about to land, I’ll call you back. Until then, stay alive.”

“Not gonna lay down and die now. I’ve got a wedding to plan.”

“Does your mother know?”

“Just you. It’s pretty recent. Like, an hour ago. So let me tell her.”

“Got it.”

“Rin, darling. Gotta go.” Apollo’s voice is tight. “We’re attracting attention.”

I spin in place and see that a car is trundling slowly toward us. “Shit, I have to go, Dad. Get here soon.”