Page 10

Eleven Years Ago, June

Cody and Tyson hovered behind me at the desk in Tyson’s father’s office, staring intently at the two computer monitors displaying the program I’d designed.

“American Drugs has contracts with thousands of vendors whose products are sold in their stores,” I said, pointing to the list on the screen.

“Every time a sale is made, there’s a split with the manufacturer.

The program I’ve designed is a sales deflation program—or SADEP.

It deflates sales by an infinitesimal amount on a random, rotating basis, so AD is paying out the same amount of money, but a tiny fraction of it falls through the cracks into our hands. ”

Tyson peeled an orange as Cody crossed his arms over his chest. “So we’re not actually stealing from AD.”

I shook my head. “And we’re not stealing a large amount from any one company, but a tiny amount from thousands of companies. An imperceptible amount to them, but a lifesaving amount to my mom.”

“That’s fucking brilliant,” Tyson said, popping an orange wedge into his mouth. “You’re fucking brilliant.”

I spun in my desk chair, looking up at Cody. “What do you think?”

“He’s right,” Cody said. “It’s brilliant. I wish I were half as smart as you.”

I laughed, relieved that he approved of the idea. “You make a girl blush.”

“How long will it take to get the money you need for the first round of treatment?” Cody asked.

“Depends on sales and how bold we want to be with the numbers,” I said. “I want to be safe about it.”

“Of course,” Cody said.

“But you need the money now.” Tyson offered me a piece of orange, and I shook my head.

It was a new thing, this orange obsession. He’d begun eating them morning, noon, and night, in conjunction with meditating in the rays of the rising and setting sun. He’d explained the supposed health benefits to me, but I knew he’d likely be into something else within a week.

“If sales remain steady and I run the SADEP at a moderate level, I can have the money in a week,” I said. “After which I would pause it until I need to run it again.”

“Or just keep it running,” Tyson suggested. “You could run it for years and no one would notice.”

Cody and I both shook our heads, unamused, and Tyson held up his hands. “I’m just saying, Audrey could go back to school. I could buy a boat. Cody could pay for hair plugs.”

“Fuck off,” Cody said, running his hand through his hair. It was only slightly thinning, but Tyson loved nothing more than to razz him about it.

“Better check your fingers,” Tyson ribbed. “You just lost another fifty strands.”

“Tyson, enough,” I said. “We’re not in this for profit.”

“Why not?” he asked. “You’re committing the same crime either way. If you get arrested, the police aren’t going to care why you were stealing, or what you used the money for, or even exactly how much you stole. You might as well enjoy some of the rewards.”

Cody snorted. “You mean you might as well enjoy the rewards.”

“I am the one that suggested it. Seems only fair.” He grinned, tossing an orange wedge into the air and catching it in his mouth.

“The reward is my mother living,” I said. “I’m not doing this for me.”

Cody shot eye daggers at Tyson. “And I’m not going to allow you to make it about you .”

“You don’t get to allow me to do anything, big brother,” Tyson returned. “You don’t control me.”

“For this, he does,” I rejoined. “He controls us both. He’s the one taking the most risk, so he makes the rules.”

Tyson laughed. “Jeez, you guys are so serious.”

“This is serious business,” Cody said. “If we get caught, we could face serious consequences. Jail time. The only reason I’m even considering this is to save Alex’s life. Not so you can buy a fucking boat.”

Tyson crossed his arms. “Don’t you want Audrey to be able to go back to college?”

“For the last time, this isn’t about me,” I snapped, standing. “I’m going to get some air.”

I strode out of the room, leaving the desk chair spinning in my wake.

Outside, the day was sweltering. It had rained all night and the air felt heavy as the moisture evaporated in the beating sun. I stripped down to my swimsuit, leaving my dress in a pile on the concrete as I dove into the pool, which was almost too warm to be refreshing.

I swam a few laps to clear the irritation buzzing inside me, until I sensed I wasn’t alone and surfaced in the shallow end, ready to tell Tyson off for the way he’d treated his brother. Only it wasn’t Tyson that was standing at the edge of the pool smoking a cigarette.

“Hey, Audrey,” Ian said as I looked up at him. He was barefoot, as usual, and muddy.

“Ian,” I said, trying to sound friendly. “What’s up?”

“The water in my trailer isn’t working.”

“Okay,” I said, annoyed. “I’ll go get Tyson. I’m sure they have someone that can see about it.”

I noticed his hand was shaking as he raised the cigarette to his mouth. “I’ve been working on it.”

“You’ve been working on the plumbing?” I asked, mounting the steps in the shallow end. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Is that why you’re muddy?”

“The pipes are under the house.”

I grabbed a towel off a lounge chair and wrapped it around myself. “Do you know about plumbing?” I asked.

He sucked on the cigarette like it was his job. “Enough.”

“Ian,” Tyson called out as he emerged from the house. “You look like a pig in shit.”

“He’s been trying to fix the water for his trailer,” I said.

Tyson crossed his arms as he approached, looking Ian up and down. “What’s up with your water?”

“It’s dirty.”

Tyson gestured toward Ian’s trailer. “Why don’t you show me what we’re working with, and we’ll take it from there.”

I snatched my dress off the pavement and headed inside as they exited through the back gate. The air conditioning on my wet skin was a welcome relief, the beige marble slick beneath my feet.

“Hey,” Cody called from the open kitchen as I cut across the great room toward the stairs.

I changed direction, meeting him at the kitchen island.

“You feel good about the VPN you’re using?” he asked.

I nodded. “It’s secure.”

“And the bank account?”

“A numbered account in Switzerland. It was opened using residential papers, so ownership is protected.”

Opened thirteen years ago by my dad to funnel money to me on Christmas and my birthday without having to involve my mom.

Only he and I had access to it, and I knew he only ever checked it when depositing the thousand dollars he gave me on those days.

My birthday had just passed, and Christmas wasn’t for another seven months, so I felt safe using the account for our deposits for now.

I could see Cody trying to work out how I’d opened an account overseas, but I laid a hand on his arm. “Probably better you don’t know. You’re risking enough.”

Cody was a good man, and I felt guilty for the risk he was taking on my behalf, but I’d been over and over it, and this was the only possible way I could come up with the money I needed quickly enough for it to make any difference.

“Like I said upstairs, you’re in control,” I said. “You say the word, I shut it down.”

“I trust you, Audrey,” he said, his dark eyes clear. “It’s my brother I don’t trust.”

I forced a laugh. “His moral code is certainly questionable.”

He looked at me for a moment, his brows tugging together.

“What?” I asked.

“I just don’t understand what a girl like you sees in him.”

But as infuriating as Tyson could be, he also made me feel good about myself. He wanted my opinion, gave weight to my viewpoint. In a world where I was no longer the star student—or a student at all—he told me I was brilliant. He had faith in me even when I didn’t.

A year ago, my life had seemed like a river flowing toward a secure future, but the reappearance of my mom’s cancer was like a storm that had washed me out to sea and left me adrift alone in a churning ocean. Tyson was a life raft.

But I couldn’t say that to Cody. Instead, I simply shrugged. “Sometimes I wonder that myself.”