Page 24 of Face

Realizing I was at a dead end, I made a mental note to do more research on the Dark Web about this stuff, try to beat it at its own game without accessing that site. If I could just get a name of who ran it, I could work backward from there. “Okay, well, thanks for listening.”

“How’s the pregnant wolf lady?” she asked, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

I bit back a grin. “She’s not a wolf, the baby is. A boy, born just a few hours ago in fact.” For whatever reason, I pulled out my phone and showed her the photo.

She made a face. “They sure are ugly little things when they’re born, huh?”

I almost spit out my water. “I don’t think you’re supposed to say things like that.”

“My auntie used to tell me that when she saw an ugly baby, she would say, ‘Oh, isn’t he just the most precious thing you ever did see? Bless his heart.’ Then you’d know she thought it was ugly.”

I chuckled. “Gotta love those Southern aunties and their backhanded compliments.”

She grinned. “You from the South?”

“Yes, grew up in a small town outside of Austin. You?” I asked, happy she was taking an interest in me personally.

“I’m from Alexandria, just north of here. Had to move away for a while, you know. Been back here about five years.”

The server appeared at our table. “Wow, y’all not hungry or what? I was just about to bring the desserts out.”

“Guess we got to talkin’, but I need to go,” Devon said. “Can you box it all up, including the desserts, and I’ll take it with me for later?”

“Sure, hon.”

After she was out of earshot, I looked at Devon. “So, is this what you do for a living? Side jobs for computer help? Or do you have a regular gig?”

She shrugged. “I have a few hustles that pay enough for rent and utilities with enough left over for toys.”

My eyes widened. “What?”

“You know, new servers, maybe a fancy new monitor every once in a while. Gotta replace that chair every year or so as well.”

I snorted. “You don’t get out much, do you?”

Staring hard at me, she shook her head. “No.”

In another bold move, I reached across the table and grabbed her hand. She flinched and looked at me, almost confused. “Thank you for meeting me. You’ve given me some things to think about.”

She looked down at our hands and then back up to me. “Anytime, handsome.”

As I was about to ask her to not call me that, the server set the food boxes down along with the bill. I snatched it up.

“You gotta let me pay for that. I’m taking all this food with me.”

“No,” I said, setting my credit card down on top of it. “I asked you here, I have no problem paying. And if you wanna know a little secret, I don’t get out much either.” I winked at her.

Chapter 10

Girl, Interrupted

Devon

After Parker paid the bill, he got up and offered me a hand up, but I remained seated.

“I need to call the car service, so I’ll just hang out until they get here.”

“Nah, don’t bother. I’ll give you a lift.”

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