Page 58 of The Villain

I don’t need anything else for music anymore. Phones do so much now. No wonder everyone wants to steal one.

“It’s ready to use?” I pick up the big device, unused to the size. It makes my old phone seem microscopic in comparison. The photo details are worth it.

“Ready to use, phone case, charger, glass cover. You’re all set!”

This guy is way too happy to be at work. For the amount of money I just dropped he should be.

The first thing I do is text Tera to make sure she has the new number. It rings, an odd preset tune, as she calls me not five seconds later.

“Oh my gosh, I’ve been worried,” she says breathlessly.

“Why?” I ask flatly as I watch Felix grin at me as if he thinks he’s seductive. He’s just another piece of muted grays blending into the background to me.

“You weren’t answering. You always answer,” her voice trembles with the threat of oncoming tears.

“They stole my phone. I just now got around to replacing it.”

“Who stole your phone?” She sounds amazed it happened. “I know it wasn’t Shade.”

Yeah, that bridge is napalmed no matter how much I obsess over it.

“The assholes.”

“What?” She says in a low tone of anger.

“They’ve been following me. It’s beginning to annoy me. I’m going to lie low for a while and catch my breath.”

Tera starts heavy breathing into my ear in a concerning fashion.

“Are you ok?” I frown, putting my cash back into my pocket.

“I’m upset that they think they can get away with this. I’m going to stop it.”

Her determined tone makes me curious. “Don’t stress about it. It’s petty bullshit and I lose them without any effort.”

“Where are you?” I can hear her walking and then the familiar sound of her computer chiming that it’s awake.

“The phone store. I just got finished.”

“Stay there,” she insists. “If you leave, they can get to the records and find your name.”

“So?”

“I’m scrambling everything in a big eff you to those guys.”

“Oh,” I contemplate that and feel my first smile in days curl my lips. “Game on, then.”

When she has me update my settings and check my new ID I have to laugh.

“Van Leppard again?”

“That’s your name for everything they could know about. Rental car, phone, easy obvious stuff. Van Leppard lives in Virginia and has twenty cats, drives a truck that isn’t paid off yet. The usual clean slate. The one on your apartment is different though.”

“The landlord calls me Ms. Queen.”

She starts giggling. I don’t want to know what amalgamation she came up with. Queen is enough.

“Is my music still on here?”

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