Page 9 of Finders Keep Her
“Are you staying for dinner?” Tova asks as she is being pulled away.
“Not sure,” I tell her while heading in the other direction. When I enter War’s office, both he and Z stop speaking.
“You’re done?” War stands from behind his desk.
“Yeah.” I drop the box down in front of him. He picks it up and opens it.
“Wasn’t sure which finger you wanted.”
“Any one would have done it.” He shuts the box.
“That’s why you can’t only do fingerprint scans anymore,” I agree.
That technology alone for security isn’t enough. Chopping off fingers is child's play these days. Full facial recognition is a much better option. The best is a number code greater than 10, which takes a few decades to crack. But I don’t get into any of that shit. That’s Z’s responsibility.
“There’s more?” War asks.
“Yep.” I walk over to the black leather couch against the wall, dropping down into it. I kick my feet up on the table. “I have my own business I need to handle.”
“All right.” War braces his hand on top of his desk, his gaze on me. I know he’s trying to read me. Good fucking luck. “And this has nothing to do with family business.” I debate how to answer that. I don’t want to lie to War, but I also don’t need to tell him all my personal details.
“It’s more my own business.”
“So, personal.” Z drops down at the other end of the couch but turns to face me.
“Why the fuck are both of you staring me down?”
“We can’t check in?” Z smirks.
“Is there anything I need to know?” War sits back down in his chair behind his desk. He picks up the box, putting it into one of the drawers. Z doesn’t say shit, but he knows.
He tried to tip me off to Marks tracking me. I didn’t need his warning. I also don’t need him trying to secure my shit andtrying to lock my little fox out. I want her to look at me as often as possible.
“You can trust us.” Z tries again, his last attempt to get me to talk about Marks not having worked. It’s not them I’m worried about. I’m not ready for Tova and Cosima to know anything yet. I know without a doubt that War and Z will both fold like cheap chairs if their wives ask them what’s going on with Marks.
“Why am I the one that doesn’t know what the fuck is going on?” War’s irritation floods the room.
“It’s personal.” He wasn’t Chatty Cathy about him and Tova.
Oh, I fucking knew, but War wasn’t saying that shit out loud. In fact, he didn’t want anyone knowing anything. Until there wasn’t much of a choice and he couldn’t hide it anymore. Is that what will inevitably happen to me? I suppose. I'm starting to get desperate on some level.
I know where Marks is. I have known since the moment she took off. People can get sloppy when they run. Sure, Marks cleaned up her digital trail, but she can miss what's right there in front of her not watching through a screen at all.
That's not the problem, though. I could go to her, but she's spooked, and I need to find out why. When it comes to computers, I don't know a ton. I probably know more than the basics because of growing up with Z. Yet I’m still at a disadvantage because of how skilled Marks is with them.
"I thought we were trying to…" War trails off, searching for the right words.
"Be a family and share. Not be old-school fuckers who hide their feelings, and own our shit," Z supplies.
"Exactly." War lets Z lead the way on that one, leaning back in his chair. They’re like a tag team trying to shake me down for personal information.
I do trust them, but I’ve never been one to share much. I’m not a talker like them. I say what needs to be said and not muchmore. I don’t do all the bells and whistles when it comes to stuff. I’m short and to the point.
“Marks,” I finally say after the two of them basically guilted me into it.
“Is she okay?” War is quick to ask. He is more concerned about his wife, who is her best friend, than he is about Marks. “Did she do something?” And there it is. He knows Marks can be a threat. We all do; even Z has warned me to be careful with her. Even alluded that she could best him one day.
“She didn’t do anything.” I shoot him a glare. Z tilts his head at my reply, not agreeing with that. When it comes to Marks, Z needs to tread carefully. I think he’s getting that point already.
