“Knox?” Sam chuckled in disbelief.
“Don’t ask.”
“I just did.”
“Look, are you going to vouch for me or not?” Hunter hissed.
Had they met? It sounded like they had and parted on not the best of terms.
“Knox?” Sam asked.
Knox made a sound a swine might produce, a mix between a snore and a grumble.
“He’s good for it. Hey, asshole?”
“What?” Hunter answered begrudgingly. Apparently, he was the asshole now. Between that and being the boy, I could tell he didn’t exactly feel the love from Camp Sailor.
“Tell people about this place or show them the stuff you buy there, and you’re toast. Got it?”
“Jesus, you must think very highly of me.”
“Frankly, I don’t think of you at all. Be good, Sail. Talk soon.”
I hung up on Sam and smiled to Knox. “Can we come in?”
Knox gave Hunter a final once-over, nodding hesitantly. I had an inkling that he recognized him. Did he think we were a couple? And why did him maybe thinking that make my heart do crazy things in my chest?
We sat down on his couch. Everything was dark, the shutters closed. The house always smelled like dirty cat litter and feet, but I knew Knox wasn’t broke. I wondered what his story was, what had made him who he was today.
“I’d ask if you want something to drink, but I doubt either of you would want to put anything in this apartment in your mouth.” Knox parked his hands on his waist in front of us.
“There’s one thing in this house I’d like to taste,” Hunter murmured, side-eyeing me with a smirk.
I elbowed him. Hard.
“So you’ve decided to play Super Spies?” Knox glowered. “Hit me with it. What do you need?”
I turned to Hunter. “What’s the one thing Syllie never takes off? Ever?”
“His shit-eating grin,” Hunter deadpanned.
I rolled my eyes, but smiled. “No, really, though.”
Hunter shrugged. “His wedding ring. Glasses, I guess.”
Knox nodded, writing it down on a notepad he produced from the waistband of his sweatpants—another item on the growing list of things I never wanted to touch in this place.
“Does he have a clock in his office?” I continued.
“Duh.”
“What kind?”
“The generic-to-death kind.” Hunter scratched his light stubble. “Black, silver-rimmed.”
Knox wrote that down, too. “He’ll need to show me specific images on Google.”
“We also need a GPS detector for his car and anything else you can come up with to ensure we can listen to his every word,” I said. “In real time. Top-notch stuff, please.”
“It’ll cost ya.” Knox tsked. “That might require some fieldwork, and I charge extra for that. Driving the van alone to ensure quality, plus equipment, starts at a grand an hour. Then I need to set up a remote server, drop files into a shared cloud for you to access the recording and footage, and there are processing, editing, and overtime fees for weekends and after six o’clock. Depending on your needs, this could blow up to 50k a month before you even sneeze in my direction.”
“Money’s not a problem,” Hunter said coldly, looking every inch the rich bastard he was.
Knox smiled at him knowingly. “Yeah, pretty boy, didn’t think so. One more thing.” He held his finger up. “You’re in charge of the switch-a-roo of items and planting any recording devices. I play with the law, but I try not to piss on it whenever possible.”
“I’ll handle it,” Hunter said.
Knox went into a side room he kept firmly shut, leaving us in his living room.
Hunter turned to look at me. “Why am I feeling mildly uncomfortable and seriously turned on that you’ve been here before and know shit about spying?”
I laughed. “I was with my dad.”
“The respectable businessman,” he taunted.
I shrugged, keeping my face straight. “That’s the one.”
“He is loaded,” Hunter said.
“You’re one to talk.” I laughed. “How are you planning to pay for this, anyway? I thought your dad gave you a fixed salary.”
Hunter flashed me a wolfish grin. “My mother bends backward to pacify me. Venmo is my best friend.”
“Nice.” I munched on my lips.
“What about you?” He jerked his chin toward me. “You seem kind of broke for a rich kid.”
“I am,” I admitted. “I don’t take money from my parents. I live off whatever I get paid from giving archery lessons in the summer.”
“Pshh.”
Hunter stared at the wall, considering my words for a second, then said, “We need to shower after this.” Hunter motioned with his index around the room.
“Naturally.”
“Together.”
“Hunt.”
“Fine. That kiss, though.” He bit his fist, rolling his eyes in their sockets. He pointed to my phone. “Bitch is blowing up like a sex doll at a Virgins Anonymous convention. Everything cool?”
I looked down. I had two missed calls from Maybe: Crystal PR Manager.
I darted my eyes to him, feeling my cheeks heating with a blush.
Hunter studied me very carefully. “Da might’ve mentioned you were slow to answer her emails.”