Jack and I aren't even up the hill to our neighborhood when a text comes across my phone.
CM. It's from Antonio.
"CM?" I stare at the mystery text.
Jack shakes her head. "You gotta know textspeek. CM means call me."
"Oh." I consider for a moment. "Let's use your phone."
"Oooh." Jack nods her approval. "You're learning the spycraft, I see."
"Let's just say I'm getting jumpy."
We huff our way up the rest of the hill. I make a couple comments about a little girlfriend bonding time in the mornings in front of an aerobics video. Jack makes a couple of comments about the number of friendships destroyed by said videos. I call it a draw.
Finally alone at her kitchen island, Jack hands me the landline phone. "Be fast."
I know what she means. According to Castle and other badly done cop shows, it takes a couple minutes to tap into a line once a call starts. I suspect this is nonsense, but neither do I see the benefit of a prolonged conversation with Antonio. I dial his number, which I've memorized instead of saving it to my phone. Maybe I am getting pretty spy-girl.
Antonio's voice comes through after two rings. "Your dime."
Your dime? What decade did he pick that up from? "Hey. It's me." We really need a better password.
"Listen. I just heard something from a couple of M's minions." He pauses and catches his breath. Has he been running? "They're going after G tonight."
G...who the hell is...wait..."Grant!"
"Can we not say names? You're not very good at this."
"Oh...copy that." I shoot a worried look toward Jack, who is once again leaning toward the phone. "What time? How many?"
"I didn't get details. Probably after dark. Expect two at least."
"Okay. Thanks."
"Sorry I can't be more help."
"You've been great help. Talk to you later."
"Copy. Over and out."
He really is taking this too seriously. But Grant! I hand the phone back to Jack. "They're coming after Grant tonight."
Jack lets out a few expletives. I had no idea she had such a well-rounded vocabulary. She slams a fist on the counter. "Nobody messes with my boy. I will kick somebody's gangsta ass all over this city. I'll--"
"You'll stay here and keep quiet." I can't believe we're having this discussion again. "I can handle them."
"Yeah?" She stands and crosses her arms. "And what if this is just a trap? How do you know you can trust that guy?"
"That 'guy' kind of helped save your behind, if I recall."
"But he's in he middle of this. What if they found him out? Tortured him? Turned him into a double-agent or something?"
"You've watched way too many Mission Impossible movies." But she has a point. They could have even leaked the info, knowing it would get back to me. They trapped me once. They could do it again.
"You need me, Darla." Jack digs through a kitchen drawer and pulls out a pad of paper and a pencil.
"We taking a test?"
"No, catgirl. We're making a plan."
"Jack, I can't--"
"But I can dammit!" She stands over her pad of paper, quivering. Tears surface in her eyes. Her voice trembles as she speaks. "He's my friend, too. And so are you. Let met have your back."
I can't say anything. I have no argument, nor do I possess the selfishness to let her help. She doesn't wait for my response, though.
Jack draws a rectangle on the pad. "Here's Grant's house..."
After another twenty minutes, I have to admit that my partner in crime has a pretty good head for tactics.
YOU ARE READING
Cat's Out - Book 3
ParanormalThe story of Darla the Alpha Cat continues. Now that Darla has delivered her message to Moloch and The Ressurection, she has to fight to protect her friends and family from his wrath. But can she do that and find her sister, who she believed to be...
